Wyatt asked one of the officers at the scene to escort the husband back home to his children. An aunt had picked the boys up a couple of hours ago.
Penny Arnold’s husband was still in shock. He’d answered every single question without hesitation and yet neither his expression nor his tone had altered in the slightest. Not even once. The man was terrified that he’d lost the woman he loved forever.
Wyatt’s attention swung to where Addy sat in Penny Arnold’s car. The lab boys were ready to take the vehicle away as soon as Addy had finished doing her thing.
If anything happened to her ...
All these years the only good part about her being gone was that he knew she was safely out of reach of the danger here. That band of uncertainty that had been wrapped around Wyatt’s chest since the moment he heard her voice during that call with Huntsville’s police chief tightened a little more. She’d been here two days and already the idea of losing her forever—again—was gnawing at him.
You’re next.
Having her go back to Huntsville when this was over was one thing, but having some bastard do this—he surveyed the crime-scene tapedraping the area—he couldn’t let that happen. Somehow he had to protect her.
Who the hell was this son of a bitch? Unless they came up with something from Arnold’s friends or coworkers, there wasn’t a single connection between her and Prescott.
After five days of looking for Cherry Prescott they still had nothing. Now, the same steps would be taken for Penny Arnold. Wyatt had assured the Wiggins chief of police as well as the Stone County sheriff that his department would assist in the search. He’d called in six of his deputies already.
Wyatt scrubbed a hand over his face. The fear in Trent Arnold’s eyes haunted him. Why the hell couldn’t they get a single lead on this bastard?
The perp had left not one tire-tread imprint or shoe impression, much less a latent print. No trace evidence. The only certainty so far was undeniable proof that the perp was one careful asshole. The words cut from printed material had come from a dozen different magazines and newspapers that could be picked up on any sales rack. The glue was one available for purchase at all Walmarts and dozens of other places. Same with the paper and the envelopes. The phone call made to Penny Arnold’s cell was their one hope. But Wyatt wasn’t holding his breath. This guy had proven far too cunning so far. The probability that he would screw up with something as simple as a phone call was highly unlikely. The search of the Hattiesburg Library’s computer server had given them nothing.
“One of the deputies has already interviewed a couple of Arnold’s close friends,” Addy announced.
Wyatt jerked to attention. He hadn’t realized she had gotten out of the vic’s car and walked over to him. “Anything relevant?”
Addy glanced back at the car as if something about it nagged at her. “Maybe.” She met Wyatt’s gaze. “Do you have any idea how focused the vic was on making the dream of owning her own agency come true?”
“The husband mentioned that was her goal.” Wyatt surveyed the upscale housing development. The model home Arnold had come toshow was the first completed construction at the site. “She considered getting this contract a major coup.”
Addy chewed on her bottom lip. She did that when she was mulling over what she intended to say next. Wyatt’s throat went dry. His lips burned at the memory of kissing her.
“She has notes posted on every day of the calendar she keeps in her car.” Addy flared her hands. “You know, the inspirational stuff.No one can stop you but you. There is no time like the present. Persistence is the key.The husband didn’t want her working so much outside the home.” Her gaze searched Wyatt’s. “But she wasn’t stopping for him or anyone else. I found out that conference she went to in Phoenix actually ended the day before she came home. But she stayed an extra day despite the fact that it was Christmas Eve and her kids were back home waiting for her.”
“You think it was all work or was something else going on? An affair maybe?”
Addy gave her head a quick shake. “No, I don’t think there was anything like that happening. The lady was just determined to make the right impression on the people with the power to authorize the opening of her own agency. According to her husband and her friends, she wanted that bad.”
“You have no doubt the letter found at this scene is the work of the same man who sent yours and Prescott’s letters?” She was still insistent that the break-in at the motel was unrelated. He wasn’t a fool. He understood that it was possible someone in his department had leaked the information, but it hadn’t been reported in the media. One generally went hand in hand with the other.
“None at all. The random spacing and cockeyed alignment of the words are consistent with the note I received this morning and the one found on Arnold’s car.”
“You do realize,” Wyatt voiced what they both already knew, “that the only persons who would want to vandalize your possessions are those connected to your uncle? That greatly narrows the scope of who may have leaked the information.” All the way down to his department,in fact. He didn’t want to believe that possibility was real, but it was his job to follow all leads, even when he didn’t like where they were going.
“I do.” She kept those baby blues fixed on him. “It came from your department, Wyatt. Face it. There are still a lot of people here who have a grudge against me. Passing on the info to Clay or some of his thug friends would be the perfect way to get a little vengeance.”
Wyatt wanted to be madder than hell at the whole notion. But he couldn’t. She had too valid a point. No one, including him, wanted a dirty cop on his force. “If I learn that’s the case, I’ll be collecting badges.”
Addy turned away from him and headed for the Bronco. He fully understood that she wanted no part in the collection of badges. She’d been there, done that, bought the T-shirt. She was here for the case. Not to rehash the past. How many times had she said that?
She climbed into that big old Bronco and settled behind the wheel. She’d had that damned thing since she turned sixteen. Her father had bought it for her. He figured that was why she’d kept it all this time—especially considering the price of gasoline. When that monster-size vehicle rolled up to a parking slot, no one expected a waiflike blond chick like Addy to climb out. As pint-size as she was, she could hold her own in a shoot-out or a brawl. Yet her heart was every bit as huge as that big old Bronco.
So was her sense of justice as well as her discernment of people.
Wyatt wanted to believe the break-in at her room was about the case, but if she said it wasn’t ... he’d wager it wasn’t. Addy possessed an uncanny cop intuition. He’d always envied that keen ability.
He just hoped like hell that intuition could keep her out of this bastard’s clutches.
For now, another talk with Cyrus was in order. If his errant son was planning any more theatrics, he’d better think twice. Wyatt would love nothing better than to put him in lockup.