"Interviewed, sure," I said. "Grilled, I don't know."

"I am not planning to grill her. I do have ask some questions. No choice. I'll be as gentle as possible."

I managed not to snort. Pepper didn't.

Tierney said, "We don't know where Officer Monahan went after he left the area."

Pepper said, "Have you put an all-points bulletin on his vehicle? Maybe someone carjacked it. That would explain it."

Tierney seemed to have trouble meeting her eyes. "No APB on the car, Pepper. We have that."

I was chewing my lip through all of this. How was Pepper going to react? I reached out and took her hand. I gave it a good squeeze. A "Misfits rule!" kind of squeeze.

Tierney said, "The squad car was still there when we found you. Actually, Charlotte found you and called it in."

Her eyes widened. "Bakker Beach is in the middle of nowhere. Where could he have gone without the squad car?"

"Someone hijacked my car," I said. "I couldn't see who it was."

Tierney glared at me. "We found Charlotte's car abandoned in town. There was trace evidence that indicated Nick had been in it."

Pepper said, "I'm surprised that Nick would even get out of his car at Bakker Beach. It's surrounded by miles of brush land and marshes, too."

"That's why it was such a good make-out spot," I said.

Pepper uttered a strangled laugh. "Exactly."

Tierney said, "This is going to be painful, Pepper, and I'm sorry. But it was as you say a make-out spot. Nick didn't know that you were going to follow him. Is it possible he was . . ." He paused and cleared his throat. "Meeting someone?"

"You mean a woman?"

Connor Tierney wisely made no reference to Nick's hobby of chasing women. "Yes."

"I don't know. Old habits die hard."

I felt Pepper squeeze my hand. A signal not to screw things up. I decided to keep quiet.

Tierney said, "Did you think it was Charlotte?" "What the hell?" I yelped.

"You want to stay here. You have to hear the uncomfortable questions."

"I knew it wasn't Charlotte."

"Okay. Did you have any clue to who it could have been?"

"No. Is that all, Detective? I feel like I've been struck by a train."

"It's not all. Someone at that site hit you very hard. The two prevailing theories are that you stumbled across an assignation and either Nick's lover hit you or Nick did."

"Not Nick."

"Then-?"

"I don't remember! Do you think I wouldn't tell you who hit me if I knew?"

I decided to change the topic. "Why did you go to Bakker Beach, Pepper? Were you following him? Or . . . ?"

She shook her head and flinched."I have no idea."

I hesitated. There was another possibility. What if she had followed him unaware that Nick had been lured by someone who was not expecting her to show up? What if Nick had been murdered before she arrived? It would explain the open door of the patrol car and the fact that Nick couldn't be found, as well as the attack on Pepper, a possible witness. Maybe Nick was lying on the bottom of the Hudson. Perhaps subconsciously Pepper knew that. It didn't explain why there was no extra car. But what if the murderer had been in the car with Nick? Holding him at gunpoint. No way could I give these theories an airing in front of Pepper. Why wouldn't the police have considered this?

I said, soothingly, "Of course, memory loss is to be expected. You were very badly injured and in a locked vehicle. I couldn't even get in to see if you were dead or alive."

"Locked? I must have locked the car." I could tell she was struggling to remember what happened. "But why would I lock it after someone hit me?"

Tierney said, gently this time, "I'm hoping you can tell me."

"I don't know."

"Was it Nick?" There was the question, slippery as a snake. Oh, Tierney, shame on you.

"No."

"Who then?"

"Listen to me. I do not know. But it couldn't have been Nick. He's never raised a hand to me. Ever."

I stared at Tierney. I wished I shared Pepper's absolute certainty that Nick hadn't hit her or worse, tried to kill her.

"I'll have to check in again. I hope your memory will start to come back."

"What did the doctor say?" Pepper asked.

"Maybe, but don't count on it."

"And in the meantime what are you doing to try to find Nick?"

"Ground searches of the area. We've had the choppers out. We have an all-points bulletin out for him."

"You're assuming he's hiding. But what if he's injured? Or worse?" The panic in Pepper's voice was unavoidable.

Tierney said, "I'll be back. And, um, by the way, you won't need Charlotte as your stand-in relative much longer. Your parents are coming to take care of the baby."

"What?"

"They're on their way from Florida."

"Who contacted them?"

Tierney blinked. "I don't know."

"Must have been one of Dad's old buddies from the department," Pepper said. "I suppose it could have been anyone."

This time he shrugged. "They're coming. I thought you'd be happy."

He wouldn't have thought that if he'd known how Pepper grew up, but as we liked to point out, he was new in town.

"Well, they're not getting my son. I can tell you that."

"You are going to need help."

"Listen, Detective. You don't get a vote in my son's well-being. Charlotte, I want Margaret in here right away. I want to make sure that Little Nick is taken care of if something happens to me." She inhaled. "Or to his father. I want that in writing and I want it now. I need to have someone reach them and tell them not to bother. And I don't want them in this room, either."

Tierney practically needed to pick his jaw up off the floor.

She said, "Talk to the chief, Connor. Tell him I said that, and make sure they don't show up here. I mean it."

I let go of her hand and headed for the door. "I'll call Margaret right now. I know she's already been talking to Jack. I think there's a plan to give Sally and Benjamin temporary guardianship. But now that you're conscious again, you can make that decision. It will be better."

Tierney gave me a tight nod and passed me, heading down the corridor, keys jingling. I hurried after him. "I'm sorry things are working out this way, Connor."

"Working out this way? You mean you doing whatever you can to make this more difficult than it already is?"

"Pepper wanted me to support her. We go back a long way."

"And half the time you've been at each other's throats."

"Well, not this time."

"What's that about her parents?"

"Long story. Miserable childhood."

"Can I have more detail?"

"You'll have to ask her. It's not my story to tell. But you know Pepper. She means it."

"I do know Detective Monahan. It doesn't take twenty years to pick up on what kind of person she is. There's a very good chance that Nick Monahan tried to kill his wife on that beach. Got that?"

I rambled off my theory that Nick might have been killed and the killer interrupted by Pepper.

"Contain your imagination, Charlotte. And don't do anything else to make this situation more difficult than it is." He strode off, keys jingling even louder, back ramrod straight. I stood there to catch my breath. Officer DeJong watched, mouth open. I might find it harder to trick him the next time.

I walked back to Pepper's room.

"Is he gone?" she asked as I stepped inside.

"Yes."

"Are you sure?"

"He went . . . I'll double-check." I stuck my head out the door and glanced down the corridor. I could see Detective Tierney turn the corner to the elevator bay.

"He's gone," I said.

"Good. Now here's what I want. Don't argue. Don't do anything but listen."

"Okay."

"Nick's in big trouble. I can tell."

"I'm sure-"

"Don't interrupt, particularly don't interrupt to lie. He's in trouble, and he's not smart enough to get out of it on his own."

I kept my mouth shut.

"They think he did this. I can tell. I know our techniques. And they'll find him. He's not bright enough to stay hidden, and he'll do something impulsive or idiotic. He'll be killed, if he's not dead already. So, Charlotte . . ."

"Yes."

"I need you to find him before they do."

17.

Play classic rock when you are cleaning out your closet! The catchy tunes will help keep you energized, positive, and moving fast!

The problem was, I agreed with Pepper. Nick was quite likely to do something that would make things worse.

I tried calling Tierney without success. I had decided to push my idea that someone might have taken Nick. Of course, that didn't quite match up with Pepper's fear that Nick would do something stupid, even if he wasn't guilty of anything. Tierney was a pro. He could decide which theory made sense, once I had a chance to explain my views to him.

I was chewing my lower lip as I crossed the Woodbridge General parking lot. Still, I thought, I had found Pepper at Bakker Beach. The police hadn't. That was because I knew Nick and had a pretty good idea of how he'd behave. There was no point in trying to figure out in which instances he was using logic. That didn't help much with Nick.

I sat in my rented Matrix and thought hard. What did I associate with Nick the Stick Monahan? Okay. Women, beer, cars, trucks, and bad decisions came to mind. Make-out spots, too.

I wasn't likely to figure out what women he might be ogling, as it could be fifty percent of the population. He wouldn't hide out in a bar or a roadhouse. But cars and trucks. Now, that was a possibility. I drove by the house on Old Pine Street and up to the garage. Nick's prized 'Stang was parked inside. As was his shiny black truck. Naturally, the cops would have checked those out. Those license plate numbers would be flagged in the system.

Nick had the best security you could buy for that garage. I wasn't sure if he had video surveillance for his home, wife, and baby, but I knew he had cameras trained on those vehicles. The cameras would capture anyone approaching the garage, but the recording device would be in the house. There might be other information in the house, too. Maybe I could uncover something Nick had left, a clue to his whereabouts or what had frightened him. Maybe even footage of Nick sneaking home. The house, naturally, would be locked.

Just in case, I tried the door.

Good deadbolts front and back. A security system that would require a code. No way was I getting into the Monahans' house or garage.