Page 61 of Her Dying Secret

“Sometimes.”

The awl. It was used in upholstery repair. Woodworking. Things that might be necessary in a store that sold vintage furniture. She looked over at Turner to see if he’d made the connection as well, but he had slipped his phone out from his pocket and was holding it in his lap, looking at something surreptitiously. Was he serious? Dared she hope it was work-related?

“Did you ever see him with Rosie Summers?” asked Josie. She got her phone out and pulled up Rosie’s photo. She turned it toward Deirdre.

A flash of something crossed Deirdre’s face. Resentment, hostility, maybe. Or…was that bitterness? Because she had met Seth first and wanted to bear his children, but he’d rebuffed her and then had a child with another woman? She shook her head. “He’s always alone when he comes to my shop. Like I said, I had no idea that he and this other woman had had a child together.”

“How about April Carlson?” Josie pressed. “You never saw him with her?”

“I told you, he’s always alone, so no.”

“Do you have any idea where he might have kept her? Where he might keep Rosie?”

“I wish I did,” said Deirdre. “No. Seth never stayed in one place very long. If he’s got hideouts, I was never privy to them.”

Dead end after dead end. Turner was still engrossed in whatever was on his phone. His thumbs tapped against the screen.

Josie swiped from Rosie’s school photo to the drawing they’d found at the accident scene. “Does this look like any place that you’ve seen before or are familiar with?”

Deirdre peered at the drawing. Her brow furrowed. She gave a little chuckle. “A place? Detective, that looks more like…an eye to me.”

Josie pocketed her phone. “Does Seth stay with you? At your home, or at your store? Maybe during the winter months?”

Seth’s whereabouts during cold weather had been nagging at Josie’s brain from the beginning.

“My home is connected to the store but no, he doesn’t stay with me. Not anymore. It’s just not a good idea, given our history. Besides, he doesn’t trust…being indoors. He thinks there are cameras hidden to spy on him. I’ve told him thousands of times there aren’t, but he’ll never believe me.”

“How often does he deliver for you?” asked Josie. “Several times a year? Weekly?”

“It’s very sporadic,” Deirdre said. “Some months there are no deliveries and other months there are a half dozen a week. If Seth happens to stop by—I have no way to reach him—then I let him do it.”

Turner nudged Josie with his elbow and whispered, “We got a tip.”

“You let him take one of your trucks, but you have no way to reach him?” Josie said. “How do you know he’ll come back?”

Deirdre laughed. “Because he needs money. I pay for the gas in the truck. I give him cash for…whatever he needs to spend it on. It’s not much, but clearly, he needs it. Listen, I came here today because he’s got my truck. I thought if I gave you the license plate number, maybe you’d be able to find him faster.”

She reached into her purse and pulled out a copy of a registration for a box truck. Pushing it toward Josie, she said, “Unfortunately, it doesn’t have GPS. It’s pretty old. No bells or whistles.”

“This will help,” said Josie. “Ms. Velis, do you know where he lives? Where he stays?”

“I’ve never known,” she sighed. “He always said he just went from campground to campground. If he had some sort of steady work gig, he’d stay with a coworker. That’s what he always told me. But now I know he’s had another woman all these years. Had a baby with her. Maybe that’s where he was when he wasn’t with me. Maybe he’s got some other woman on the hook right now and she’s hiding him.”

There was no mistaking the bitterness in her tone.

Turner looked up from his phone and peered at Deirdre. “You know this guy is a loon. Now you know he kidnapped a couple of women. Stabbed both of them. Killed one of them. In fact, he almost got this one the other night.” He elbowed Josie in the arm.

Deirdre gave her an appraising look. Josie was glad she’d taken the time that morning to use concealer on the bruises dotting her throat.

“Turner,” she said, her tone a warning.

Naturally, he just kept going. “He didn’t even balk at coming after a lady with a gun. Tell me, Deirdre. Aren’t you even a little bit scared of this guy? What happens when he shows back up at your store with the truck, this time knowing he’s wanted for murder and a whole bunch of other bad shit? This guy is seriously off the rails.”

“Detective.” Deirdre unfurled her fingers and placed her palms on the table. “I know how to handle Seth. I’ve had thirty years of practice. If he shows up at the store, I’ll call the police and he won’t have any idea I’ve done it until you’ve arrived.”

FORTY-FOUR

A sheen of sweat formed on Josie’s forehead and upper lip. She didn’t ever remember May being this hot in Denton. It was still early in the day, and they’d be in the sun for at least an hour—more, if this tip that Turner had gotten panned out. She strapped on her bulletproof vest over her Denton PD polo shirt and watched him scroll on his phone like he didn’t have a care in the world. He stood at the edge of the Tranquil Trails driveway where the gravel gave way to the asphalt of Prout Road. He had removed his suit jacket in favor of his own vest, but he was still in long sleeves. How was he not sweating?

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