“You were military intelligence.”
“Yes. Which means I was trained to be a paranoid motherfucker. Lauren just found out her daughter was stolen in the commission of a murder, and for all intents and purposes, that it was designed to send me a message. And now I’m here, and Lauren feels like she can’t protect Mindy anymore, from anything. If she thinks she’s in danger, in her mind, it’s because of me. It stands to reason she might be a little freaked out. Considering that, maybe we cut her some slack. She’s a civilian, through and through. She doesn’t think logically about crime like you and me.”
“You know her awfully well for someone who just met her.”
“I’m an observer. She’s completely freaked out, her husband is furious with her, her daughter is sick and bewildered, her sister is bringing down law enforcement and the media, and then there’s me. Her whole world just blew up. I’m willing to see things from her side.”
“I am too, don’t worry. She’s a basket case right now, I know. I’m curious why you aren’t.”
“Because I’ve been living with the reality of Mindy’s disappearance and Vivian’s loss for a long time. I’ve had seventeen years to wrap my head around this moment. She’s had seventeen hours.”
Juliet rubs her chin. “Well, if we’re going to split hairs, she’s known all along that Mindy wasn’t her child.”
“I think we don’t split hairs, okay?” He covers her hand with his. “How was she supposed to know about this? The doctor deceived her. She’s a grieving mother. And she’s petrified she might lose Mindy. I think it’s clouded her judgment all of Mindy’s life, but it’s especially bad now since Mindy is afflicted with something Lauren can’t control.”
“Are you sure you’re an English teacher?” she asks, eyes narrowed. “You seem awful Dr. Phil-ish to me.”
He laughs, he can’t help it, a great boom that makes the people around them start and turn, and she smiles, trying hard not to join him, but finally starts giggling. Kat watches them like they’re insane.
When they settle down, he answers, “Yes, I’m an English teacher. But I was a great many things before I chose that profession, so yes, I might be looking for insights to understand her motives and actions. Maybe I’m just trying to understand why she lied for so long.”
Juliet stares out at the snow. “I’d like to know that myself.”
60
Juliet’s phone dings, and she glances at it, then stands up. “Woody is here, with Parks and Starr. They’re probably done moving Mindy to the clean room by now. You want to hang out with her while I go do cop things?”
“I’d love to, and yes, I will, but can I do cop things with you for a little while? I’d like to talk to them, just so we’re all on the same page.”
“Hold our table, then. I’ll go get them.”
“Why don’t I get a round of coffee for everyone?”
“Good idea. And water. Lots of water. We don’t want anyone dropping out of the chase because the altitude gets to them.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
*
The cops are in the lobby looking totally conspicuous, as cops are wont to do, even without their guns on display. Juliet waves to them as she approaches.
“I see you made it in one piece.” She shakes hands with Parks and Starr, gives her boss a punch on the shoulder. “Woody treating you all right? I know he drives like a bat out of hell over the pass.”
Starr nods, and Juliet has to stifle a laugh—Parks looks positively green.
“This is a fine mess you’ve dragged us into, Ryder. Watch it.” But Woody grins at her. He is in his forties, clean-cut, with light blond hair swept back from his forehead and a faint tan line from ski goggles on his cheeks. A Colorado native, he is a snowboarder in the winter, and a good one, sneaking to the mountains every day off he has, and in the summer, spends a lot of time biking the mountain trails. He is also a shrewd investigator, not prone to excitement, but steady and true, and Juliet trusts him implicitly.
“I’ve got us a spot in the cafeteria. Who wants coffee?”
Hands raise all around. She leads them down the hall, following the arrows to the cafeteria. Zack has moved to a larger table, but one still by the windows. Two carafes of coffee and several bottles of water sit on the table. He must have charmed the cashiers into giving him the carafes because she hasn’t seen any floating around except for on the staff tables, when they are having meetings.
He is a charming man, Zack Armstrong. Unfailingly kind, polite, a true gentleman. She wonders what will happen when that solidly controlled veneer cracks. She imagines it will be pretty messy. She assumes that’s what Kat is for, the moments when he lets the control slip and allows himself to fall apart. God knows he has every right to.
Once they are all assembled, Woody introduces himself to Zack, then invites Parks to start.
“To begin with, I appreciate you letting us join you here. This is a big cold case for our city, one of the legends, and it’s wonderful to get a close, at least on one part.”
“Hopefully, we can help you solve part two,” Juliet says.
“Yes, well...I’ve learned a few things since we talked last, but nothing that speaks to the kidnapping. We’re all ears about this Dr. Castillo. We’re hoping we can work our way backward from Lauren to the doctor to the people who stole Mindy in the first place. We have to assume that person killed Vivian as well, though of course there could have been two players involved. Zack told you how the focus has always been on someone hell-bent for revenge against him, but the more I dive into this, the more it seems something else was at play.”
“We agree,” Woody says. “We are looking into Dr. Castillo right now. We’ve subpoenaed Swedish for all her records, and of course, we want to have a sit-down with her sidekick and see if he knows anything. Fuentes is a white-collar criminal, but he used to be a gangbanger, so he certainly knows the caliber of criminal who could murder a woman and steal her child. One thing we need to look at is whether Vivian was a target, or wrong place, wrong time, and the goal was simply to steal the child. If these people were in the business of stealing newborns, the murder might be incidental.”
Zack makes a noise deep in the back of his throat at that, and Woody holds up his hands, palms out. “Hey, I know. But this is information about Castillo, no one’s had it before now, so we need to look at all the angles. If your wife was killed in the commission of a kidnapping, it does change our focus slightly.”
“Go on. I’m sorry to interrupt.”
Woody nods. “Because the child crossed state lines, obviously the FBI will be joining us for this investigation, and since there are so many organizations involved, a task force is inevitable. For now, we’re the leads. We’ve been looking at all the cases of infant snatching, and there are only a few outstanding that match this scenario. Usually, the kidnapper is caught quickly. Could be this was a one-time thing, and then again, could be you and your wife were targeted, Mr. Armstrong. It’s just too early to tell.”
Zack is shaking his head. “So you’re working under the assumption that we’ve been wrong all these years, that I wasn’t the target at all?”
“Like I said, too early to tell, but yes, it’s entirely possible that Mindy herself was the target, and everything that happened to you and Vivian was simply coincidence. Thank you for your service, by the way.”
Zack nods. “Sure. I did my part. Like you do yours.”
“Right. Until we’re able to dig up Dr. Castillo’s records, we aren’t going to be able to pin this down either way, so trust me when I say my mind is completely open.”
“Fresh eyes on this will be good,” Parks says, and Starr nods her agreement.