Where the Guilty Hide


 
 
 
 
 WHERE THE GUILTY HIDE
 
 
 
 ANNETTE DASHOFY
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 One More Chapter
 a division of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd
 1 London Bridge Street
 London SE1 9GF
 www.harpercollins.co.uk
 
 
 
 First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2023
 
 
 
 Copyright © Annette Dashofy 2023
 
 
 
 Cover design by Lucy Bennett © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2023
 Cover photograph © Shutterstock.com
 
 
 
 Annette Dashofy asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work
 
 
 
 A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library
 
 
 
 This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
 
 
 
 All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.
 
 
 
 Source ISBN: 9780008556242
 Ebook Edition © January 2023 ISBN: 9780008556235
 Version: 2022-11-17
 
 
 
 
 
 
 To Ray with love. Always.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Contents
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Chapter 1
 
 
 Chapter 2
 
 
 Chapter 3
 
 
 Chapter 4
 
 
 Chapter 5
 
 
 Chapter 6
 
 
 Chapter 7
 
 
 Chapter 8
 
 
 Chapter 9
 
 
 Chapter 10
 
 
 Chapter 11
 
 
 Chapter 12
 
 
 Chapter 13
 
 
 Chapter 14
 
 
 Chapter 15
 
 
 Chapter 16
 
 
 Chapter 17
 
 
 Chapter 18
 
 
 Chapter 19
 
 
 Chapter 20
 
 
 Chapter 21
 
 
 Chapter 22
 
 
 Chapter 23
 
 
 Chapter 24
 
 
 Chapter 25
 
 
 Chapter 26
 
 
 Chapter 27
 
 
 Chapter 28
 
 
 Chapter 29
 
 
 Chapter 30
 
 
 Chapter 31
 
 
 Chapter 32
 
 
 Chapter 33
 
 
 Chapter 34
 
 
 
 
 Acknowledgments
 
 
 Thank you for reading…
 
 
 About the Author
 
 
 Also by Annette Dashofy
 
 
 One More Chapter...
 
 
 About the Publisher
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Chapter One
 
 
 
 
 
 Although Detective Matthias Honeywell had seen more egregious crimes in his years with the Major Crime Unit and as a patrolman, home invasions always ripped open an old wound that never quite healed.
 And now they’d had two in one week.
 Matthias and his partner, Detective Cassie Malone, stood shoulder to shoulder at the end of the driveway, studying the South Shore Drive residence. A quartet of Erie City Police units lined the road. Two uniformed officers stood on the street, directing what little traffic there was away from the crime scene. The absence of an EmergyCare truck indicated a lack of injuries. Or worse.
 “The family has good taste,” Cassie mused.
 “Expensive taste.” The white English Tudor with vivid red awnings was smaller by half than the mansion they’d responded to three days ago, but Matthias suspected it was worth nearly twice as much. Property like this, backing onto Lake Erie, came at a premium.
 “If you’re going to hit a place in the middle of the afternoon, I suppose you need to make it worth the risk.” Her gaze shifted to him and grew concerned. “You okay?” With her short-cropped gray hair and dark skin, Cassie was part mother hen, part Amazon warrior queen. “You’ve got that look.”
 According to her, he always had that look. It kept people from asking him stupid questions. Cassie, however, had long been immune. “I’m peachy.” He made no attempt to cover the sarcasm. “Let’s do this.”
 “Fine by me.” She started across the pristine lawn toward the open garage door where three officers spoke with a woman, mid-forties, who held both fists clenched, shaking. A pair of tearful teens stood at her side.
 “He’s not answering his phone,” the woman said, her voice raw with panic.
 One of the uniforms broke away and approached the detectives.
 “What’s going on?” Cassie asked.
 “Looks like the same crew as the break-in earlier this week. Tied up the family. Except this time, the husband managed to work his hands free when the assailants weren’t paying attention. According to the wife, as soon as they left, he got loose, untied her, and took off after them in the family car. A silver Audi Q5 SUV. He called her right before we arrived, saying he was following them east on West Sixth, trying to get a license number. But she hasn’t heard from him since, and now he’s not answering his phone.” The officer wagged his notebook. “I put out a BOLO on the Audi.”
 “Good. Now we wait,” Matthias said as much to himself as to his partner or the uniform. Patience was not one of his strong suits. “What about the suspect’s vehicle?”
 “Late model white transport van, same as before. I updated the BOLO on it as well.”
 Matthias thanked the uniform, who tipped his head in acknowledgment and strode off.
 “I hope the husband doesn’t try to be a hero,” Cassie said softly as they approached the family.
 Matthias flinched at the word “hero”. Cassie either didn’t notice or decided to give him a pass. “You talk to the first responders,” he said. “I’ll question the wife.”
 Cassie caught his arm, bringing him to a stop. “No way.