Page 98 of Trap ’N’ Trace

“As I said, he’s at work.” Carolyn frowned, and Dayne worried how far they could take their subterfuge before she caught on and kicked them out. “He doesn’t like me disturbing him at the office.”

“It’s important,” Dayne added. “Anything you can do to help us facilitate things would be greatly appreciated.”

Again, she fingered her cross. “Well, all right.” She rose and went into the kitchen.

He and Paulson followed her to listen in. She removed a remote phone from a receiver on the kitchen wall, pushed a button then held the phone to her ear. While they waited, Dayne studied the wedding photo on the wall outside the kitchen.

“What are you thinking?” Paulson whispered.

“If this is Christian Mauser—and I think it is—he lied to the DMV. He could have lost weight, but he can’t change his real eye color.”

“He’s not at his desk phone,” Carolyn called out. “I’ll try his cell.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Mauser,” Dayne replied, then lowered his voice. “It’s still not enough.”

“I agree.” Paulson nodded then tucked his pad and pen into his jacket pocket. “We need more.”

“He what?” Carolyn’s voice rose. “That isn’t possible. I saw him leave for work every day.” Dayne and Paulson joined her in the kitchen, taking in her stricken expression. “Thank you, Adam.” She returned the phone to its cradle. For a moment, she didn’t say anything but remained staring at the wall. Finally, she turned. “I couldn’t reach him, not at the office or on his cell phone, so I called Adam. He and Christian share an office. Adam said Christian has been calling in sick every day for the last week. He hasn’t been to work, day or night.”

“Did he come home last night?” Dayne asked.

“Yes.” She nodded, the worry in her eyes deepening.

“Have you seen him tonight?” When she shook her head, warning bells shrilled in his mind. As much as he wanted to cut to the chase, they needed to tread carefully, or they’d lose her cooperation and miss out on getting the evidence they needed. “When was the last time you saw him?”

“This morning. At breakfast.”

Gently, he urged her into the hallway outside the kitchen. “Is this your husband?” He pointed to the wedding photo. “He looks very different from his driver license photo.”

She touched the frame. “He’s lost over a hundred pounds since we were married.”

“DMV records indicate he has brown eyes.” Dayne pointed. “In this photo, his eyes are blue.”

“He wears brown contact lenses. He has an acute sensitivity to light.” Her lips twisted, and her expression turned to one of confusion. “I didn’t know he told the DMV he had brown eyes. He probably did that because he always wears his contacts.”

“I’m sure that’s true.” And to hide his identity. “Where are you from, Mrs. Mauser?”

“Minnesota.” The skin over the bridge of her nose wrinkled. “Why?”

“Where is your husband from?”

“Minnesota. That’s where we met.”

“Did he ever go by any other name?”

“No! What is going on here?” She looked from him to Paulson, her eyes narrowing. “What are you not telling me?”

He and Paulson exchanged looks, one that said they were running out of excuses. And running out of time. Christian Mauser was on the loose and no one knew where he was.

Time for the Hail Mary.

“Mrs. Mauser, what I’m about to say may come as a shock. Trust me, we wouldn’t say it if we didn’t think it were true.”

“Oh god.” She slid the gold cross back and forth along the chain. “Please, just tell me. Is he dead?”

“No.” He shook his head. “But we need your help and we need it fast. We believe that your husband may not be who he says he is.”

Her jaw dropped. “What do you mean?”