“Karen.” Terri’s voice was low. “Where’s our daughter?”
“I don’t know,” Karen said, adjusting her glasses. “Taylor told me she wasn’t going home after all, and that if you called, to say she was just out for a bit. I’m sorry. She didn’t say where she was going. We’re not that close.”
Paul had to close his eyes for a minute to compose himself. A dark mist threatened to cloud his eyes as he breathed deeply. “Think, Karen. Where would she go?”
“She and Brent left yesterday morning,” Karen said.
“Who the hell is Brent?” Paul shouted, and Terri grabbed his arm.
“Paul, calm down.” Terri’s voice was even. Paul always admired how cool she could stay in a situation while he flew off the handle. “Who’s Brent?”
Karen paled. “I didn’t know he was a secret. I’m not sure why she wouldn’t tell you about him. He’s smart and good-looking. Rich too.”
Paul tried to soak it all in. Taylor was gone, with a boyfriend he didn’t even know she had. Maybe it wasn’t as bad as he’d initially thought. Taylor had a relationship with a student, and they wanted a week away from school to unwind, and she didn’t want to tell her family about him yet. He started to relax.
“Okay. Any idea where they went? You have to have some clue. You’re her roommate.” Paul watched Stevie as he flipped through some worn paperbacks from Taylor’s nightstand. He recognized one of his own books in the stack and smiled.
“She didn’t say, but she seemed freaked that you’d find out,” Karen said.
They were indeed close to finding out, Paul could feel it. “Why would she be freaked out?” Then it hit him. All these years later, she’d finally done it. Paul looked at Terri, and she matched his expression perfectly.
Terri asked the next series of questions, and Paul hardly heard them. She said the words Red Creek, cousin, Isabelle, Beth, uncle, but other than that, Paul drew a blank. He sat on the bed. His fears of his old hometown and losing his daughter all came flooding over in a tidal wave.
“That might be it. She’s been talking to her cousin a lot lately. And she said something about a girl going missing. You know, the one that’s been all over the news?” Karen asked, and Paul knew what they had to do.
“Come on, guys. We have to go,” Paul said, stopping in front of Karen. “Thanks for telling us the truth. You’re a good person. Have a nice week off.” He barely knew what he was saying, his brain on autopilot as he thought about driving to Red Creek.
_______________
Detective Bartlett answered the call on his car speakers. “Bartlett,” he responded.
It was Sheriff Tyler’s number. “There’s been another one.” He sounded calm, and it took a moment for Tom to even understand what he meant.
“Another one? Missing girl?” Tom asked. He was heading into town, almost at Main, where he’d planned on stopping at Chuck’s for a coffee.
“Boy. Fredrik Karlsson. Parents reported him missing this morning at seven,” the sheriff said.
Tom gripped his steering wheel hard, his knuckles turning white. “Son of a bitch. Who’s doing this? I thought for sure it was someone after girls.” Tom had seen too many cases like this back in Chicago, and he’d hoped for a quiet life out in Gilden: somewhere picturesque, where he could forget about the horrors on the streets of the big city, and simultaneously forget about his ex-wife.
“I don’t know, but we’re going to find out,” Tyler answered. “Go talk to his parents.”
“Where do they live? This on Wood Street too?” Tom had pulled over at the restaurant and had his notepad out, ready to scratch down an address.
“Nope. They live out of town. Two miles north.” The sheriff gave him the directions.
“Wait. That’s close to the orchard, isn’t it?” Tom asked, as if he was finally starting to see the bigger picture.
The sheriff paused before answering, “It is. About as close as anyone lives to it. I sent Rich first thing this morning, but I’d rather you follow up.”
Tom was getting angry. “Why didn’t you call me sooner?”
“Because you were following up on the witness account. Did you find anything valuable?” Tyler asked.
“Only if you think a woman might like to stroll around a farmer’s field in a big storm. Oh, she can also turn into a black blob.” Tom was getting really sick of this town.
“What did you just say?” the sheriff asked.
“The guy said he saw a nondescript woman, maybe older, fifty or sixty, walking over there. She was wearing a white jacket, and when the lightning flashed, he saw her turn into a black figure. Tyler, I’ve heard all the crap about this monster living in Red Creek, but I thought it was long done with after the Smiths were dealt with.”
“So did I. So did I.” Sheriff Tyler’s voice was quiet, and Tom turned up his speaker volume. “Shit.”
“What is it?” Tom asked.
“Nothing. Go ask the parents about Fredrik. Get anything you can. I need to speak with you later about something.” The man sounded resigned to the disappearances. Tom didn’t have much optimism they were going to catch this guy, not if the locals were so hopeless.
“If you have something to say, say it now,” Tom told Tyler, but the man just grunted.
“Come by the office when you’re done out there. I’ll fill you in.” The call ended.
Tom peeked at his reflection in the rearview mirror. “What have you gotten yourself into? Three years ago, you were one of the best damned homicide detectives in Chitown. You had a wife. You were going to start a family.” He hung his head, regret filling his thoughts. “Get it together, Bartlett. You have kids to save. If you don’t do it, no one will.” He often had to convince himself to do things by speaking out loud alone, and even though he didn’t feel any better about the situation, he was motivated to keep moving.
But
