Don't Look for Me(52)

“It wasn’t searched,” Reyes finished her thought.

“You tell me,” Nic said.

“I’d have to check the log of the canvas.”

“Can you run the property, see who owns it? I researched the two companies that had plants here—RC Chemical and later, Ross Pharma. One article said Ross bought the plant owned by RC. It looks like the house is on the same land with their buildings—red brick, black roofs.”

“Town Hall has all the land records. I searched those buildings myself, me and a trooper—the ones that used to be Ross Pharma. We didn’t see a house.”

“And utilities? Can we find out if they’re servicing that house?”

“Yeah—from the companies who run them. Electric, cable. Or they might have satellite or another provider for internet, if they have it. Then there’s heat—natural gas or oil. We get both around here.”

Yes, she thought. That all makes sense. That all seems possible. She finally drew a breath that filled her lungs.

“Can I show you one last thing?” she asked.

“Sure.”

Nic zoomed in on the satellite image of the property on Abel Hill Lane. She’d been staring at it on and off for over an hour, not believing her own eyes.

She pointed at a small object just beyond the house—beneath a tree, but a tree with a missing limb right in the center. From the top, she could see through it to the image hiding beneath the canopy.

“What does that look like to you?”

Reyes squinted, stared. “I have no idea. Maybe a tractor. Piece of farm equipment?”

“Or a pickup truck. Dark color,” Nic said. She let the thought sink in.

Reyes looked closer. “I suppose—can you zoom in more? Maybe get a different angle, or a different shot from another day?”

“This is the only one I could find. But think about it, she was seen getting into a truck—heading into town, not away from town. And now there’s a property that hasn’t been searched…”

“That may not have been searched. We won’t know that until we look at the log.”

Nic’s thoughts were running wild again.

She wanted to tell him about Chief Watkins, about what she’d seen. She didn’t want to drive him away by accusing his boss of something. And what something would that even be?

She couldn’t hold back.

“Did you know Chief Watkins drives a dark gray truck?”

Reyes burst out laughing. “Wait…” He covered his mouth with his hand, stifled the laughter. “You think the chief’s truck is the truck Edith Moore saw?”

“So you do know?”

“Everyone knows. He’s had it for years.”

“And you didn’t say anything?”

Reyes grew defensive. “No, I didn’t. Do you know who else has a truck? Mr. Klinger down on Mulberry Street. Henry Drumming on Maple. Let me think … oh—I know! Mrs. Urbansky! Sweet Orla Urbansky—now, hers is silver, but we already established that Edith Moore couldn’t see a fucking thing because of the storm and is just hoping to cash in when your mother finally decides to come home!”

Nic stared at him now, stunned by the abrupt change. He was just as quick to anger as he was to soften.

“Maybe Mrs. Urbansky helped your mother disappear. Hell, maybe she and the chief are in it together.”

“Okay—I get it,” Nic said. “I didn’t know. That’s all. I saw him here earlier and it just surprised me.”

“Was he with a woman?” Reyes asked.

“How did you know?”

“Jesus, were you watching? I didn’t peg you for that sort of thing.”

Nic felt her cheeks burn. “I wasn’t watching.”

Reyes stared at her, raised an eyebrow.

“Not like that. I saw him walk to the truck and I didn’t know what to do.”

Reyes was now contrite. “I’m sorry. I don’t meant to give you a hard time. Two things—first, the chief has his vices. It’s common knowledge. His wife’s death did a number on him. But second—the chief is also the man who took me in when I needed a change. Saved my life, really. And the things he does for the community—the kids in this town. You have no idea. Since he lost his wife before they could have children, he’s been a man of service. And a man of vice. Every coin has two sides, right?”

Nic ran this information through the other facts she now held back. How he’d helped Daisy Hollander leave town. The contempt Kurt Kent seemed to have for him and Reyes, contempt that Nic had yet to understand but knew was very real. And the tone of his voice when he was done with that prostitute in the parking lot. He’d been cruel and degrading, practically shoving her out the door.

“I didn’t know,” Nic said.

“It’s all right.”

She thought then about two sides to every coin. About the two sides of her father.

“I need to tell you something.”

Reyes leaned in and listened intently as she told him about her suspicions, the late nights, the car parked downtown and not at the train station.

“I’m sorry about that,” Reyes said. “You think it had something to do with your mother’s disappearance?”

“I don’t know. Except that I all but told her the morning she left. Maybe it pushed her over the edge.”