Restoring Passion Page 4
“Shit.”
“Detectives Howard and Langlon.”
Police? Vanessa.
Concern for his wife’s well-being had his hand on the knob, turning it in a second. His continued momentum swung the outside screen door wide open. He inspected the looks on the detectives’ faces. The fact that they both met his gaze without hesitation gave him some comfort. Don’t think they could look me in the eye if they had to tell me the worst news possible right now.
“Y-yes?” Daniel stammered, not quite roused from his restless nap.
“Detective Howard.” The white man with a salty shock of wavy hair and massive sideburns flipped his badge holder open. A glint flashed off the gold medal. “This is Detective Langlon.” He pointed to his black, bald-headed partner, who repeated the holder-flipping gesture. “We’re looking for Vanessa Barnes.”
“Are you a friend of Nate’s?” Daniel scratched the back of his head.
“Sorry?” Howard narrowed his eyes.
“Nate said he was going to call one of his friends at the station about Vanessa’s disappearance. I didn’t think you even bothered with a report until someone was gone for twenty-four hours.”
“Are you saying Vanessa has been missing for some time, sir?” Langlon swiped away at his smartphone screen.
“The name is Daniel. I’m Vanessa’s husband.”
“Mr. Barnes, when was the last time you saw your wife?” Howard straightened his posture. Daniel watched as the man tried to match his own stature.
“It’s Lowe. Vanessa kept her maiden name. And she was gone when I got back home around nine last night.” The way the two detectives side-eyed each other made Daniel’s antennae shoot straight up. “Wait a minute. Neither one of you are a friend of Nate’s, are you?”
“Afraid not.”
“Then, why are you looking for Vanessa?”
“May we come in?”
Daniel pulled the screen door closed a bit. “I don’t know if that’s the best idea.”
Howard raised a hand. “Fair enough, Mr. Lowe. We had some questions for your wife concerning a Brian Lancaster.”
He closed the door entirely and talked through the screen. “What about him?”
“He’s dead,” Langlon stated.
“What? When? Where?”
“We’re still trying to make a determination on cause and the exact time of death. But it appears to have happened early this morning.”
“Brian was here? In Savannah?”
They both nodded.
“Shit.”
“No one can account for your wife’s whereabouts after nine p.m.?” Langlon leaned on the porch rails.
“Well, I’m sure someone could. If we could find her.”
“Does she run off like this on a regular basis?” There was no recognizable emotion on Howard’s face.
“No, of course not.”
“Hm.” Howard wedged his card into the doorjamb. “When you locate her, ask her to give us a call. And if you don’t locate her after twenty-four hours, give us a call.” A slight hint of recognition spread across his face. “You’re that local carpenter on that home show, aren’t you?”
Daniel fessed up. “Yep. That’s me.”
“Interesting.” Howard added, “Hope you’re able to get in touch with Ms. Barnes soon.” He turned and made his exit down the steps.
Langlon added his card next to his partner’s. “Were you home by yourself last night?”
Fuck. “I was.”
“Do us a favor and make yourself available if we need to talk again.” A pearly-white smile punctuated Langlon’s statement.
“Sure.” He snatched the two business cards peeking through on his side of the doorway and closed the door.
Brian. Dead. In Savannah. Vanessa.
“Where the hell are you, baby?” Pushing away the dread, Daniel went for his phone and dialed the number he’d been avoiding.
Ring after ring buzzed in Daniel’s ear. He’ll know it’s me. Vanessa put me in his phone’s contacts. Maybe he’s hungover. Maybe he already knows about the photo and is ready to snap my neck.
“Danny?” Bruce coughed a couple times and cleared his throat. “What’s wrong?”
“Bruce, is Vanessa with you?”
“What? Why would Vanessa be with me?”
“I got back from a work trip last night, and she wasn’t home. I’ve been trying to get a hold of her.”
“Did you call the police?” The worry in his voice increased with each word. Bruce’s breathing became labored.
“No,” Daniel mumbled.
“No! What the hell is wrong with you? Vanny doesn’t go anywhere without someone knowing.” The breathing stopped for a few seconds. “Except for when she left Brian. What did you do to my daughter, Lowe?”
“Nothing, sir.”
“Shit, hold on… I got another call on this stupid thing. It’s Crystal. You aren’t off the hook.” Bruce’s faraway voice grumbled, “Everyone’s callin’ at the same damn time.”
Daniel waited, pacing back and forth across the living room. Why is Vanessa’s mother calling?
“Still there?”
“Yes.”
“Vanny’s with Crystal. In Florida.”
“Florida?”
“You’re lucky she’s all right. At least physically. Or else I’d be heading down there right now. The only social thing about that visit would be my fist introducing itself to that pretty face of yours.”
“Did Crystal say anything else?”
“That our daughter is upset and you are to blame.” Bruce snorted. “She wouldn’t give me any more details.”
“Bruce…”
“I don’t want to hear any excuses. Save that for my daughter. If she even bothers with you.” The call cut off.
Daniel felt so small in that moment. The amount of disappointment spreading throughout the Barnes family threatened to bury him with each passing second.
He dialed Vanessa’s number. Again. He prepared for the inevitable voicemail greeting.
Beep.
“Vanessa, whatever you think you know… it’s not true. I found the photo in the shop. I’m not calling to explain. Because I can’t. Baby, I don’t even remember anything about that. But I think Brian is behind it. Well, was…” He sighed. “I just got a visit from a couple detectives. Brian was found dead in Savannah. They’re looking to ask you some questions. I don’t know why. Let me know you’re all right. Please. I love you. Give me the chance to make this right.”
The hike up the stairs took forever. His eyes took in each wooden step that he had restored over the past year. A grin typically accompanied his walk up them. He would remember the first time he had tasted her on that stairwell. He had caressed and fondled every inch of silky skin presented to him, from her toes to the curves leading to her supple tummy. Now, the memory only made his heart ache.
Daniel tumbled on the half-made bed. He inhaled her scent on the pillow. The weight of his thoughts forced his lids closed. Make it all go away. Bring her back.
The light, airy chime from his phone jerked his head up. Vanessa.
“Hello?” he asked.
Silence.
He tried again. “Baby?”
“Brian’s dead?” Her voice strained with the question. She sounded hoarse, tired.
“Yeah.”
“I-I talked to him yesterday. Jesus, has it only been a day? It feels like I’ve been stuck in this emotional wringer for years. And on top of everything else… now, you leave me a message telling me the police want to talk to me about my dead ex?”
He brushed away the urge to ask her what she had talked to Brian about. “Come home, baby.”
“Home? With you? After what I saw?”
“I saw the photo you left in the shop…”
“Thank God!” Her tone changed in an instant. “I got even more paranoid when I couldn’t find the fifth picture in the envelope. At least it was you that found it and not Charlie.”
&nbs
p; “Wait. There was more than one?”
“Yes.” Vanessa mumbled. “Each one worse than the next.”
“Vanessa, I didn’t do that… not willingly, anyway. You have to believe me.”
“What do you mean?”
“I think I was drugged.”
Silence again.
“I know it sounds crazy. But Brian was crazy. We thought he went away. But he only laid low and found a way to get between us. Come home, baby. Let’s figure this out... together.”
“I don’t have a choice but to come back to Savannah. God only knows what the police think I did.”
“It’s probably routine. Since you were one of the last people to talk to him. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“I’ll leave tonight.” A few seconds passed before she continued. “I want you gone, out of the house. Stay at your place downtown. Wherever. I don’t care.”
His heart dropped. “Baby…”
“Daniel, I swear to God, if you call me baby one more time I’m going to bash my head against a wall. That’s doing absolutely nothing to calm me.”
He swallowed the endearment along with his pride. “I’ll pack a bag and head over there this afternoon.”
“Pack a big one.” She hung up.
*
Nate shoved a drink in front of Daniel, slumped over the bar counter of The Beacon.
“Do you know how many times I’ve kicked Lenny out of the house? You’re lucky she gave you the option of packing a bag instead of tossing all your shit out of the window. Or torching it in a cleansing bonfire.” He wiped a ring of condensation from the bar. “Watching Waiting to Exhale should be required relationship coursework material.”
“It’s not even your house,” Daniel shot back.
Nate waved a hand in the air. “Cut the attempt at logic, Lowe. We’re talking the rollercoaster ride of feelings you committed to when that lap bar locked you into the Mayhem of Marriage.”
“This isn’t me forgetting to take out the garbage.”
Nate bent down and met Daniel at eye level. “Her mind is going high speed, firing off every worst-case scenario right now. I haven’t known her much longer than you, but we both know she takes everything on so the rest of us don’t have to.” He tapped Daniel’s hand. “You want to start on the path of forgiveness?”
Daniel nodded.
“Head over to the free clinic first thing Tuesday morning and get tested for everything under the sun. Pray that it all comes back negative and let her know.”
He couldn’t refute the logic or necessity in Nate’s suggestion. She told me she got tested after she caught Brian cheating. Her brain has gone there and back a million times since she saw that photo. “I will.”
“And you need to call Jack. See what you can find out. I’ll call Robert, my buddy at the station, and see what he can dig up.”
“Thanks.”
“I’m doing it for Vanessa.”
“Got it. I’m still the irresponsible, untrusting male that could never keep his dick in his pants.” He pulled two twenties out of his billfold, slid them toward Nate, and then downed the drink. “Don’t do me any favors.”
“Don’t be like that, Danny.” Nate stiffened his posture.
He rose from the stool and tapped his knuckles twice on the counter. “You have a good rest of the day.” He mustered a smile and left The Beacon Bar.
The bright Sunday sunshine met him when he stepped outside. It contrasted with the gray overcast clouding Daniel’s conscience.
Daniel weaved in and out of the pedestrian traffic along Savannah’s Riverwalk. The rush of alcohol from the drink he’d finished only minutes ago crashed into him. He stumbled and almost slammed into a family of four admiring the riverboat chugging along the Savannah. How many did I have?
He needed to do something to occupy himself. The urge to rush back to the home he shared with Vanessa overwhelmed him. But where could he go? Savannah is only so big. The fact that every one of his usual haunts held the possibility of running into his wife stirred up unease in his stomach. Can’t even see her. The reality that she didn’t want to be in the same room with him caused him to cringe in the sunlight. He flicked open his sunglasses and slid them on.
Only a matter of time before everyone knows. Nate’s inclination to gossip could not be curbed, even if Vanessa was a part of the tale. And when Monica finds out, I’ll have to move. Daniel shuddered and released a sigh.
Daniel turned the corner, up the cobblestone-lined street toward Factor’s Row, with hesitation. Another turn had him in the dark alleyway below the walk. He didn’t take this way to Dan’s Details often. The wrought iron stairwell rattled under his feet. He climbed up and emerged five shops down the concourse from his sanctuary.
His stare shot to Vanessa’s favorite parking spot in the lot. There was no sign of her truck. The large pedestal clock in the middle of the square signaled it would be four soon. With Charlie in charge of the shop, he knew the lock had clicked closed right at three thirty. A quick run in to check on things. Something normal.
The routine inspection of inventory on the shelves, straightening items, and reviewing the daily register’s take did little to calm his thoughts. He wandered into the workshop and rearranged some tools.
Need to call Jack. Daniel couldn’t bring himself to explain what had transpired to another person. Not yet. When I get back to my studio…
The shrill ring of the corded shop phone ricocheted off the room walls. A familiar name appeared on the Caller ID screen. Mabel Fitz-Davis, the trophy wife who had propositioned Daniel on countless occasions, waited on the other end of the line.
Just what I need right now. Daniel inhaled and picked the phone up from the cradle. If I don’t answer, she’ll call my cell. “Dan’s Details.”
“Hello, Danny. What a pleasant surprise, hearing your voice.”
“Well, you did call my shop, Mabel.”
“But it’s well past quitting time. I would have thought you’d be home, relaxing with Vanessa.”
Hearing Mabel mention Vanessa’s name stabbed at his heart. He swallowed hard. “Wrapping up a few things here. What can I do for you?”
“I was just callin’ to make sure all was in order for the first week of reshoots at the beach house. We’ve been very accommodating with our schedule. I’ve been getting so many disappointed calls from friends and family. They are positively devastated that we won’t be havin’ our annual party to kick off the summer for Memorial Day.”
Lowe Maintenance had worked on Mabel Fitz-Davis’ home for the second season slate earlier this year, when Jessica had been ushered in as part of the cast by Ned. In the process, Jack Grantham had dug up the blackmailing of both Ned and Jessica. The series halted under the crumbling pressure and forced concessions. Everything had been up in the air until the plan to bring Marly back front and center with Daniel solidified.
The repairs on the Fitz-Davis’ beachfront property had only been partially completed during the scrapped production. Much was teetering on Jack’s ability to finesse the situation and smooth things over. They would be working with a skeleton crew. Marly and Daniel agreed to be paid at scale to finish under budget. A lot was riding on making Mabel happy. And unfortunately, Daniel seemed to be one thing that made Mabel breathless and ecstatic.
Why the hell isn’t she bothering Jack with this? “I’m so sorry to hear you’re having to go through all of that, Mabel. You know we truly appreciate the sacrifice you’re making for us. We’ve got repairs and renovations stacked one after the other. Full speed ahead starting on Wednesday. There won’t be one second wasted by the crew. You’ll have your home ready for entertaining a week before the Fourth of July. Jack guaranteed it.”
She sighed. Daniel thought he heard the hint of a growl. “Hearing it from you sets my mind at ease. I’ll be by bright and early on Wednesday before my tennis lesson.”
Of course you will. “See you then.” He hung up before she could add any innuendos.
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His cell phone buzzed on the workbench. Do you have any contact info on the police that came by?
He lunged for the phone. Once it was in his grasp, he forgot how to type. What do I say to not scare her off?
Business cards are on the telephone table.
A few seconds passed. Got them.
You home?
Yes.
He clicked his teeth together and steeled his jaw. I’m glad.
I won’t be by the shop this week. Probably not next week, either.
Shit. All right.
I can take care of payroll from here. Can you manage writing the checks?
Easier than trying to get the printer to work. Yeah, I can manage.
The accounting program login is on a stickie in the desk drawer. If you can’t find it, ask Charlie.
All right, baby. He deleted the last word before sending out the text. All right.
I saw Jack and Marly when I got home… You haven’t told them what happened?
No.
Don’t saddle me with that, too. I’m not going to pretend things are fine. They deserve to know that you’re the reason I don’t want to be bothered with anyone right now.
I’m sorry. I’ll call Jack when I get to the studio.
Fine.
Can we talk at some point this week? Daniel’s question hung on the screen for some time, waiting for an answer.
No.
*
Vanessa chewed on her bottom lip. Various classes of people paraded past the plastic chair where she sat in the police station’s reception area. Uniformed officers manned the welcome desk. The occasional officer or detective entered through the side door with a perp in custody.
A bald-headed black man in a suit approached her. “Ms. Barnes?”
“That’s me.” She rose.
“Detective Langlon.” He offered a hand. “Thanks for coming in after we spoke on the phone.”
“No problem. I’d rather get this over with as soon as possible.”
“Of course. I’ve got a room ready for us to talk.” He swiped a key card against a reader, and a door swung open. “All the way down the hall and to your right.” He stepped aside and allowed Vanessa to enter.
The narrow hallway had a crisscross of doors on both sides. Each door held a glass window with wire mesh. Protection from a disgruntled witness or suspect tossing a chair in anger? I’ve watched too many crime shows. A thought popped into her head that made her freeze before she passed the threshold into the room. I’m one of those people right now. Her stomach flipped at the loss of not being able to ask Daniel to accompany her.