BEVERLY BARTON - Dangerous Deception

Lausanne stared at Mr. Bedell, surprised by his attitude, but thankful that he was at least giving her the benefit of the doubt.

Lieutenant Desmond nodded. “Mr. Bedell is right. We have no hard evidence against Ms. Raney, no proof she’s done anything illegal. And no witnesses to any crime.”

“Are you saying you can’t arrest this woman?” Grayson asked.

“Yes, sir, that’s exactly what I’m saying.” Desmond walked over to Lausanne. “Just because I can’t arrest you doesn’t mean I believe your story. Until Ms. Perkins is found and can corroborate what you’ve told us, you will remain a person of interest to the Chattanooga PD. Do you understand?”

“Yes, I understand.” Lausanne understood all too well. Once the police ran a check on her and discovered that she had served five years in the TPFW, she would become their number one suspect if anything had happened to Audrey Perkins. And she had a really bad feeling in her gut that if Audrey wasn’t already dead, she was in grave danger.

“I’d appreciate it if you’d cooperate by allowing me to ask you a few questions in private,” Desmond said. “Of course, you have every right to call a lawyer—”

“I don’t need a lawyer, do I?”

“No, ma’am,” Lt. Desmond replied. “Not at this time.”

“I’m willing to cooperate…up to a point.”

“Then why don’t we step outside in the hall for a couple of minutes.”

All eyes were on the two of them as Desmond and she exited the room. She caught a glimpse of Dom in her peripheral vision and wondered if his strained expression was concern or condemnation.

Once Lt. Desmond closed the door behind them, he led her a good eight feet down the hall, then paused and confronted her.

“When Dom Shea called me in on this case, he gave me your name and I ran a preliminary check on you and found out that—”

Lausanne finished the sentence. “I served five years in the Tennessee Prison for Women in Nashville.”

“The reason I didn’t mention this in front of the others is because I didn’t figure that bit of information was anyone’s business. At least not at this point in my investigation.”

Lausanne met the detective’s gaze head-on, trying to figure out if he was on the level or if he was playing her. “Thanks. I guess.”

“If you had anything to do with Audrey Perkins’s disappearance, now would be a good time to tell me. Cooperate and I’ll do what I can to help you.”

“I’ve had all the help I want from men and that includes policemen. But I’ll tell you again, I have no idea where Audrey Perkins is. And keep in mind one thing—you don’t know that anything has happened to her. Not yet.”

“What do you mean not yet?”

“Didn’t Mr. Shea tell you that somebody attacked me in my hotel room in Palm Beach?” She glared at Lt. Desmond. “Somebody who thought I was Audrey tried to slit my throat.”

“Yeah, Shea told me. But for all I know, whoever tried to kill you was after you, not Ms. Perkins.”

“Get real, will you. Why would anybody want to kill me? But I’ll bet you could find quite a few people who might want Audrey dead.” Lausanne glanced over her shoulder and nodded toward the closed living room door down the hall. “Starting with some people in that room.”

“What happened to you in Palm Beach could have been an attempted robbery.”

“I don’t think so. This guy could have stolen everything in my suite and been gone before I returned,” Lausanne said. “No, I’m pretty sure he was waiting for me. He intended to kill me.”

Lt. Desmond studied Lausanne for a couple of seconds, then grunted. “Look, I don’t need to tell you not to leave town, do I?”

“The only place I’m going is to my apartment in East Brainerd,” she told him. “Then first thing tomorrow, I’ll be job hunting.” She could live for quite a while on the fifty grand she’d stashed away in the bank, but she didn’t want to waste it on living expenses. So, that meant finding another job ASAP.

“I’ll have Sergeant Swain take you home.”

“I can call a cab.” But before she left, she intended to get her suitcases out of Dom’s car. Audrey Perkins had told her that whatever she bought during her all-expenses-paid vacation, she could keep. She wasn’t about to hand over thousands of dollars in clothes and jewelry and…She’d bought several things that she thought any ten-year-old girl might like. Things she hoped to somehow give her daughter as gifts. But first, she had to find her child.

“Just wait around for a few minutes, okay?” Lt. Desmond told her.

She shrugged.

“After I talk to Mr. Bedell, I’ll probably have a few more questions for you.”

“If you’ve got more questions, I want a lawyer.”

Desmond’s lips curved upward in a tentative smile. “For the sake of argument, let’s say I believe you about Ms. Perkins hiring you and about someone trying to kill you, thinking you were she.”

“What are we doing, playing pretend?”

He chuckled. “From what Dom Shea tells me, you’re quite good at that game.”

Lausanne huffed. “He’s just pissed because I fooled him.” Yeah, and he fooled me, too. I thought he actually liked me and all the while he was just chasing down a runaway heiress.

Desmond took her by the arm and led her farther down the hall. Then he opened the door to the study and gave her a nudge over the threshold. “Wait in here. And don’t even think about leaving without my permission.”

“I REGRET THAT THINGS turned out this way,” Dom Shea said. “I’m sorry that the woman I found in Palm Beach turned out to be an imposter.”

“It’s not your fault,” Edward Bedell said. “Apparently my daughter is determined not to be found. She went to great lengths and some expense to put us off track.”

Cara glowered at her father. “You can’t mean to tell me that you believe that woman’s lies. Something terrible has happened to Audrey and we all know it.”

Edward groaned. “Now, Cara—”

“No, she’s right,” Grayson said. “There’s something all wrong about this. If Audrey wanted to run off with Bobby Jack Cash, she’d have simply run off with him.” Grayson shot Patrice a withering glance. “Even if she was madly in love with the man, she would hardly have given up everything for him. We all know that Audrey could never survive without Edward’s money supporting her.”

“Perhaps they’re right,” Patrice agreed. “Maybe Audrey just wanted to put a good scare into you, make you think she’d left for good, then when she got in touch with you, you’d be so relieved that you’d forgive her and accept Bobby Jack as your new son-in-law.”

“Never!” Edward all but growled the word.

Grayson turned to his father-in-law. “I think we should have Mr. Shea continue his search for Audrey. Now that his first lead unearthed an imposter—”

“I’m not sure what to do, where to go from here,” Edward said. “I’d like to know that Audrey is well and happy, but if she doesn’t want to be found…”

“What if she’s in trouble?” Cara said. “What if Bobby Jack Cash did leave with her? What if he’s keeping her from contacting us?”

“Mr. Shea,” Grayson said. “What do you recommend?”

Yeah, put him on the spot, ask him to make a decision that shouldn’t be his. Apparently everyone in the Bedell family had slightly different opinions of the situation, including their suspicions about Lausanne Raney. Was the woman telling the truth or was she lying? He didn’t have the answer to that question any more than the rest of them did.

Glancing from Grayson to Edward, Dom said, “Mr. Bedell hired Dundee’s, so the call is his. If he wants us to continue the search for Ms. Perkins, we will. If not, then my involvement in this case is over.”