As he came flying back down, the doorbell rang. He flung it open. “What?” he bellowed.
“Hello, Mr. Barnham,” Emerson said.
Stryker loved how cool she was in pressure situations. Just another day in the life of Detective Easton.My Detective Easton.
“Now’s not a good time,” he blurted, then, added, “oh, you’ve got the police with you. Perfect. Are you a neighbor? We’ve been robbed. The house is a complete disaster. Was your house hit, too?”
“I’m Detective Easton with Arlington County Police. Can I come in?”
“Yes, yes. I’m concerned my wife might have been taken.”
From where Stryker stood, he had a clear line to Emerson. He loved her confidence and calm demeanor.
“C’mon in, officers,” Barnham said to the two uniformed cops.
“They’ll wait outside while we talk,” Emerson said, closing the front door. “Mrs. Barnham isn’t here.”
“Where is she?”
“We’ll get to that in a minute. Can we sit?”
“My home has been burglarized and my wife is missing. No, we cannot sit.”
“Mr. Barnham, your son, Lyle, is dead.”
Silence.
“I’m sorry, what? Was he killed during the home invasion?”
“There was no home invasion. He was killed when he broke into my home and tried to kill me.”
“What are you talking about?” Stryker couldn’t miss the annoyance in his tone.
“I’d been trying to capture the Wedding Gown Killer. From the evidence we’d collected, your son was that person. He figured out I was close to making an arrest and he tried to kill me.”
The silence hung heavy.
“Hewas the monster terrorizing those women?” Barnham choked out.
“Looks that way.”
“Did you do this to my home?”
“The police conducted a search of the compound for evidence.”
“Where the hell is my wife!” Barnham hollered.
Stryker shook his head in disgust.Still yelling.
“She refused to let us conduct the search and she assaulted me, so she’s being held at the Detention Center.”
“I’ve got to get her out of there,” Barnham said. “You’ll be hearing from my attorney.”
“You’re not going anywhere.” Emerson’s brusque tone caught his ear. “I have something you need to hear.”
Walking with purpose, Emerson headed for the kitchen. Barnham followed. A chair was dragged over the tile. “Sit,” she bit out.
In stealth mode, Stryker moved closer, so he could see Barnham. Emerson sat across from him at the kitchen table. After pulling on latex gloves, Emerson pressed “play” on the cassette tape.
