Never Tell (Detective D.D. Warren #10)(91)

“So if Conrad was still investigating his parents’ deaths, he was doing it on his own?” D.D. frowned. “But how did that bring him to a bar with Jacob Ness?”

“Second case of note.” Carol spoke up.

“Two missing persons cases. Both female, white. One eighteen, in Florida visiting friends when she never made it home from the local bar. That girl, Tina Maracle, liked to party, so some debate whether she was truly missing or had just chosen to move on. Maracle had family in Georgia, however, and none of them had heard from her. While they may not have been the closest family in the world, three months without contact was unusual and they firmly believed something bad had happened.”

“And the second girl?” D.D. asked because this was interesting. Keith Edgar might have been on to something yesterday when he’d asked if Conrad’s father had crossed paths with Jacob Ness. As Flora had pointed out, just because Ness hadn’t made the FBI’s radar screen didn’t mean he was on good behavior. He probably had been actively abducting and raping young women. As someone who grew up in Florida, he would’ve been familiar with Jacksonville, and many predators started out close to home, before venturing farther afield.

“Second missing woman is Sandi Clipfell, age nineteen, who waitressed at McGoo’s Tavern. Her shift ended at two A.M. Her habit was to walk home to her apartment just down the road. But that night, she never made it. According to her roommates, she was the steady type. Didn’t necessarily love being a waitress but was saving up her money to go to school to become a dental hygienist. Sandi Clipfell didn’t have local family but had worked at McGoo’s for an entire year. Always on time, very reliable. She’d recently broken up with a short-term boyfriend but didn’t sound like there was much drama there, plus he had an alibi for the night in question. He also said she wasn’t the type to simply cut and run. If she’d tired of her job, she would’ve given notice and settled up with her roommates before moving on.”

“Any leads?” D.D. asked.

“At the time, Detective Conner was investigating regulars at both bars—looking for overlap between people who frequented McGoo’s, where Sandi worked, and guys at the White Dog Tavern, where Tina Maracle was last seen. Detective Ange has continued to work the case since, and finally got a hit: A registered sex offender was in McGoo’s the night Sandi disappeared, by the name of Mitchell Paulson. When Ange went to bring him in for questioning, however, the apartment was cleared out, and Paulson long gone. Ange put out an APB, but trail’s been cold ever since.”

“Did Paulson own a vehicle?” D.D. asked.

“A late-model Dodge Ram truck,” Neil answered. “Bit of a beater. Could’ve had damage to the front bumper. No one would notice.”

D.D. frowned. “Does Ange think he’s the one who ran Detective Conner off the road?”

Neil and Carol both shrugged. “According to Detective Ange”—Carol spoke up first—“he’s always suspected the abusive husband, LaPage. The accident seemed low-down and sneaky, exactly the kind of thing LaPage would do, plus, he definitely had a personal grudge against Detective Conner. Then again, something had to spook sex offender Paulson to make him violate his parole and split town. Meaning maybe he caught wind of Conner’s investigation. And maybe that scared him enough to take the extra step of eliminating the detective working the case.”

“Does Paulson have a history of violence?” D.D. asked.

Neil shook his head. “Just a thing for sixteen-year-old girls.”

“The missing women are eighteen and nineteen. That’s not exactly sixteen,” D.D. pointed out.

“Ange doesn’t claim to have all the answers; just a lot of questions, which apparently he shared with Conrad shortly after his parents’ deaths.”

“But he hasn’t been in contact with Conrad in the past few years?” D.D. eyed her detectives. “Do you believe him?”

“Ange claims he wasn’t that close to Conrad,” Carol offered. “There was another detective, Dan Cain, who’d worked with Conrad’s father for years, came over regularly for cookouts, that kind of thing. Ange’s guess is that if Conrad was still in touch with anyone in the department, it would be Cain. He retired shortly after Detective Conner’s death, but he’s still around. Ange will track him down, then get us his contact info.”

D.D. regarded both of her detectives for a moment. “So what do you think?” she asked them.

Neil answered immediately. “I think Conrad was investigating his parents’ death. Meaning he was pursuing an incarcerated criminal with a lot of resources at his disposal, as well as a registered sex offender who may have been involved in the disappearance of two women.”

“Not work for the faint of heart,” D.D. said.

Carol took over. “LaPage, the asshole ex, knew Detective Conrad had a son. Apparently Conrad’s real name was included in newspaper articles covering his parents’ deaths. Given LaPage’s threats against his father …”

“Conrad may have felt he needed to leave the area, even change his name?”

“All the better to protect himself while launching his own inquiry,” Neil commented.

“But he never told his wife?” D.D. asked.

Carol shrugged. “Maybe he thought he was protecting her. According to Ange, LaPage is still working on his release and is still a rich asshole. Let alone, prison isn’t exactly a stopgap. If anything, think of all the violent offenders LaPage has probably met over the past decade and offered money to, if only they’ll do him one little favor upon their release …”