Heartbreaker

Chapter 31

Laurant used Nick’s phone to call Michelle and give her the bad news about the bridesmaid’s dress. Michelle answered on the first ring. "Where are you? Are you all right? I heard about the fire, and Bessie Jean told Mother you left with Nick, but no one knew where you went. My God, can you believe Steve Brenner turned out to be such a pervert? Did you know he’d hidden a camera in your house?"

Laurant patiently answered her questions and then told her about the dress. Michelle took the news surprisingly well. "If only you’d left the dress with Rosemary," she said, referring to the dressmaker who had fitted the gown for her.

"You told me to pick it up, remember?"

"Yes, but when have you ever listened to me?"

"Michelle, what are we going to do? Should I just bow out?"

"No way," Michelle cried. "You can wear something of mine."

"You’ve got to be joking. You’re tiny. Nothing of yours would fit me."

"Listen, Laurant. I’m stuck with Christopher’s two insipid cousins in my wedding, but I’m not letting either one of them be my maid of honor. Are you or are you not my best friend?"

"Of course I am," she said. "But-"

"Then improvise. I don’t care what you wear. Come naked if you want. No, you better not do that. You’d cause a riot," she said "Christopher wouldn’t remember his vows," she added with a laugh

"I’ll find something," she promised, wondering how in God’s name she was going to have time to shop.

"You’ll still be here at four?"

"Give me at least until five."

"Was the dress destroyed by the fire? Maybe the dry cleaners could repair it if it wasn’t burned up."

"No," she answered. "It’s gone."

"The town’s in an uproar over Brenner," she said then. "How stupid was he to torch his own house? Did you know he’d browbeaten poor Mrs. Talbot into selling it to him. He didn’t have any insurance either. Did you know that? The pervert paid cash."

"How did you find all that out?" she asked.

"Mother’s nosy friends. Little Lorna’s called Mother three times in the past hour to give more information."

"Steve didn’t start the fire," Laurant said. "Lonnie did. I guess he didn’t know Steve had bought the house."

"That wasn’t in the paper," Michelle exclaimed. "The sheriff’s son was in on it?"

"Yes," Laurant answered. "There’s a lot more too, Michelle, but I can’t go into it now."

"You can tell me everything while we get dressed," she said. "And I mean everything. I’ve got to hang up now. I’m getting my nails done. I’ll see you at five, and please, stop worrying. It’s going to be fine. Nothing can ruin this day for me, and do you know why?"

"Because you’re marrying the man of your dreams?"

"That too."

"What were you going to say?"

"That no matter what, I’m going to have hot incredible sex tonight. Uh-oh, Mom’s glaring at me. Got to go."

Laurant handed the phone back to Nick. "Let’s go by the house first," she said. "If the fire didn’t reach the second floor, maybe I can find something suitable to wear in the wedding."

"Your clothes are going to smell like smoke," he said. "But the dry cleaners could probably clean the dress before five."

She mentally went through her wardrobe of once-upon-a-time clothes. That’s what she called them, the beautiful designer dresses and suits that the head of the European modeling agency had given to her, trying to entice her to work for them. The ice blue Versace might do, or the peach Armani. Both of the formal dresses were long, and her high-heeled sandals would work with either one. If the clothes had been destroyed in the fire, she didn’t know what she could wear. The local ladies’ dress shop didn’t carry formal attire.

"What else do you have to do before the wedding?" Nick asked.

"Find a place to stay tonight," she said. "I’ll wait until tomorrow to pack up whatever I can salvage from the house. It’s too overwhelming to think about today. We have to get a suit for you to wear to the wedding," she added. "Did you bring one with you?"

"Just my navy blazer and a couple of pairs of dress pants."

"That will work. We’ll drop them at the cleaners too."

She sounded weary.

"Cheer up, honey. It’s going to get better."

She tried to think of something optimistic. "It’s a nice day for a wedding, isn’t it?"

"Was your friend upset about the dress?"

"No," Laurant replied. She smiled then. "Michelle doesn’t get upset about things like that. She told me nothing could ruin today for her."

The phone rang, but it wasn’t Morganstern, as Nick had hoped. Noah was on the line, wanting to know when he and Laurant would be coming to the abbey.

"Is Tommy worried?"

"No," Noah answered. "He just wants to know if we should hang around or not."

"We’ll be there in about an hour. Make him stay put."

Laurant was getting hungry, but she didn’t want to take time to eat. There was so much to get accomplished before tonight, and it was already going on noon.

They reached Holy Oaks and wound their way down the quiet streets to her house.

"You know what Michelle told me? Lonnie didn’t make the newspaper. She thought Steve Brenner set the fire."

"Farley told me he would pick him up and take him to Nugent," Nick said. "He and Brenner can share a cell."

"You wish you were there, don’t you?"

He glanced at her as he admitted, "Yeah, I do. I’d love to sit in on the interrogation. Look Brenner in the eyes. Then I’d know for sure."

"That he’s the unsub."

"No, that he isn’t.’"

"I want you to be wrong."

"I know you do." He sounded sympathetic.

"Until last night, I never would have believed that Steve could be a Peeping Tom," she said.

"That’s because you hadn’t seen the dark side of good old Steve."

"I certainly saw it last night. His face was contorted with hate, and the venom spewing out of his mouth shocked me. I think he is capable of anything, even murder. You know what strikes me as odd though?"

"What’s that?"

"Steve’s always been very uptight, around me anyway. He’s very controlling, or organized, as you would call him. Always planning," she added with a nod. "He was pretty smooth the way he manipulated the shop owners into selling. He’d purchased five stores before the town found out what he was up to. He was sneaky and very clever, wouldn’t you agree?"

"So?"

"He had to have known from reputation alone how volatile and unpredictable Lonnie was. Why would he involve him?"

"Maybe he thought he could use him as his scapegoat."

"Maybe," she agreed. "How did Steve get in the house?"

"He came in through the back door. He broke the glass, reached in and unlocked the dead bolt. It was sloppy," he added.

"I think Lonnie was looking for a way in through a window."

"You told me he was on the roof."

"I heard him outside the bathroom window."

"But you didn’t see him, did you?"

"No," she answered. "He could have been checking to make sure no one was home. He didn’t see me. I dropped to the floor the second I saw the light."

Nick pulled up to a stop sign and waited while two little boys, about seven or eight years old, rode their bikes across the intersection. What were their parents thinking to let them out of their sight? Hell, anyone could grab them. Anything could happen, and they wouldn’t know about it until it was too late.

His attention returned to Laurant. "Lonnie had a flashlight?"

"No, it was more like a penlight, a red one."

"A red penlight… you mean, a laser beam, maybe?"

"Yes, exactly."

"Why didn’t you tell me this last night?" he demanded impatiently.

"I told you Lonnie was on the roof."

"The son of a bitch could have had you in his sights." His face was tight with anger. "Where in God’s name would he get his hands on that kind of equipment?"

"From his father’s cabinet," she answered. "The sheriff prides himself on his gun collection, and Lonnie would have easy access." Nick picked up his phone and started dialing. "And that’s why you came out of the bathroom."

"Yes," she answered. "Who are you calling?"

"Farley," he answered. "He can find out if Lonnie was on that roof or not."

"Who else could it have been?" Nick didn’t answer her.

Agent Farley was just about to step onto a plane in Des Moines when his phone rang. When he heard Nick’s voice, he moved away from the crowd filing on board.

"You just caught me," he said. "Another minute and I would have turned my phone off."

"Did you pick up Lonnie?"

"No," he answered. "He’s gone to ground, and I’ve been reassigned. Wesson’s letting the Nugent sheriff and his deputies go after Lonnie and bring him in."

"Is Feinberg still around, or did Wesson send him packing?"

"I’m not sure," Farley answered. "They both went to Nugent with Brenner," he said. "And they could still be there. This isn’t sitting right with you, is it, Nick? You don’t think Brenner’s our man."

"No, I don’t," he said. "But I don’t have anything to prove it yet."

"This could be an easy case, and you’ve just never had one of those before."

"Yeah, maybe."

"Are you going to stay in Holy Oaks?"

"Yes."

"Sorry I had to bail on you, but I didn’t have a choice. As soon as Wesson E-mailed headquarters and let them know I was ready for reassignment, they pounced."

"Where are you headed?"

"Detroit. There’s a situation brewing there, and it’s a messy one. Be thankful you’re on vacation."

"You be careful," Nick said. "And Joe, thanks for helping."

"A lot of damn good I did. I’ll tell you this. I’ve worked with Wesson a couple of times in the past, and he was always a pain in the ass, but he was never this difficult. I think it’s you," he added. "You bring out the worst in him. He’s gone too far this time though. I’m never going to work with that egomaniac again, even if means handing in my badge. By the book, my ass. Wesson doesn’t know what teamwork is, and that’s what’s going in my report," Joe paused a second. "Nick you know what’s worrying me?"

"Getting on that plane?"

"No, that’s your hang-up, not mine. It’s that gut feeling of yours."

"What about it?"

"If you’re right, and Brenner isn’t the unsub, then you and Noah are out there all alone. God help you."