Baz didn’t seem fazed. “He’s right. She didn’t believe me. She treated me like a boyfriend. I think she believed I was.”
“Why would she believe that?” Slade asked.
Baz shrugged. “I don’t know her full diagnosis, but she’s been in and out of mental hospitals since she was a teenager.”
“Schizophrenia,” Luca provided.
“Yes,” Baz agreed. “She made up this grand story about who she was. And maybe sheisthat person sometimes, I don’t know. But she lied to me about everything. Her age, her parents, the pregnancy. Even the sex of the baby. She was clingy and possessive, so I never told her where I lived or worked. I knew if I did, she would show up all the damn time.”
“But you met her in Coyote Ridge,” Reese stated. “So she likely assumed you lived in the area.”
“That’s my assumption, too,” Brantley said. “And it explains why the redhead was asking around.”
“And the redhead? Do we know anything about him?” Atticus asked.
Brantley looked at Luca. “That’s what we need to find out. Who is he? Where did he come from? How does he know Molly?”
“We know he’s been in the area in the past week,” Reese told Luca. “Let’s see if we can catch him on a camera somewhere. I know Mack’s got cameras at the bar. And the Jameson’s have ’em at the General Store. Maybe they’re willin’ to let us review them. Then we can run facial recognition.”
Luca nodded, typing the entire time.
“Slade and Atticus.” Brantley looked at them. “Y’all go to Molly’s apartment. See if she still lives there. If so, do what needs to be done to get inside. Look around. Discreetly.”
They both nodded.
“What about a cell phone?” Luca interrupted, looking at Baz. “If you’ve got the number, I can see if I can track it.”
Baz shook his head. “I don’t. Not anymore. I didn’t keep it.”
Reese continued. “Charlie, when Holly gets here, you two go visit Molly’s parents. Do your best not to alarm them, but let them know we’re lookin’ for her. See if they’ll give you her phone number.”
“Her parents call her Liz,” Baz added.
“Do we have an address?” Charlie asked, looking at Baz.
“I do,” Luca said, and again, all eyes, including Baz’s, shifted to him.
Luca sighed. “Fine. Full disclosure. I ran some background on Molly before you learned the baby wasn’t yours. JJ was upset, and I wanted her to know what she was dealin’ with.”
“JJ told me,” Baz said softly.
“I’ve got a lot of personal details, includin’ her parents’ address and the dates and locations of the facilities she was in and the doctors who were treatin’ her.”
There was a knock on the door. Brantley motioned for Charlie to answer it.
Holly came in. “Darius, Elana, and Becs aren’t far behind,” she told Charlie.
“Evan, you and Jay can go to the hospitals she was at.”
“They aren’t going to give us much, if anything,” Evan noted.
“No, but maybe we can find out who the redhead is,” Reese informed him. “At the very least, see if they’ll tell you whether they believe him or Molly to be violent.”
Baz groaned.
Evan nodded in understanding.
The door opened, and the rest of the team walked in.
