Snow Creek(12)

I don’t tell them that Ida and Merritt hadn’t submitted the paperwork to support the orphanage. It could mean any number of things, not all nefarious.

Sarah gets up from the table and runs to a room down the hall.

“Go to her,” I tell Joshua. “She’s in shock.”

He does as he’s told. I get up and wander around the living room. I focus my attention on the wall with the photo of the siblings. In line next to it is a nail puncture and the faint rectangular shape of where it appears another picture once hung. Ruth was bothered by the fact that the photo of her sister and brother-in-law was no longer hanging in the living room. I’ll ask about that later. I’ll also ask about the problems Joshua had with his father.

He and Sarah emerge from one of the bedrooms. Her eyes are framed in red, and he has his hand on her back.

“Where are they?” she asks.

“We’ve sent out a bulletin. Nothing has come in so far.”

I direct my gaze first to Joshua, then to Sarah. “I’ll need you—both of you—to come to the sheriff’s office to make a statement that we can add to the Missing Person’s report.”

“Like when?” he says.

“Now would be best.”

He nods and releases his hand from his sister’s back. “Will you be okay here?”

I don’t give her the space to answer. “You both need to come.”

Sarah nods and disappears to retrieve a sweater. Joshua follows her out the door.

“Aren’t you going to lock up?” I ask.

“Nah,” he says. “Nobody but you and Aunt Ruth have been out here in years. Door doesn’t even have a lock.”

I bend to study the doorknob. He’s right. No deadbolt either. It passes through my mind just then that country living is not for me. I like locks. I like people around me. Even when I don’t speak to them. There’s safety in numbers.

They follow my Taurus in a white Chevy Cavalier that had been parked in the barn. I can be a bit of a lead-foot, so I keep my eye on the rearview mirror. I don’t want to lose them. I shouldn’t have worried. Joshua drives like I do, and we get to the office in record time.



I get a couple of Cokes from the vending machine, and we sit in the same interview room as Ruth and I had. I can still smell her. I add to what they already told me, this time digging deeper.

“Did Mom or Dad have any tattoos or distinguishing birthmarks or scars?”

Joshua answers. “Tattoos are not allowed. Dad had a scar through his right eyebrow. It only shows up in the summer when he gets a tan outside working. I’ve never seen my mom naked, so I wouldn’t know.”

Sarah follows up. “Mom didn’t have any scars or anything. She was perfect.”

After gathering more details that would help identify the missing couple, I move on to the biggest question mark in my investigative mind.

“Let’s say they weren’t going to La Paloma,” I say. “Let’s say they were going somewhere else. Can you think of where it might be?”

Joshua answers first, his eyes fixed on mine. “That’s what they told us. Why would they lie?”

“Yeah,” Sarah added. “They would never lie. Our parents are all about the truth. It is the foundation of our faith. We don’t just believe in God’s existence and plan for us, Detective. We know it. Knowing is truth.”

I tell them what I know.

“La Paloma said they hadn’t registered to come. It’s a requirement.”

Joshua pipes up. “They are wrong. They’d planned it for weeks. Mom wouldn’t mess up on something like that.”

I catch the fear in his eyes.

“We double-and triple-checked, Joshua.”

He looks away from me, down at the table. “I don’t understand.”

“None of this makes sense,” Sarah says, this time holding her brother’s hand. “It has to be a mistake.”

“We’ll figure it out,” I tell them. The room feels warm, and I know that the two across from me are upset and confused. “I need to ask you about a few more things. Is that okay?”

Joshua nods. So does his sister.

“These might seem trivial to you, but they could also be important.”

“Okay,” Joshua says.

“Were your folks getting along?”

Sarah answers. “Yes. I mean, they disagreed about things, but they never really fought. Did they, Josh?”

“Maybe some little things now and then bugged them, but not much,” Joshua says.

“What kind of little things?”

“I don’t know. Mom wanted to spend more time with Dad.”

I wonder how that would be possible since they never went anywhere.

“What did he say?”

“That they would go on a trip to Mexico. The orphanage. It was going to be like a second honeymoon,” he says.

“They never really had a first one,” Sarah adds. “There wasn’t a lot of what most people would consider fun in either of their families. That’s why they moved to Washington. Trying to make a better life. A happier one.”

I press her. “Was it happy?”

This time Joshua answers. “I think so. I mean mostly. Maybe not as much after I graduated from high school.”