Dead Right by Brenda Novak Page B

“What?”
    â€œA small suitcase.”
    â€œYou found a suitcase? Where was it when we were at the quarry?”
    â€œIt’s more like a small satchel. It was hidden beneath the spare tire in the trunk.”
    â€œBut my father didn’t take any of his clothes.”
    â€œIt wasn’t filled with clothes. It had some rope inside.”
    The anxiety grew worse. “What kind of rope?”
    â€œUnfortunately, it’s ordinary rope that you can buy at any hardware store.”
    â€œIs there anything unique about it? Anything that might help us figure out where it came from?”
    â€œNot that I can see.”
    Disappointment weighed heavily. “So…do you think it was used to bind my father?” Madeline hated the vision her words evoked but refused to let fear of what her father might’ve experienced stop her from asking difficult questions. “That whatever happened to him was premeditated?”
    Pontiff fidgeted uncomfortably. “I don’t think the rope was used on your father,” he said. “That wasn’t the only thing in the bag.”
    Madeline exchanged a wary glance with Irene. “Tell us.”
    He lowered his voice, until she could scarcely make out the words. “There was also a…dildo.”
    Feeling as if he’d just tied thirty-pound weights to each of her limbs, Madeline released Irene’s hand. “A what? ”
    Chief Pontiff had turned bright red. “A—a sex toy, you know, a dildo.”
    â€œWhat would a dildo be doing in my father’s trunk?” she nearly shouted.
    His blush deepened. “I have no idea. But I’m hoping we can extract some DNA from it.”
    Irene’s hand clutched her chest. “After all this time?”
    Madeline could tell Pontiff didn’t like Irene enough to let her put him on the spot. But since she was present, he was trying to maintain a certain level of professionalism. “The dildo itself was inside a Ziploc bag that was sealed. If it—” he cleared his throat “—if it wasn’t washed before it went into that bag, we might have a chance.”
    Irene turned a shade paler. “What will that tell us?”
    â€œMaybe there’s a victim out there somewhere, connected with another case—a case that might have witnesses or information that could help us. Chances are slim that we’ll be able to get a sample from the…object, and even slimmer that we’ll be able to tie it to someone, but we need to gather whatever we can.”
    Irene shook her head. “But the connection you’re looking for could be clear across the country. Lee must’ve picked up a hitchhiker on his way home, some guy who shoved that stuff in the trunk before sinking the car.”
    She’d often postulated that a drifter or hitchhiker had been involved. But no one had reported seeing any strangers the day Madeline’s father went missing. Andstrangers definitely stood out in a town where everyone knew everyone else and viewed the unfamiliar with a measure of distrust.
    Pontiff studied his shoes. “We found something else in the suitcase, too,” he said in a resigned manner.
    It couldn’t get worse…. Could it?
    â€œWhat?” Madeline asked as Irene echoed the same question.
    He lifted his gaze, and a muscle flexed in his cheek. “Three pairs of panties. They look like they came from a girl of eleven or twelve.”
    Suddenly, Madeline felt dizzy. The thought of a rope, a dildo and girls’ panties hidden together—anywhere— made her ill. No doubt they affected Chief Pontiff the same way. He had three children—all of them daughters.
    â€œSo the man who killed my father was a pedophile?” she gasped.
    â€œThat’s the way it appears.”
    But how did someone like that circulate among them, going so far as to murder the town’s spiritual leader—and get away with it? Stillwater