"What?" Brad's mouth went dry.
"They painted it," William said again, spitting the words out in disgust. "There's a fresh coat of white paint covering the room, even the ceiling. Even the goddamn floor is painted. Motherfuckers even laid down brand-new shag carpeting!"
Brad felt himself slump. Any DNA evidence that might have been in that room was now contaminated. "What about the rest of the place?"
"Couldn't find anything. We went through the whole house. Best we could come up with were some shoe impressions left in the dirt along the driveway and the side of the house."
"the bedroom window-"
"Showed signs that suggested it might have been boarded up, but that's it." Billy sounded pissed off. Judging by the echo, it sounded like Billy was calling from his car phone. 'There were fresh nail holes in the side paneling bordering the window. No signs of the boards or the nails used. One of the detectives said there's very little we can go on."
"What about the property the house is on?" Brad was trying to think of any lead they could pursue. "Tbe surrounding area? Maybe they just haven't looked far enough."
"We searched the property and some of the surrounding area," Billy continued. "Got two sets of tire tracks and the FBI is trying to come up with a match, but that's a long shot, too. Couldn't find anything in the woods beyond the cabin. Even had a search team make the mile hike along the path Debbie Martinez normally took on her walks, but they didn't find anything."
"Shit!" Brad could feel the room dosing in on him.
"Detectives are questioning Oliver Gardenia, the man whose name appears on the deed as being an officer in the Golgotha Corporation. He appears to have an airtight alibi. He's already provided documented evidence supporting his claim that he was in New York the weekend Lisa was kidnapped. Plus, he doesn't resemble the description of the men that kidnapped her."
Brad didn't know what to say. Lisa was unresponsive, still watching TV. Oprah had given way to Jerry Springer. A pair of white-trash couples began immediately verbally assaulting each other the minute the show started.
William continued with the bad news. All the criminal checks we've run on potential suspects have turned up nothing. Tim Murray doesn't have a criminal record. A check through the DMV brings up several Tim Murrays, but they don't resemble the suspect Lisa described."
"He told her that he had gained weight and grown a beard to pull her kidnapping off so he wouldn't be recognized!" Brad hissed, now suddenly angry. Goddamn it, why were they beating around the bush on this? "He altered his appearance. Why can't you just show us some photos and-"
"We can't just pull DMV records on people without a criminal history based on lack of evidence." William sounded just as frustrated as Brad was feeling. "Besides, we got teams of detectives tracking these guys now for questioning."
"So what are we supposed to do?"
William sighed. Brad waited for him to continue. He got up and headed to the bathroom again, where the conversation could be somewhat private. "What about the other guy, this Al?"
"We found a guy in the DMV records that matches the name and description and sent a team of detectives to question him," Billy said. "They haven't been able to locate him."
"What about the surveillance tape at the Bank of America?"
"We're working on that now," Billy said, and the first strains of optimism crept into his voice. "In fact, that's our biggest lead. Huntington Beach PD reports that they were able to get a good blowup of the man who accompanied Lisa into the bank. They're putting it over the wires today."
"is there any way to check the description with the name Lisa gave?"
"All we know is that his name is Jeff." Billy sounded depressed again. "We've got no last name. That's not enough to go by."
The claustrophobic feeling tightened. There was no way these men were going to let this go. Even if they had no criminal records, they knew that law enforcement would be on their trail. That's why they had tried to kill Lisa after forcing her to withdraw her and Brad's life savings. Only Lisa had escaped with her life, barely. It had been two weeks since the nightmare began. Surely, if they were going to come after them they would have done so by now. Unless-
"You say you can't find this Al guy?" Brad asked.
"Yeah," Billy said. "LAPD detectives didn't find him at his home, and his neighbors haven't seen him for at least a week!
Brad's mind was racing. Wasn't Al one of the men who had threatened Lisa? "He's coming after us," he said. 'That's why you can't find him. He and the other two are coming after us and-"
"And you're safe," Billy soothed. "Just stay where you are. We're gonna get them. How's Lisa doing?"
Brad looked out the bathroom door, the sound of the television welling in the background. "Not so good. She's… she's all… she…" Brad's voice was shaky. "She needs help, Billy. She's so… so depressed and so… she's just so down that I'm afraid for her sanity. I think she's suicidal. She needs help."
"We're gonna get her help, buddy," Billy said. "Don't worry about that!
"No, I mean she needs help now." Brad gripped the receiver, trying to control his emotions. He described Lisa's outburst this morning, how she wished it had been her who had been killed instead of Mandy and Alicia. How the thought of what Jeff had probably done to that baby tore her up inside, how she wished she were dead because of her actions. He described the pain he felt as he watched his wife punch herself in the face repeatedly, punishing herself. "She's really, really in a deep state of depression, Billy," Brad said, and now his voice did crack. "She's been sleeping all day, and now she just sits in front of the TV like a goddamned vegetable. She looks like she's in shock or something. She won't talk and I… I'm trying to give her space to work it out, but… I'm afraid its gone beyond that. I really think she needs to be in a hospital"
%et me make some calls," William said,"and if I can get her in somewhere nearby I'll have her admitted. Okay?"
Brad nodded, fighting the tears streaming down his face. "O-kay, Billy. 'ITS-thanks"
And hang tight; Billy said. "We're doing everything we can. We're gonna find these guys.'
"Okay, Billy."
"I'll call you later if I can get Lisa into a hospital somewhere, okay? In the meantime, stay put. You need anything, you let John know."
When Brad hung up he sat on the toilet seat for a moment, still fighting back the tears. Then he stood up and carried the phone back into the room. Lisa was still sitting up in bed, staring at theTV, her eyes glazed over. He set the telephone on the nightstand, looked at his wife. "I love you, Lisa."
Lisa stared at the TV; it was as if she had never heard him.
And then Brad did break down and he sank to his knees, arms cradling his head as he slumped against the bed, and he cried heart-wrenching sobs at Lisa's feet. Lisa stared at the TV in a daze, watching as Jerry Springer encouraged familial violence to take place on his show.
Sunsets in the deserts were beautiful.
Tim Murray had just reached a crest in the hill he was hiking, and he paused to watch the sky turn red on his way back to where he had parked his SW, which he had gotten at the scrap-metal yard the night they disposed of Al, where it had been marked for destruction. A light breeze ruffled his hair, now cut closer to his scalp. He had shaved his beard off last night, revealing a face that was slightly cherubic, with pinkish skin. He had also changed eyeglass styles, wearing a pair of wire-rims that helped accent his face. He looked like a very different man from the one who had kidnapped Lisa Miller two weeks ago.