“Why did it come to you?”
“I assume someone knew I handled the case.” Cate grimaced. “I was mentioned in Jade’s articles frequently back then, so it wasn’t hard to discover. They figured out I live here now. I’ve been involved with a few other cases on the island in the last year, so a simple internet search would reveal that.” She considered the young woman and decided Kori had recovered enough from the initial shock for a few questions. “Has anyone approached you about Jade recently?”
Cate hadn’t mentioned the newspaper article or the handwritten message to her yet.
Too soon.
“No,” replied Kori.
“Any news of Rich?”
“No.” Kori looked at her hands. “I think he’s dead too.”
“Why do you say that?” Cate asked sharply.
The woman shrugged. “Dunno. Just a feeling.” Her gaze rested on Cate’s bag. “He let go of Jade. He wouldn’t have done that if he was still alive. He has to be dead to give up his hold on her.”
“You mean you think he’d . . . keep her remains with him?” Cate asked delicately. She didn’t know how else to phrase it.
“He told me he’d never let me go, even if I was dead.”
Jesus Christ.
“But he essentially let you go when he left,” Cate pointed out.
“Only because he had Jade to control instead. He had to have something under his thumb, you know?”
Cate thought of the plea for help on the newspaper. “What if he found someone else to manipulate?”
Kori considered. “I used to wish that someone would catch his attention and he’d cast me aside.”
Ellen closed her eyes, regret rolling off her. Cate wondered if she’d ever forgive herself for supporting Kori’s wish to marry Rich.
“I could see that happening,” Kori added. “He has an obsessive streak.”
No shit.
“Maybe he’s not dead, then,” said Cate.
Kori’s gaze locked with Cate’s. “What are you saying? You know something about him? Has there been another sighting?”
Cate told her about the handwritten message. “Keep in mind that we don’t know how long ago it was written.”
Kori pushed to her feet and started to pace around the table, her fingers twisting her long hair into a braid near her face.
The gesture punched Cate in the gut. I forgot she does that. Kori braided when she was stressed. During the initial investigation, her hair had thinned in the spots where she habitually braided. She’d even created bald spots.
There was no evidence of balding now. Cate took that as a sign that the woman led a mostly stable life.
“He’s got someone else,” Kori muttered. “I should have killed him when I could. It’s my fault he’s able to do this to another woman. Oh, my god, what if he kills another baby?” Her voice rose; her eyes were distraught. “I should have stopped him.”
Cate stood and halted Kori’s pacing, gently taking her upper arms and making the young woman look her in the eye. “You were practically a child when you were with him. You are not responsible for what he did to you or responsible for stopping him from doing it to anyone else,” she told her emphatically. “The only person responsible for his actions is Rich himself.”
“I could have put an end to it,” Kori said. “There were many times I thought about shooting him. I could have done it.”
“And gone to prison for the rest of your life?” Cate gave her a little shake.
Déjà vu.
The conversation was very similar to their dealings seven years ago. Kori getting emotionally worked up and Cate bringing her back down. She’d done it multiple times a day back then.
“Someone else wouldn’t be suffering if I had followed through,” Kori whispered.
“Listen to me,” Cate said firmly. “You know Rich better than anyone. If anyone can help this other woman and her child, it is you. Stop focusing on what didn’t happen in the past and help me focus on the now. I need to find this woman and get her away from Rich.”
Not my investigation.
Cate ignored the little voice of logic in her head. She was suddenly determined to see this new development in Jade’s case through to the end. After meeting with Kori and her parents, she had now been sucked back in. She couldn’t walk away and go back to baking muffins after interacting with the family.
Exactly what Phillip had wanted in the first place.
Did he know I’d come around after talking to the Astons?
It was a moot point. Cate was emotionally up to her neck in the case. Again.
Nothing was going to tear her away from searching for Kori’s ex-husband and stopping him from ruining another woman’s life.
And her child’s.
“Where is the rest of my baby?” Kori whispered, her eyes searching Cate’s. “What did he do with her? I need to find her . . . I need her with me.”
Cate understood. Kori needed closure.
“I can’t help her anymore,” Kori said softly. “But I can protect her. Help her rest. I need to know where she is.”
“I’ll find her for you,” Cate promised. She’d made several similar promises to Kori over the years, knowing it was a long shot that the FBI would find Jade. But something told her that this time, she could actually do it.
Finding Jade’s remains wouldn’t be the result anyone wanted. But it would allow their long-open wounds to finally start to heal.
6
Cate handed the tourist a cardboard tray with four coffees and a paper bag full of cranberry scones. Her morning had been exceptionally busy, keeping her from dwelling on yesterday’s encounter with Kori and her parents. The hotels were packed with people who had come to the island for the warm summer days.
“Let’s see if a few of Patience’s friends can help out with some shifts,” Cate suggested to Jane as she gathered doughnuts for another order. Tessa’s sister was a good source for extra bakery help.
“I already asked,” Jane said as she handed a peach fritter sample to a young couple. “Two of them jumped at the offer to make some money. They’ll be here in an hour.”
“Good.” Cate eyed the young couple tasting the fritter. They’d already tried two other pastries. Cate suspected they were filling up on samples and weren’t going to order any food. A moment later they ordered two small black coffees.
Yep.
At least the samples were a day old.
She gave them a big smile as she took their card for the small purchase. The man’s eyes had lit up as he tried the fritter, and Cate suspected he’d be back at some point.
Jane’s baking was addictive.
The line out the door had finally died down and Cate was cleaning fingerprints off the glass case when Tessa arrived. The deputy had the same bags under her eyes that Cate did. They’d been up late the night before with a bottle of rosé as Cate had updated her and Samantha about her interview with Kori Causey and the Astons.
The three friends got together once a week with a bottle of wine or a quart of ice cream. They’d been friends since they were young teens. Practically sisters. And Cate looked forward to the quiet but intimately social evenings all week. They had years of being apart to make up for.