“About three months after the baby was born, Susan and I had this fight about my job taking up too much time.” He pressed his lips together so hard they turned white. “She complained she had to spend all her time nursing the baby and taking care of our child. She said I wasn’t pulling my weight.” He clasped a hand over his mouth, and then dragged his fingers to his chin. “I’m not proud of the way I handled things. I slapped her.” His gaze shot downward.
Kerry sucked in a breath. These were all lies. As if some monster took hold of her mind, Kerry leapt from her chair. Before she could reach across the table to get at Brad, Hunter grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back down.
“I’ll handle this, Kerry. Continue, Mr. Stafford.”
Her foot tapped out a beat and her hands knotted at her sides. She bit the inside of her cheek until blood tinged her mouth.
“I wanted Susan to understand how much I helped around the house, so I stayed away for as long as I could, hoping she’d call and say she forgave me. Only she never did.” He stretched his hands out to her. “When I couldn’t take it anymore, I went back to the house to beg her forgiveness, but Susan and the baby had moved—disappeared without a trace.” His cheeks sagged. “I couldn’t blame them. But dammit, the baby was mine too. I wanted visitation rights, wanted to be part of my child’s life, only I couldn’t find them.”
“My sister told me you followed her to Florida and kidnapped the baby.”
Brad’s eyes widened. “You’re... you’re, Kerry?” He leaned his head back against his chair, defeat written on his face.
Hunter’s jaw clenched.
“Yes. Now tell my how my niece died.”
Brad looked around the room as if some spirit from above would whisk him away. No such luck for him.
“I haven’t been able to sleep much since she passed. The baby was my life. The guilt of what I’d done has eaten away at me. My work has suffered big time. I’ve lost weight.” As if to prove his point, he stood and pulled out the waist of his pants, exposing a good two inches. He then dropped into his seat. Brad squeezed his eyes shut for a moment and held up two hands, palms facing outward. “I admit I took our child. I wanted to share custody, but Susan wouldn’t hear of it. I begged her to return to Ohio with me, to marry me, but she refused. So I stayed here, hoping she’d change her mind.”
“It’s no wonder she wanted nothing to do with you. Susan was smart enough to stay away from an abusive man.”
Brad glared at her. “It wasn’t like that. You wouldn’t understand. I loved Susan. I loved our baby.” He swiped a hand over his eyes. “I admit I got drunk a few times. That was when she said she wanted to leave me. The baby was three months and four days old. I hit Susan—once. It was not my finest moment.”
Liar. “Why would you steal a child away from her mother? That’s sick.” Spittle flew from her mouth.
“Mr. Stafford,” Hunter said, before Brad could answer. “Do you have a copy of the death certificate?”
Kerry narrowed her eyes at Hunter. What was he trying to do? Hunter’s face remained even. Wait. Did he think Brad was lying about Teresa’s death?
“I don’t have one.” Brad tugged on his already opened collar.
“And why is that?”
“I gave my daughter everything. She was my life. I showered her with toys. When I came into feed her one morning, she was dead.” Brad’s face contorted in pain as a stream of tears streaked down his cheeks.
Something inside Kerry snapped. She wanted to hate this man, but she couldn’t. Perhaps he was telling the truth.
Kerry touched Hunter’s arm and tried to show him she’d calmed down. He blinked slowly once, and then Kerry turned back to Brad. “Why didn’t you call Susan to let her know Teresa had died? She had every right.”
“Her number was out of service. I swear to you.”
Damn. Susan changed phones all the time, fearing Brad would find her. “Did you at least alert the authorities?”
“And be arrested for kidnapping? I couldn’t go to jail. It would kill me. Calling them wouldn’t have brought Bonn-I mean Teresa back to life.”
He dropped his hands into his head and wept, as giant sobs wracked his body. When he finally looked up, his stained cheeks and red-rimmed eyes confirmed he wasn’t acting.
Hunter took out his notepad. “Where did you bury the body?”
Brad described the isolated area near Braham University. Hunter shot a glance to Kerry, and her heart sank to her stomach. It’s where they’d found Baby Doe. She shut her eyes for a moment to gather her composure.
“We found a small body in that vicinity clad in a jacket. Did you bury Teresa in clothes?” Kerry said.
“God, yes. What do take me for? A monster?”
Yes. “What color was her jacket?”
“Pink, I think. Yes, pink with green trim. I also buried her with a teddy bear. I wanted my daughter to have a friend when she went to heaven.”
A giant sob lodged in her throat. Hunter covered her hand with his. Poor Susan. She wasn’t sure how she was going to tell her sister that her years of hiding and searching were over. Closure wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. Crushing Susan’s hope of ever finding her child alive would send her into a spiraling pit of depression.
“Mr. Stafford, did Susan have a restraining order against you?” Hunter asked.
“A restraining order? No. She disappeared without filing one.” His Adam’s apple bobbed hard. “Why?”
“Because if that’s the case, you didn’t kidnap your child.”
He looked confused. “But—”
“A father has a right to see his own child, unless Susan had a court order to stop you.”
“You mean if I’d called the authorities when Bonnie died, I’d be okay?”
“That’s right. By not reporting her death, however, you will go the prison.”
Brad’s face crumbled. Betrayal snapped at her. Susan should have mentioned she hadn’t taken any legal action against the man. Then again, why hadn’t she thought to ask her sister?
26
After Hunter dropped Kerry off at work, he escorted Brad Stafford to the sheriff’s department. She had insisted on returning to the lab to identify Jane Doe #4. Her lips had quivered, and her voice had been thick with emotion. It tore his heart up real bad. Hunter wasn’t good with women, but he knew people. Arguing with her wouldn’t have earned him any bonus points.
As much as he wanted to comfort Kerry, and tell her everything would work out in the end, but shit, why lie? Her relationship with Susan would never be the same.
His heart ached knowing the anguish and turmoil Kerry’s sister was in for. A pain that cut so deep, the wound might never heal—like his continuing ache over Amy.
Amy.
His wife’s usual fresh face had been less distinct, and less real of late. Kerry’s smiling image had crowded his dreams, not Amy’s. Caring, bright, passionate Kerry. Though he was guilt ridden to admit it, Kerry was more of a mate than Amy had ever been. Kerry listened to his theories, and even saw through any illogical conclusions he might draw. Amy’s life was all about her climb in the banking world. Even Melissa came second, he third.
Kerry understood why he had to search for the criminal, whereas Amy wanted him home to take care of the lawn and the house.
Kerry understood death and what it did to the soul—like he did.
“Detective? Are we getting out?” Brad said.
Drowning in his thoughts had made him forget Brad Stafford in the back seat. “Sure.”
Hunter slid from the car and opened the back door and led the man into custody. As he turned back toward the desk area, Brad called to him. Hunter turned. The man’s eyes looked hollow. “Do you want me to give you a DNA sample? If you find my daughter, you’ll see I didn’t harm her. She died of SIDS, I promise.”
Maybe the guy did have a heart after all, or else he didn’t want to face a murder charge too. “The sergeant will take care of you.” Kerry believed Baby Doe was Teresa, but it wouldn’t hurt to have Brad’s DNA in the system.
Hunter headed back to his cluttered desk. He’d pulled out his chair when his cell rang.
Phil. “What’s up?”
“Ahern just called. The bullet that killed Chanel Carlitta didn’t come from the same gun that killed Nancy Donnello-Sanchez.”
“Damn.”
“But there is good news.”
“Tell me.” He wanted to strangle his partner right now.
“Here’s the interesting part. I ran the ballistics on the bullet that killed Willie Wyble.”
“And?”