out of Jane’s office, Danni realized she’d been had.
Danni had another meeting that day, with her ex-husband Mike, that she had put off for as long as she could. They met at The Swamp.
Danni was already sitting at a table when he arrived. She had gotten there early so she could pick out a spot where she felt comfortable, a table by the window, away from the bar and the crowd, looking out on the patio with College Avenue in the background. They could talk privately here.
Mike, a very successful pharmaceutical salesman, was dressed in a tailored blue suit with a pink shirt and lavender tie. He was always a bit of a dandy, Danni thought as she watched him walk to the table. He had a smile on his face and a look of confidence as if seeing him made it her lucky day. An objective observer would say he was a handsome man with thick black hair and a muscular physique, but Danni no longer saw him that way. He leaned over the table and kissed her on the cheek.
Danni cringed at his touch.
“So what is it that you needed to see me about?” Mike asked. “And how is our lovely daughter? I’m looking forward to my time with her this weekend.”
“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about, Mike.”
“What? Is something wrong with Hannah?”
“No. She’s fine. She’s just not here.”
“I know she’s not here. She’s at school, right?”
“No. She’s not here in the state of Florida.”
Danni told him what happened at Whiskey River Springs and how she had had to take Hannah out of school. She even told him where his daughter was. She had debated about that in her own mind for some time but decided that he had a right to know. He was her father, after all. Not a very good one but still her father. Danni made sure she kept her voice low so nobody could possibly hear that particular part of the conversation.
“You can’t say anything to anybody about where she is. Secrecy is her only protection.”
“I can protect my own daughter,” he said haughtily.
Danni didn’t reply.
Mike’s smile was now gone, replaced by a sneer. “You had to be a cop, didn’t you? You had to go out there in a man’s world and prove yourself no matter what.”
Danni had figured it was going to get ugly although she didn’t know what Mike’s weapon of choice for today’s battle would be until that moment.
“This isn’t about me, Mike.”
“Oh, yes it is, Danni. How many other cops are there on your task force? How many of them are women? Who else’s children have been threatened? It’s definitely about you, Danni. It’s always been about you.”
There was some truth to the statement but so what? This conversation was about Hannah and her safety. She wasn’t going to let it deteriorate into another discussion about why their marriage had failed.
You slept with other women, you asshole! Remember?
“Look, Mike, I don’t want to argue with you. I just want you to know what happened and where Hannah Jane is. You can call her anytime you like.”
“I know that,” Mike snapped. “And when this is over, we’re going to revisit the issue of custody. Your house is a dangerous environment.”
“Fine,” Danni said and stood up to leave. “Thanks for your concern.”
She smiled to herself as she walked out of the restaurant. He wouldn’t dare ask for custody. It would interfere too much with his social life.
Chapter Ten
Alice Jeffries was a lonely woman these days. Her husband, Sam, was spending fourteen- to sixteen-hour days at the office with the occasional middle-of-the-night rendezvous at murder sites around the city of Oakville. It had started the night of the first murder four months ago. Sam ran the homicide division at the Sheriff’s Department. If all the murders are in Oakville, why is my husband, a captain in the Apache County Sheriff’s Department, responsible for solving them when Oakville has its own police department? Alice asked herself, usually in the middle of the night when he had gone out to a scene and she was left alone in their bed. She knew the answer, but she asked the question anyway because she was angry and exasperated.
Oakville was in Apache County so it was part of the sheriff’s jurisdiction. Besides, this case was a different animal. Hell, the FBI was here. And Sam was now the head of the whole investigation. That acknowledgment didn’t make her feel one bit better. Oh,