In Her Tracks (Tracy Crosswhite #8)(33)

Tracy checked her watch. If this was roughly the time Cole had run through the park, she, too, would have almost been out of daylight.

They made their way back to Bibby’s house and left business cards and indicated they might have further questions.

“Anytime,” Bibby said. “Old Jackpot and I will be here. Sure hope nothing bad has happened to that little girl.”

In the car, Tracy said, “Let’s call the North Precinct and have them post an officer at the entrance, in case anyone saw us go down there.”

“You thinking what I’m thinking? That Cole’s body might be down there?” Kins asked.

“Unfortunately, I think it’s a good possibility,” Tracy said.

“I’ll get CSI lined up. You call Kaylee?” Kins asked. After years as partners, they often anticipated the other’s thoughts and actions.

“I’m on it.”

“Then let’s talk to the homeowners in the houses across the street from the park’s entrance and those in the houses with backyards that abut the ravine,” Kins said. “Something stinks. Bibby seeing her here but her car being in Ravenna. I got a bad feeling.”

“That makes two of us,” Tracy said.





CHAPTER 16

Tracy and Kins canvassed the homes across the street from the park entrance. Unfortunately, it was not the best time to catch owners at home. People who worked either still remained at work or were stuck in Seattle traffic, and stay-at-home parents likely waited to pick up their children from after-school athletics and other activities.

They moved down the street from one house to the next, noting those in which no one answered so they could have a detective team return the following day. Those homeowners they spoke with either weren’t there Wednesday afternoon, or didn’t recall seeing Cole or her car. No house had a security camera, but some homeowners indicated that neighbors regularly walked, many with dogs. Several mentioned Bibby, but none could be precise about Wednesday afternoon. No one heard anything coming from the park. No shouts or yelling. One resident confirmed what Bibby had said, that the neighbors kept an eye out, and likely would have noted an outsider—or an unfamiliar car. Kins called Detective Sergeant Billy Williams and asked that he have North Precinct officers canvass as many of the homes and businesses in North Park as possible with a photograph of Cole.

On the positive side, Tracy and Kins could now account for Cole’s whereabouts up to approximately 4:45 p.m. Wednesday afternoon, though it didn’t explain how her car ended up at a Ravenna parking lot.

“She got off work at 3:50,” Tracy said as Kins drove along the street and looked for lights in windows. “We know she left work six minutes after changing into her running clothes. She left Bartell’s at 4:19 p.m., and Bibby passed her in the ravine somewhere between 4:30 and 4:45, so it’s unlikely she made any other detours after leaving Bartell’s.”

“I agree.” Kins continued to survey the houses.

“We now know she ran in the park, which means she had no reason to drive to Ravenna, especially if she was in a hurry to get home, shower, change into her costume, and get to the Halloween party, which certainly seemed to be her intent.”

“Seems to have been,” Kins agreed.

“The roommate says she didn’t come home. She didn’t change into her costume. Which makes Bibby the last person to see her before she disappeared.”

“Looks that way,” Kins said. He pulled to a stop at the curb in front of a home with lights on, and they got out.

“So we have a young woman who disappeared seemingly without a trace. We have no witnesses, no evidence yet of a crime, and no body.”

“Yet,” Kins said. “Where are you going with this?”

“I’m just thinking of the two other cases I told you about that Nunzio was investigating.”

“The two missing prostitutes?” Kins asked.

They crossed the street. “They also just disappeared. No witnesses. No evidence of a crime. No bodies. And not far from here.”

“Let’s focus on Cole,” Kins said. “If she leads us in that direction, we can go down that path. Right now, she’s still warm. If we find her, maybe we get lucky and solve the other two, or find out she isn’t related at all.”

Kins noted a camera over the front door, facing the street. “Maybe we get lucky.” He knocked. The woman, midthirties with dark-brown hair, introduced herself as Nancy Maxwell. She said her husband had installed the camera when they moved in, but did not put up a camera at the back of the house that led to the ravine.

Maxwell invited Tracy and Kins inside. Her husband and two sons were at soccer practice. She replayed the video footage on her computer for Wednesday afternoon between 3:30 and 5:30. They did not see a blue Prius pass by the home, or Stephanie Cole, but they did identify a man walking the sidewalk at 4:22 p.m.

“Who’s that?” Tracy asked.

“That’s Evan Sprague.”

“He lives here?”

“The Sprague brothers live two houses down.”

“Does he walk every day at that time?” Kins asked.

“I can’t say every day, not like Bibby, but I’ve seen him out before.”

“Can you speed it up?” They watched the next two hours at high speed. They did not see Evan Sprague return home, and Kins asked Maxwell if she knew why not.