Read Online The Devil's Closet by Stacy Dittrich - Free Book Online Page A

captain, remember?”
    “I’m reminded every day,” I said with my low, dry sarcasm.
    “Melissa Brewer waited an hour before she called us,” she said, ignoring my last remark. “She thought she was overreacting and being paranoid.”
    I relayed this information to Michael.
    “She did what? What the hell is wrong with that woman?” Michael was taken aback.
    Turning onto the Brewers’ street, we saw Kincaid’s SUV parked in their driveway. I was hoping to beat her there because, knowing Naomi, she probably started questioning Austin Brewer already, scaring him to death in the process. Coop pulled in behind us and as we started toward the front door, I heard a man yelling. Dr. Parker was standing in his front yard, waving for one of us to come and talk to him.
    “I’ll take care of him. You guys go ahead,” Coop said, walking toward the doctor. Melissa Brewer was already waiting at the front door. When I walked into the living room, Kincaid was sitting on the couch with Austin. I hated being right. She was talking to him like he was a nine-month-old baby; directly in his face and loudly, like a toddler herself. Austin looked trapped and horrified until he saw me. He leaped off the couch and ran straight to me with his arms wide open. Being the wide receiver, I caught him immediately.
    “Hey! Poweece lady! I almost catched the bad guy today!” Austin grabbed tightly around my leg, his chubby face gazing up at me eager to please.
    “I heard, Austin! You did a very good job. You’re going to get a special badge for the job you did today. You’ll have to tell me all about it and how smart you were!”
    “I will! I will!” he yelled. Then his voice dropped to a whisper and he pulled my shirt so I would bend down to him. “I don’t like that other lady. She thinks I’m a baby and not a big boy with a badge!”
    Austin’s whisper was a small yell, loud enough for the entire room to hear, Kincaid included. Kincaid, red faced and going through her hourly ritual of being a world-class dumbass, walked toward the door.
    “CeeCee, just fill me in on what he says. I’ll be driving around the area looking for anything suspicious. Just call my cell.”
    “Okay, Cap.”
    I looked back down at Austin, who was now eyeing Michael with an air of suspicion. Throw a cap on his head and a pipe in his mouth, and Austin could be a regular junior Sherlock Holmes. Michael had remained quiet, though not resisting a smirk at Kincaid’s ignorance and lack of finesse.
    Melissa Brewer nervously asked if we would like anything to drink. She seemed as uneasy now as when I’d first interviewed her about Hanna Parker. I told Michael and Austin to get to know each other better while I talked to Melissa in the kitchen—where I let her have it with both barrels.
    “You better have one hell of an explanation for why you waited one hour to call the police after someone just tried to kidnap your son.”
    She looked terrified and immediately started bawling, holding on to the countertop for support. I felt for her, but not all that much. Her passive responses to the last several incidents still had me steaming. The thought that we might have actually been able to catch the man who killed Hanna Parker infuriated me even more. I didn’t want to hear sobs and cries; I wanted an explanation.
    “You might as well get it out now, Melissa. Quite frankly, you could be facing felony charges, as well as an investigation by children’s services.”
    “I-I know! I’m sorry!”
    Austin led Michael into the kitchen. Upon seeing his mother a basket case, the child began crying and ran over to her. The hysteria was spreading and getting louder. Trying not to add to the confusion, Michael gave me a questioning look and I promptly waved my hand, sign language for don’t worry about it. It would be useless to talk to Austin now that he was a blubbering mess. I signaled to Melissa that I needed to talk to Austin and would be out in the living room