“I do remember you, Gerard. Nice to see you,” I said. He moved closer, and the spotlight illuminated the lower half of his face. He looked pleased to see me.
“I wondered who was driving around town this late in the evening. Usually folks are tucked in by now. I thought it must be you when I didn’t recognize the SUV.” He sauntered closer and offered his hand. I unwrapped my fingers from my gun and shook it. “What’re you doing out here at this time of night?”
“Hannah and I just finished dinner at the diner.” I gave him a warm smile.
“So that’s Hannah with you?”
“Yup.”
“That woman,” he said, shaking his head. “That shelter she’s pulled together is really something, don’t ya think?”
“I do,” I said, intent on keeping my voice light.
“Why are you two out here at the trailer park gate so late?” he asked again.
Everything seemed fine. Gerard seemed fine. Perhaps it was just the darkness, the solitariness of the town at night that made me uneasy. Perhaps my nerves rebelled because of Gerard’s family connections, the rumors of trouble in town, my concern over Delilah’s disappearance, or all I’d heard from Max and Hannah about the troubles in town. Whatever the reason, I was reluctant to tell him where I was going, and made an instant decision not to mention the Heatons. “I heard that someone from your office was talking to my family. I thought I’d see if I could catch up with them at the trailer.”
I wished he’d take his hat off, so I could get a good look at his eyes. He had generous cheeks, a long nose that formed a ball at the end, and thick, meaty hands.
“Yeah, that was what I was going to call you about.” But then instead of talking about Delilah, Gerard said, “I bet this old town seems real different to you. You know, Salt Lake money is flowing in. A group of big-time investors is looking into building a ski run west of town on the mountain. If they go through with it, Alber could be like Vail or Steamboat Springs someday.”
“Big news,” I said. The truth was that I didn’t care. I just wanted to hear what he knew about Delilah. “Were you able to find out—”
Barstow leaned closer and stage-whispered over to me, “Kind of a secret, but I’ve got some cash in the project. Figuring I’ll make a killing.”
“Good for you. I hope it works out.” I’d had enough small talk. “But, Chief Barstow, what I need to know is if you or one of your officers talked to my family? Do you have any news on Delilah?”
Barstow finally took off his hat, which left an indentation in the fringe of thin brown hair coating his head. He held the hat across his substantial midsection, looking as pleased as someone about to hand over a longed-for gift. “Clara, like I said, I was on my way to the station, going to call you from there. But this is better. This way, I get to deliver the good news myself, which is always more enjoyable. You agree?”
“I do,” I said, wishing he’d get to the point. “So what do you know?”
“Delilah is fine,” he said, his grin stretching wider.
I shot him a questioning look. “How do you know?”
“After the sheriff called and asked me to take over, I stopped to see your mom and the others. They invited me in, and we had a long chat.”
“Max Anderson said you’d tried earlier and they’d turned you away,” I said. “What was different this time?”
“Ardeth was home. Last time, she wasn’t there and Naomi and Sariah were scared, I think. You know how that mother of yours rules the roost. The sister-wives do what she tells them, and letting a cop inside the house isn’t done much around these parts.”
“Sure. I understand,” I said. “What did you see?”
“Things looked pretty normal. No one acted worried. Only thing was that Ardeth was madder than a cat tied by its tail to a clothesline. Your visit upset her, Clara. Upset all of them.”
“Chief, I—”
“Oh, I know you were just trying to help. But I think you need to understand that your mothers, well, they weren’t happy to have you knock on their door,” he said. “The folks round here, enough of the kids are leaving. Seeing you, Ardeth and the others feared the kids at home, the ones still there, might get ideas.”
I thought about the angry look on my mother’s face. I wasn’t surprised that she saw me as a threat. “Okay, Gerard, I get that,” I said. “Just tell me about Delilah.”
“Ardeth says she’s off with another one of the families, on a mission trip to Salt Lake City.”
“On a mission? Delilah is only twelve.” It wasn’t unusual for folks in Alber to take trips to talk up the faith and try to attract new members to the sect, but kids didn’t usually join in until fifteen or sixteen.
“I was surprised, too,” Gerard said. “But Ardeth said Delilah wanted to go, and the family offered to take her.”
On the surface, it all seemed believable. It made sense that Mother would talk to Gerard. Despite being one of the lost boys, he came from an important family. He was a member of the establishment who’d run the town for decades. So I should have been able to accept his account, but I didn’t.
“Chief, did you see my sister Lily? Was she there? Fourteen or so, dark hair, looks quite a bit like me.”
“I don’t know the kids by name, there are so many of them,” Gerard said. “But there were a bunch, big and small, standing
