Trumped Up Charges - By Joanna Wayne Page 0,42
not slowing until she reached the driveway.
It was definitely the detective’s car. Adam stayed a step behind her as Hadley raced up the steps and into the house.
They found the detective and R.J. in the kitchen. R.J. was sipping whiskey from a short glass. The detective was hugging a mug of coffee.
“Have you found Lila and Lacy?” Hadley’s words were punctuated with short gasps for breath.
“No,” the detective said, “but I’ve located Quinton Larson.”
At last they were getting somewhere, though you’d never know it by the look of foreboding on the detective’s face.
Chapter Ten
“Funny, I don’t remember you calling for directions,” Adam said once they were all seated around the scarred oak table.
“I’ve had a tail on you ever since you showed up on the scene, Adam.”
“Glad to see you’re doing your job.”
“Just tell us about Quinton,” Hadley said. “Does he have my daughters?”
“If he does, they’re not with him.”
Hadley winced as if the detective had hit her. Adam watched as the optimism that she’d exhibited after seeing the video disappeared in a cloud of dread that showed in every line of her face.
“They must be with him,” Hadley insisted. “Where else would they be?”
“All I know is that they weren’t in the house where Quinton has admittedly been staying and there were no signs that they’d been there.”
Frustration burned in Hadley’s eyes. “Even Matilda thinks he’s the one who took Lacy and Lila.”
“Does anyone else live in the house?” Adam asked.
“Two other guys. One is the owner. He claims Quinton’s been hanging around there, but he’s never seen Quinton with a kid. The other inhabitant was too stoned to be much help. But the neighbors we questioned verified that various men and women came and went in that house, but they’d never seen or heard any kids around the place.”
“They could be lying,” Hadley said.
“They could be,” the detective agreed. “It’s not the kind of neighborhood you’d want to walk in after dark. The neighbor on one side was just released from prison last week. But we searched the house thoroughly. There was no sign that Lacy and Lila had ever been inside the house.”
“Does Quinton have an alibi for the night of the abduction?” Adam asked.
“He says he was in Fort Worth, spending the night with an old girlfriend. We’re checking that out.”
“Like she won’t lie for him.” Hadley clasped her hands together, nervously twisting her fingers. “Is Quinton in jail?”
“We hauled him in for questioning, but we don’t have evidence to hold him unless we find something concrete against him. He swears he’s innocent.”
“Ever met a guilty man who didn’t?” R.J. asked.
“A few,” Lane said.
“A damn few, I bet.” R.J. pushed back from the table.
“Quinton made a few accusations of his own,” Lane said.
“What kind of accusations?” Hadley asked.
“He claims you paid him a visit in Houston six months ago.”
“That’s a lie. I would never go see him. Why would I?”
“He says you had a job you wanted him to do for you.”
The detective had thrown out a line, fishing for information. Adam had a feeling that was what this visit was all about.
Adam propped his elbows on the table and leaned toward the detective. “Hadley’s going through enough without you taunting her with hearsay. If you have something she needs to hear, say it straight and get it over with.”
Lane’s mouth twisted into a scowl. He didn’t like anyone messing with his game.
“Hadley might want to hear what I have to say in private.”
She shook her head. “Anything you have to say to me, you can say in front of Adam and his father.”
“Then here it is in a nutshell. Quinton says you wanted him to get rid of your girls for you. Not kill them, mind you, just get rid of them.”
“That’s crazy,” R.J. said. “What does get rid of them even mean? Toss them out with the garbage?”
“According to Quinton, Hadley asked about selling them on the black market. She said she’d heard of childless couples who couldn’t adopt through regular channels who were willing to pay big bucks for twin girls. As cute, precocious and well-bred as Lacy and Lila were, she figured they’d bring a bundle.”
Hadley’s face reddened and the veins in her neck and forehead popped out like cords. Had she been able to reach Lane across the table, Adam figured she might have tried to choke him.
Adam was tempted to do it for her. He stood, towering over the sitting detective. “If your idea of good police work is to