The Trapped Girl (Tracy Crosswhite #4)(50)

“Then I’d also like to talk to the aunt,” Kins said. “Being dead has to get lonely, and it sounds like she was her only family.”



Tracy called Stan Fields on the drive back to Police Headquarters to discuss Devin Chambers. She put him on speakerphone.

“Did you know she’s left town?” Tracy asked.

“No, but no crime in that. Why, you think they could have been dykes or something?”

Tracy rolled her eyes while Kins stifled a laugh. “No, but it’s possible if Andrea confided in her that they remained in touch.”

“She told me she didn’t know much of anything.”

“Did you ever come across any evidence the husband was having another affair?”

“The employer mentioned that. She said the wife was convinced he was cheating on her, but she didn’t have any details. I spoke to the associate at the law firm he’d been hammering and it wasn’t her; she said the first time had been a mistake, that she didn’t know he’d gotten married, and she was married and had moved on. Hadn’t seen or talked to him in months.”

“Okay, so you haven’t followed up with Devin Chambers?”

“Like I said, I had no reason to. She had receipts indicating she was out of town when they climbed. You have something different?”

“I don’t know,” Tracy said.

“It’s your rodeo, Detective. Have at her if you think there’s something there.”

Tracy hung up. “I really don’t like that guy.”

“He’s a cowboy,” Kins said, smiling.

“He’s a jackass.” Tracy let a few miles pass, thinking again of Brenda Berg and her baby. Kins had three boys. “You glad you had kids, Kins?”

Kins looked over at her. “It got to you, didn’t it? I figured it did.”

“What?” she said, sounding defensive.

“Berg and you are about the same age and have a lot of similarities.”

“We don’t have that many similarities.”

“Oh no?”

“So are you glad?” she asked.

Kins gave it some thought. “Not when they crash the car, or tell me the night before that they have a report due.” He smiled. “But the other ninety-nine percent of the time? Yeah. I’m glad. Does Dan want to have kids?”

“I’m forty-three,” she said, wondering if she’d waited beyond her window.

“I know a woman who was forty-two when she had her first. She has two now.”

“They’re healthy?”

“From what I know. Have you talked to Dan about it?”

“Yeah, a little bit. But a part of me wonders if his willingness is just because I’m asking. Neither of us is young.”

Kins frowned. “People make a big deal about having kids when they’re young. Let me tell you, that’s not always a good thing. I have a lot more patience now than I did when I was twenty-five, and patience is a big part of being a parent.”

“I used to think I’d have kids in my twenties. Now I look back and think I was still a kid in my twenties. At least until my sister died. Things changed after that. It wouldn’t have been fair to have kids then. I was too busy trying to find out what had happened to her.” She looked at Kins, who, other than Dan, was her closest friend. “So you don’t think I’d be too old, huh? You don’t think I’d show up at grammar school and have people thinking I was the grandma?”

“So what if they did?”

“I’d be over sixty before he or she turned twenty.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not looking forward to having an empty nest in my midforties either. I don’t know what the hell Shanna and I are going to do. My kids are the best part of my life.”

“I hope you didn’t tell Shanna that.”

“Hey, I’m old. I’m not stupid. Okay, here’s what I think—call it Kins 101. When we didn’t have kids, we adapted, right? When we had kids, we adapted. When the kids are grown and out of the house, we’ll adapt again. Age doesn’t play into any of that. If you love Dan, and you want kids, I say go for it. You’d be better parents than ninety-nine percent of the knuckleheads out there.”

Tracy smiled.

“Grandma,” Kins said.

“You’re such an ass,” Tracy said, laughing.



Tracy watched Faz spike his fork in the Tupperware bowl on his desk and struggle out of his desk chair as soon as he spotted her and Kins returning. Ordinarily, Faz was like a dog with a bone when it came to Vera’s leftovers. He did not forsake them without good reason. It meant he had something of interest to tell them.

“You speak to the bank?” she said over the sound of indeterminable voices from the other three bull pens. She set her purse on her chair, smelling the garlic from Vera’s cooking, knowing the smell would linger all day.

“Lynn Hoff told the branch manager she worked for an outdoor apparel company and would be making regular cash deposits,” Faz said. “She also opened a personal account and deposited over $500,000. Said it was an injury settlement. For the next several weeks she made daily deposits into and withdrawals out of the business account that correspond with the withdrawals from her personal account.”