Deadly Illusions(56)

Pritchard’s eyes brightened. “Emma? My Emma?”

Not your Emma, Finn growled internally. She’s my Emma. “Emma Pritchard is your daughter, is she not?”

“She is,” Pritchard said. “Not that you’d know it now, of course. Once I got arrested she pretended she didn’t know me, that I was some sort of monster. That’s not the girl I raised. I figure the cops got to her and intimidated her. They’re all a bunch of jackasses.”

“She’s never been to visit you?”

“Not once.”

“What about your wife?”

“Ex-wife,” Pritchard stressed. “I have no idea where that bitch is. Good riddance to her.”

“I was under the impression that Mrs. Pritchard just took off one day after your arrest but before you went to trial,” Finn said. “How did you manage to secure a divorce from inside?”

“She sent the paperwork,” Pritchard said. “She agreed to put a hundred bucks in my commissary account if I agreed to sign the papers. It’s not like I wanted to stay married to the bitch. She never did anything for me.”

“And your son? Has he ever visited you?”

“Last time I heard, that little punk was doing a nickel out in Lenox Township,” Pritchard said. “He got low security, the lucky bastard. It’s too bad. I would have liked to spend some quality time with my boy again in here.”

Finn fought the urge to roll his eyes. “And your daughter hasn’t been out here to see you? Not even once.”

“I already told you no.”

“Has she ever written you?”

“No,” Pritchard said, shaking his head. “What is this about?”

“Well, sir, the working theory on the current case is that the man who attacked Ms. Pritchard was one of your victims,” Finn explained.

“Alleged victims,” Pritchard said.

“You’ve been convicted, sir,” Finn said. “There’s nothing alleged about it.”

“Except that I was innocent,” Pritchard countered. “I was railroaded by the cops.”

“I’m sure you were,” Finn said, keeping his voice stiff. “I don’t suppose you can remember if any of your alleged victims also dabbled in chemistry, can you?”

Pritchard balked. “Chemistry? Like mixing chemicals and stuff?”

“That would be chemistry, yes.”

Pritchard was quiet for a moment, thoughtful. “I honestly can’t. What makes you so sure that whoever is attacking Emma has something to do with me?”

“You have another idea?” Finn asked.

“Maybe she just pissed someone off,” Pritchard suggested. “She always was a crafty little minx. She had all the boys in the neighborhood sniffing around after her – and she pulled all their strings whenever she could, like they were marionettes.”

Finn knew that was a lie, but he didn’t reach across the table and punch Pritchard in the mouth for uttering it. That would give him a way.

“So, you think it could have been one of these high-school boys?” Finn asked.

Pritchard shrugged. “Who knows? She’s had a way of affecting men ever since she grew boobs.” He was quiet for a second. “Have you seen her? My Emma, I mean. Have you seen her?”

“We had a brief interview when she retained our services,” Finn lied.

“How does she look?”

“She looked healthy, sir.”

“That’s not what I mean,” Pritchard scoffed. “I mean, how does she look? Is she still hot?”

Finn’s skin started to crawl. “She’s an attractive woman, sir.”

Pritchard’s eyebrows ratcheted up. “Attractive? Son, that girl is pure sexual nirvana. If you haven’t had a chance to see her naked, I totally suggest you give her a shot. You’ll never see a better set of boobs in your life. I can guarantee you that. They’re all natural, too, you can give them a hard squeeze and there’s no silicone in there fighting you.”

Finn’s blood ran cold.

“She’ll put up a fight at first,” Pritchard continued. “She always acted like she didn’t want it. After a few minutes, though, she’ll stop fighting you and just lay there. You can pretty much get her to do anything you want when she gives up. That’s how I liked her – dead inside.”

Finn was going to be sick.

“Make sure you give her hair a good yank,” Prichard added. “If you hurt her enough, she’ll cry. It’s a lot more fun when she cries. It’s even better if you can get her to scream. She’s got quite the set of lungs on her”

Finn’s hands were clenched at his sides, and it was taking everything he had not to beat Pritchard to within an inch of his life. “I thought all of your victims were males.”