Page 69 of Dangerous Obsession

“What about other cameras in the area?” The senator scanned the street through the front door, then looked back at them. “Everyone has them nowadays.”

“Calliope is out checking now and should be back soon.” His friend and teammate was still beating herself up over losing Barnum.

“Where’s the kid?” Cole asked.

“He’s cuffed and locked in the storeroom.” Last time Viking checked on him, Greg was pouting and muttering threats about getting a lawyer and suing them. “We should probably do something with him.”

“Eddie is on his way back here with Deborah,” Cole said. “We’ll let her deal with her idiot son.”

“What did he tell her to get her here?” After all, what were the chances a single, rich guy from out of town who was looking to buy a second home would want to come to this exact boutique?

“The truth. Well, part of it, anyway.” Cole crossed his arms. “He said he was a PI working undercover. He gave her copies of the court documents, including the evidence photos of what Barnum did to Marigold. She was shocked, to say the least. Eddie didn’t tell her about Shayna. He also opted to leave out the part about us locking her kid in a closet.”

“Marigold showed the photos to me last night.” Viking could’ve easily gotten copies, but he’d felt it was important for her to decide when to share them. “That asshole should be six feet under for what he did to her.”

“Agreed,” Cole said.

“Unfortunately, the judge was constrained by the sentencing guidelines.” Sebastian’s disappointment in the legal system was obvious. “We’re working to change that.”

“Good.” Barnum’s abuse had been horrific, and though Viking was no stranger to the gruesome horrors of what humans could do to each other, it hit differently when the victim was someone you loved.

As he’d flipped through the photos, a thunderous rage had grown and burned in his gut. Viking wanted to hunt Barnum down and kill him. Not from some remote perch, but up close and with his bare hands. He wanted to watch the life slowly disappear from the monster’s eyes.

Marigold had been the one to bring him back from the brink—soothing him, reassuring him that she was okay. They’d made love slowly and with soft words of love spoken in the dark. She’d fallen asleep in his arms, and Viking had remained awake late into the night, watching over her, protecting her.

“I’ll never forget that night.” Sebastian glanced toward the office and kept his voice low. “My daughter fell apart when she saw her best friend lying in the ER. That poor woman was beaten so badly she was barely recognizable.”

Marigold’s success at building a new, independent, and successful life for herself after such a life-shattering event was a testament to her strength, resilience, and courage.

“Barnum told Deborah the photos were doctored by a nurse friend of Marigold’s who worked in the ER at the hospital.” Cole squatted down and examined the floor of the display area.

Most of the items that had been exhibited survived unscathed. Unfortunately, a few others were torn or had blood and muddy boot prints ground into the delicate fabric and couldn’t be saved.

Knowing it might be difficult for Marigold, he’d offered to take care of the mess. But, as usual, she’d thanked him, drew back her shoulders, and faced the task head-on.

“She just took him at his word?” Sebastian scoffed.

“Willful ignorance.” Viking had seen it before. Sometimes peopleneededto believe what they were told, even knowing deep down it was probably untrue.

“You’re probably right. From what we’ve learned, she’s had a pretty rough go of it since her husband took off ten years ago and never looked back. Sammy did some research and found out the asshole is remarried to a younger woman and they have a couple of kids.” Cole glanced up from the floor. “She told Eddie she became suspicious during her most recent visit to the prison. Said she sensed Cliff was hiding something from her and she decided to find out what, and enlisted her daughter’s help.” He explained how Teresa Whitcomb worked as a nurse’s aide at the same hospital Marigold was sent to. “Teresa’s a smart girl, and she jumped at the chance to help, especially since she was worried about her mom being involved with a convict. She did some sleuthing and found the nurse who was on duty that night—the one that took the pictures. When asked about Marigold, the woman told her she’d never met her before and was only working that night because another ER nurse called in sick.”

Viking didn’t know why Deborah’s husband bolted, but it had to have been difficult to raise two kids on her own. And no wonder Greg was such a screwup. To be nine years old and have your dad disappear without so much as a phone call on his birthday had to have been painful.

There was a light tap on the front door, and Calliope stood facing the street, her hand propped on the butt of the pistol at her hip.

Viking let her in, and she got straight to it.

“All but one of the eight businesses on the street have cameras. Word had spread about what happened here, and they were happy to send me the footage from this morning. I forwarded all of it to Sammy. She told me she was able to tap into the CCTV system and tracked Barnum from here to 395. Unfortunately, she lost him in traffic.” She looked toward the back room. “The kid still in the closet?”

Viking nodded.

“You should’ve seen his face when I told him I was a cop.” She snorted. “For some reason, he had a hard time believing me. Even after I showed him my alternate ID.”

“Gee, I can’t imagine why.” Viking grinned. “It wouldn’t have anything at all to do with the fact you look like you’re about nineteen and should be heading to cheerleading practice.”

“Could be.” Her shoulders bobbed up and down. “I’m going to check on Marigold.”

Interpreted to mean, she was going to apologize to heragain.

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