I straightened. Jensen dropped my hand, and we all headed for the door. Piling into the hall, we followed Walker, who was already striding towards the lobby.
A man stood there. He was vaguely familiar, but it took me a second to place him. He was the regular from the tea shop who had stopped Tessa to talk to her the other day. My blood started to heat.What does this fucker know?
The man had a sober look on his face, and when he saw me, Jensen, and Tuck, he winced. He reached out a hand to shake Walker’s. “I’m Al Burke. I’m a private investigator.”
Walker studied the man. “Walker Cole, Deputy Chief of Police. What do you have for me? I’m in the middle of trying to find a missing woman, and I don’t have time to fuck around.”
Al pulled at the collar of his shirt as if it were too tight. “I have a business out of DC.” My muscles tensed. “I do everything on the up and up. I’m not one of those shady assholes.” Walker nodded and made a motion for Al to continue. “A man approached me to help him find his missing fiancée.”
I made a move to surge forward, but Tuck expected it. With Jensen’s help, he jerked me back into place. Al’s uneasy gaze flicked to me and then back to Walker. “I checked it out. Everything was on the level. Talked to cops on the case, and they said Garrett Abrams was a stand-up guy.”
I couldn’t hold it in anymore. “Yeah, a stand-up guy who beat his fiancée so badly she could barely walk at times.”
Al’s voice shook. “I didn’t know. I swear. I did my research, and no one said one word about possible abuse. Mr. Abrams said that his fiancée was mentally unstable. Said that she’d had episodes in the past. I informed him when I located Valerie—or Tessa as you know her. He got on the first plane out here.”
Al looked around the room. “But that was weeks ago. When he got here, things started to seem…off to me. So I stuck around.”
“You didn’t think to, oh, I don’t know, report this to the police?” Walker’s voice was brimming with fury.
Al’s eyes darted all around. “I didn’t have anything to report. But I went by The Tea Kettle this afternoon, and it was closed. Someone told me what happened. It has to be Abrams who took her.”
“Where is he?” I growled the words.
Al shook his head. “I don’t know. I swear, I don’t. I’ve tried his cell, and he’s not answering. It goes straight to voicemail.”
Walker extended a hand. “Give me your phone.” Al swallowed hard but did as instructed. “Did you unlock the back door of the Kettle for Garrett to get in?”
A look of puzzled confusion filled Al’s expression. “No.”
Walker leaned in. “You steal a key for him?”
Al held up his hands. “No. No way.”
Walker studied Al closely. “Have you seen Garrett with anyone else since he’s been here?”
“Just once. A woman.”
Walker straightened. “You know her name?”
Al shook his head. “No.”
Walker handed Al’s cell phone to the officer who had come to get him and pulled out his notebook and pen. “Describe her.”
Al’s Adam’s apple bobbed. “She was, uh, tall. Bleach-blonde hair. Real, uh, curvy. And she was dressed fancy. It stuck out in my mind because it didn’t really seem to fit with the feel of Sutter Lake. I’ve seen her around a few times, and she’s always dressed the same.”
Our entire group froze. Froze because we knew exactly who he described.
43
Tessa
Ihurried to the bed, doing my best to ignore the way my vision swam, and my stomach churned. I collapsed against the mattress. Pain radiated through my skull, and I bit my lip to hold back my whimper. I curled into a ball. I needed to appear as weak and feeble as possible.
A key sounded in the lock. I squeezed my eyes closed. God, I wasn’t ready to face this. Facehim. My heartbeat seemed to echo all the way to my toes. The creak of an old door opening sounded. I held my breath.
The bed dipped, and the familiar scent of a too-fragrant cologne filled my nostrils. I had to fight a gag and the bile that wanted to surface. What I wouldn’t give for the crisp, clean, uniquely-Liam scent right now. I held onto that smell in my mind.
A finger ran down the side of my face. “Time to wake up, Valerie.”
