“Three’s not bad. Chances are they forgot to tell their roommate or husband where they were going. Most show up.”
“But some don’t.”
“Some don’t.”
Just last fall, Diana had been missing. If Sylvie and Bryce hadn’t kept pushing to find her, she would have been one of the ones who never showed up.
“None of them match the copycat’s previous victims, so I’m hoping there’s something else. Take a look and tell me if anything stands out.”
“You mean in relation to something Dryden said?”
“Anything at all.”
Diana slumped in her chair and focused on the reports. Skimming hair-color and eye-color check boxes for each of the women, she could see what Val meant. They didn’t match. Two of the women fell into the same college-age group as the copycat’s victims, yet one had black hair and the other was a brunette. The third woman was blond, but she was forty-three.
Diana moved her gaze down the page. Skimming blood type, vehicle information and descriptions of clothes and jewelry, she landed on the section entitled Other Information. Sure enough, a roommate had reported one of the college girls missing, a husband the other. She paged to the last report detailing the older blond woman. The complainant in that case was the woman’s mother.
Diana heard Bobby and Perreth return to the office. She kept her focus on the blonde’s report. Reaching the officer’s notes, her focus landed on the few sentences detailing the circumstances of the woman’s disappearance. “Beck’s Laundromat?”
Val greeted her comment with raised brows. “That means something to you?”
“Dryden said the copycat abducted a woman right after he dropped off Sylvie’s wedding gift. Beck’s Laundromat is only a couple blocks from the reception.”
“Well, how about that? I guess moving this show to my jurisdiction is the right move.” Perreth returned to Val’s desk and pulled out his phone. “I’ll secure that office space and set up a canvas for security cameras in the area around Beck’s Laundromat.”
“That was a big help, Diana. Thank you,” Val said.
Bobby grunted.
“Exactly. You’re a great help.” Perreth gave Diana one of his odd smiles. “And maybe you’d like to come with me to—”
“She’s coming with me,” Bobby said. “We have a lot to talk about.”
***
Diana peered out the bug-spattered windshield at the buildings a block off the Wisconsin capitol building’s square whizzing by. After Bobby’s statement about how much they had to talk about, she’d been hopeful that he’d rethought letting her help with the case. But once in the car, he’d refused to discuss the case or Perreth or the women the copycat might have kidnapped, and they’d barely talked the rest of the drive.
When he missed the turn to her apartment, Diana broke her silence. “Where are we going?”
“The hotel.”
“So the whole we-need-to-talk thing was just a ruse to get me in the car so you could deposit me at the hotel?”
“You can hang out with your sister, talk her into taking her honeymoon. Is that so bad?”
Diana didn’t answer.
“Listen, you helped today. You did.”
“Is that a compliment?”
“It’s a thank you. Now you have to let us do our jobs.”
“Okay, okay. But I need clothing, maybe a toothbrush, and some other stuff. Don’t you think?”
“I suppose. Sure.”
Diana leaned back against the headrest. Clothes and a toothbrush would be nice, but it was the other stuff she was most anxious to pick up.
Bobby made the next turn and circled back in the direction of her apartment.
“And I’d like my car,” she added.
“There’s no place to park downtown.”
True enough. But driving always gave Diana a sense of control that she felt nowhere else in her life. “I want to drive.”
“You and driving.” Bobby chuckled. “Okay, I’ll make you a deal.”
Diana shot him a skeptical look.
“Let us determine if Dryden is telling the truth about the copycat taking another victim. And if he is, and if we don’t catch the bastard before tomorrow, I’ll let you drive to the prison.”
“In my own car.”
“We’ll see.”
“That doesn’t sound like much of a deal.”
“Take it or leave it.”
Bobby stopped at the curb outside Diana’s building, and they climbed out into the humid June air, scents of moist earth and plant life thick from last night’s heavy rain.
“I might need your help carrying some stuff.”
“What kind of stuff?”
“If you don’t want to help, you can wait in the car.”
He shot her a dry look. “Follow me.”
Stifling a sigh, she fell in behind him, walking up the sidewalk and into the lobby. Once inside, he made her wait at the door while he scrutinized every inch, as if he expected a man with a gun to crawl from under the vinyl bench or pop out of one of the tiny mailboxes that lined the wall.
“You really think this is necessary?”
Not bothering to answer, Bobby started up the stairs.
“Wait,” she said. “I need to get my suitcase and some other stuff from my storage locker.”
“The mysterious other stuff again. It had better not be too heavy.” Changing course, Bobby led her down the steps into the dank coolness of the basement. He stopped at the secured door leading to the lockers for her section of the building. “Keys?”
At one time, he’d had his own. Blocking those days from her mind, Diana dug in her purse.
Down the hall, a door opened. Diana’s next-door neighbor, Louis Ingersoll, stepped out of the laundry room with a basket of clothes. As soon as he spotted Bobby, his eyes narrowed.
Diana stifled a groan. Running into Louis was the last thing she needed. He’d been her neighbor and friend for about six months before her wedding. He’d watched her apartment when she was away, helped her set up her new cell phone, and even clipped stories about Ed Dryden from the newspaper after he’d learned of her involvement in the research project. But since she’d broken up with Bobby, their friendship had taken on an uncomfortable edge.
Or maybe that’s when his crush on her had turned to romantic expectation. “How’s it going, Louis?”
Louis didn’t take his glare from Bobby. A flush spread up his freckled neck, turning his face as red as his hair. “Is there anything I can help with?”
“Detective Vaughan is here in an official capacity.” She shouldn’t feel compelled to explain—whether Bobby was here or not wasn’t Louis’s business—but she couldn’t stand that look in his eyes. As if Bobby was his enemy. As if Diana had betrayed him. She’d never meant to lead him on, but obviously that was what she’d done.
“What do you mean by official capacity? Did something happen?”
“Nothing you have to worry about,” Bobby said, words clipped.
Diana shot him a quelling look. Bobby had never been fond of Louis. No doubt she’d been the only one blind to Louis’s infatuation. Blind until he’d given her a necklace of emeralds and diamond chips for Christmas—a necklace he refused to take back.
Even now he glanced down at her throat as if noticing her lack of jewelry, even though she’d never once worn his gift. “If there’s anything I can do, Diana, you let me know.”
“Thanks.” She fished her keys out of her purse and unlocked the storage room door. “We’ll talk later, okay, Louis?”
“I’ll be here.”
Diana and Bobby slipped inside the storage room, clearing the hall for Louis to pass with his laundry basket.
“He still hasn’t given up, huh?” Bobby said under his breath.