It was after ten the next morning when Lizzy made her way downstairs to the office. Nobody was around.
She opened the blinds to let the sunlight in, then took a seat at the desk. It wasn’t the thought of being pregnant that was at the forefront of her mind, although she figured the notion certainly should top her list of concerns. Instead, it was the name Jake Polly that kept repeating itself over and over inside her head. There was something right there within her reach, something that could tie everything together.
But what was it?
Jake Polly was an artist.
He had scratches on his hands.
She found the picture Hayley had drawn and took a closer look. Kathryn was certain Zachary Tucker matched the image to a tee. Other than the nose and longish curly hair, Lizzy guessed Jake Polly did look a little like the man in the drawing. Maybe more than a little. Noses could break and hairstyles could definitely change over the course of twenty years.
Could Zachary Tucker be Jake Polly?
Lizzy doodled on her notepad while she stared at the picture. She wrote the name Zachary Tucker and then Jake Polly. She then scribbled jp and zt. She repeated the process using capital letters.
Nothing.
There was nothing particularly “magnetic” about either the man in the picture or Jake Polly in person, but Kathryn had been or still was in love with him, so of course she would think he was magnetic. Hell, the woman hadn’t seen Zachary in twenty years, so how would she know any longer?
Lizzy’s instincts hollered at her to drive to Kathryn’s house and take a closer look at the note and the rest of the letters Zachary Tucker had given Kathryn. She should have asked for the shoe box full of goodies the last time she was there, but she’d really had no reason to do so at the time.
Before Lizzy could decide whether or not to make the drive to Newcastle, Jessica entered the office. A stream of sunlight sliced through the window and made a line across the floor between them. “Good morning,” Jessica said. “Or should I say good afternoon?”
“Either one works,” Lizzy said. “The house was so quiet I thought you had left. What have you been up to? Did you just get up?”
“I spent most of the morning helping Salma with the baby, but then her boyfriend showed up. Joey’s helping her now. I can’t believe she hasn’t named the baby yet. I tossed out a few suggestions, all of which were nixed. After that, I called in for an update on Jovan Massing, left a message for my brother, and then I talked to Magnus.”
“How is Magnus?”
“The same. Stubborn as hell. He thinks he’s holding me back, ruining my life because I chose to live with him and be with him. He calls himself a cripple.” She sighed, shaking her head. “He’s way too hard on himself. It’s difficult to watch at times. He told me he couldn’t do anything on the list I left him, which isn’t true.”
“You left him a list?”
“I do it all the time. The doctors want him to keep active and busy. They want Magnus to challenge himself. And it’s not like the lists are that daunting. Things like getting the mail, watering a few plants, feeding the hamster.”
“You have a hamster?”
“Squeaky wheel and all. It’s supposed to be therapeutic, keep his mind off the pain, but I think the little rodent is mostly just annoying.”
Lizzy did her best to give Jessica her undivided attention, but wasn’t succeeding since she was unable to stop picking at the idea of Jake Polly and Zachary Tucker being one and the same.
“I wonder how Hayley and Kitally are doing out on the streets?” Jessica asked.
“Kitally has her machete and Hayley has her badass attitude. They’ll be fine.”
“Why is Hayley so angry with you?”
“We don’t always see every situation eye to eye, that’s all.”
“What was that list of names I saw, the one you snatched away before I could get a good look at it?”
“Why do I feel as if I’m being interrogated?”
“Maybe because the questions are making you feel uncomfortable.”
“I don’t remember any list.”
Jessica shook her head. “You’re lying.”
Lizzy said nothing.
“Your eye twitches when you lie. It’s the craziest thing, but it happens every time.”
Lizzy shrugged.
“I know you’re all up to something, but I have yet to figure out what it is. I hope you and Hayley haven’t gone and done something irreversible.”
“You worry too much.”
“No, I don’t. You’ve been acting strange, and before I went back to Virginia, you blurted out ‘she’s not a killer.’ Who were you talking about?”
“I don’t remember that particular conversation.”
“I think you’re holding back.”
Lizzy sighed. “There’s nothing going on, Jessica. You have a lot on your plate right now, so don’t try to sniff out trouble where there isn’t any.”
Before she could say another word, Jessica’s phone rang. She snatched it from her waistband and picked up the call. She paced the floor near the door while she listened. The minute she hung up, she said, “I need to borrow your car.”
“Why, what’s going on?”
“They found the Massing fellow, and they’re bringing him in for questioning.”
“I’ll go with you,” Lizzy said. “I want to talk to Jimmy.”
“OK, grab what you need, and meet me at the car.”
When Lizzy went to find her purse and coat from the other room, she saw Joey and Salma sitting on the couch playing with their baby girl. They made a cute couple. “Hope,” Lizzy said. “You should name your baby Hope.”
They both looked up at her, but she didn’t have time to stick around. She fished out her keys as she ran through the kitchen. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw the note Kitally had left her in case she went to the store for groceries.
And it hit her like a brick to the side of the head.
The note. The note Kathryn had shown her had drawings of his pets in the margins. Next to each drawing were the names of the pets scribbled in hard-to-read writing. The name next to the bird, though, had looked a lot like Polly.
Lizzy pulled out her cell phone and punched in Kathryn’s number as she headed back for her office.
Kathryn answered on the third ring.
“Kathryn, it’s me, Lizzy. I have a question for you.”
“What is it?”
“What were the names of Zachary’s pets? The ones he asked you to care for while he and his parents were away?”
“Oh, gosh, I don’t remember off the top of my head. Let me get the note from my office.”
As Lizzy waited she glanced at the scribblings she’d made on her notepad. Jessica was already in the car, probably antsy as all hell.
“Here it is,” Kathryn said. “Polly, Peter, and Jake.”
“Polly,” Lizzy said. “Jake Polly.”
“What?”
“I think Zachary might have changed his name to Jake Polly.” Lizzy’s gaze fell on the ZT and how the letters, when overlapped, looked a lot like the symbol left on many of the Sacramento Strangler’s victims. “You said that you saved every letter and note he ever gave you.”
“I did.”
“Did he ever sign his name with his initials? With the Z and the T overlapping?”
“Almost always. How did you know?”
“I’ll explain later. Stay safe, Kathryn. Lock your doors, and do not leave your house.”
“I won’t.”
Lizzy hung up the phone and then called her sister.
“Hi, Lizzy. I’m so glad you called. I was just thinking about you, and I thought it would be great if you, Brittany, and I went out and—”
“I’m sorry I have to cut you off,” Lizzy told her sister, “but is Brittany there? I really need to talk to her.”