Max pulled it away. “You’ve had enough for now. We have a lot to discuss, including Browne.”
The tone of his voice told me the news wasn’t good. I wanted to place my hands over my ears and not listen. I’d felt a kindred spirit with Gabriel Browne, telling him things I hadn’t told anyone. “I’ll make a pot of coffee.”
“Browne isn’t a local.” Max shuffled sheets of paper while I sipped my coffee. “He moved here last year from New York. He was a detective with the New York Police Department.”
“That makes more sense. I thought he seemed like a big-city cop.”
Max nodded. “Four years ago, his twin sister, Colleen Browne, was kidnapped. Browne was working a murder case. They used her as leverage to back him off.”
“What happened?”
“He found the murderer and put a bullet between his eyes.”
“Don’t be a smartass, Max. What happened to his sister?”
“They mailed her back to him in pieces.”
The coffee hit the bourbon, churning and bubbling. I barely made it to the kitchen sink before it all came up. Max had followed me in, and he wet a dishcloth and passed it to me. I wiped my face then leaned over the sink to rinse my mouth. “You could have softened your punch a little on that one, partner.”
“You get mad at me when I pull my punches.” Max grinned at me.
I leaned my back against the sink. “Did he find the people who kidnapped his sister?”
“Not that I could find. He took a three-year leave of absence, then one day he showed up, quit, and moved to Savannah.”
I felt Max’s eyes studying my face, the way he did when he had something he didn’t want to tell me or when he was waiting for me to figure out something he’d just told me and I’d missed it. “He would never stop looking. When did you say he moved to Savannah?”
“Last year.”
The alcohol had dulled my senses. Most of the previous year was a blur. “Humor me, Max.”
“He’s looking for Christian Salyer, Dakota. He planned all this. Angelina Clark’s murder, the convenient house right next door, which he bought last year, and getting you here. We fell right into his plans of using you as bait.”
Max believed what he was saying. If you looked at it from a logical point of view, it made perfect sense. Everyone but Max had seen the pictures of me with Christian Salyer, listened to the tapes, and believed everything Christian had laid out for them. The picture only had one flaw—Browne wasn’t a killer.
“He’s not a killer, Max. If for no other reason than what was done to his sister, he couldn’t have killed Angelina Clark. You should have seen his face when he talked about the other missing girl.”
“I’m not saying he killed her. You said it yourself. We got lucky this time. Only it wasn’t luck. Browne made sure I’d see the news about her death and where the body was found. He used that to get you here. He’s running out of time to find Salyer. You were his last chance.”
“What do you mean, ‘running out of time’?” I poured a glass of water.
“He was diagnosed with Stage III lung cancer last month. He’s not doing any treatments.”
“Everybody dies. I prefer to choose my own method.” Gabriel’s words played through my memory. What I was about to say wasn’t what Max wanted to hear. He liked happy endings. My gut told me there were no happy endings for me or Gabriel.
I finished the water and placed the glass in the sink. “I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to pack up and leave, but I’m staying. If Gabriel Browne is looking for Christian Salyer, then the two of us have something in common. He may be using me, but in the end, I’ll be using him.”
The media was camped out in front of the station, and Gabriel drove past slowly. If he stopped in his current mood, he would slug someone as he fought his way through the crowd. Instead, he headed for Molly’s. What he needed was a strong drink or two to get him through the rest of the day.
“I have to find her.” Dakota’s trembling voice tore through what little humanity he had left. He’d known the first moment he laid eyes on her his original plans weren’t going to work. If Max was as good as she said he was, she already knew about Colleen and his purchase of the house next door. She was smart enough to figure out he’d fed her the information to get her there. If he had one ounce of decency, he would turn around, drive back, and order them both out of town. Except it was too late for that. After the news conference aired, if he sent her away, Salyer would follow her.
Gabriel whipped into a parking place. “Once a damn cop, always a damn cop.” He dug through the console for his cell phone, ignored the missed calls, and dialed Calvin’s number.
Calvin answered on the first ring. “Where the hell are you? I’ve been calling for the last hour. The chief wants you in his office fifteen minutes ago.”
“I was headed in when I saw the mob outside. I need a couple of favors.”
“Damn it, Gabriel, you’re gonna get me fired.” A long, drawn-out sigh came over the line. “What do you need?”
“I want twenty-four-hour surveillance on James Day.” Gabriel could hear the pencil writing. “There’s a girl missing in Candler County. Put together everything you can on that case and have it ready for me. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”
“You want me to tell the chief you’re on your way?”
“No, I’ll surprise him.”
Gabriel ended the call, flung the cell into the console, and sat staring at the blinking sign over Molly’s. He owed Don an explanation. When he’d come there the previous year, he’d explained everything except the fact that he believed Salyer was the one who killed Colleen and that he was still alive. He’d also forgotten to mention his plans to lure Dakota Dale to Savannah and use her to flush out Salyer. All Don had asked from him was a promise not to let his vengeance get in the way of doing his job. He’d broken that promise. “You’re a lowlife, Browne. You used your best friend and probably lured a young woman to her death.” He jerked the car into gear, backed out amidst blaring horns, and headed to the police department. They said confession was good for the soul. He was about to find out if that was true.
“Damn it, Gabe.” Don Sampson shoved back his chair, ran a hand through his hair, and started pacing. “I loved Colleen too. I’d give anything to catch the bastard that killed her.” He stopped pacing and placed both hands on the desk, leaning across it. “Except the life of another person. What do you think Colleen would say if she knew you were using Dakota Dale to catch her killer?”
“Knowing Colleen, she wouldn’t have said anything. She’d have hammered me with both fists.”
Don nodded. “You’re damn right she would have. So what are you going to do to fix this?”
“I put surveillance on James Day. If he’s working for or with Salyer, we should know it soon. If not, I’ll bring him in and read him the facts of life on Salyer and what’s going to happen to him if he did kill Angelina.”
“What about Dale?”
Gabriel sighed. “I plan on telling her the truth—that I brought her here because at the time, I believed she was Salyer’s lover and she’d faked his death to let him get away.” He smiled sheepishly. “If she doesn’t shoot me, then hopefully we can finish this.”