Throughout the morning and into the afternoon, the train station had been a magnet for reporters. It was the last place Boyette had been seen, and he was in demand. His chilling confession had been on the nonstop cable loop for almost a full day now, but his past had caught up with him. His colorful criminal record was in play, his credibility in serious question. Experts of all stripes were on the air, proffering opinions about his background, his profile, his motives. One windbag flat out called him a liar and went on and on about how 'these creeps' want their fifteen minutes of fame and enjoy tormenting the families of victims. A former Texas prosecutor opined as to the fairness of the Drumm trial and appeals and assured those listening that all was well with the system. Boyette was obviously a nut job.
As the saga wore on, it lost some of its shock value. Boyette wasn't around anymore to add details, or to defend himself. And neither was Robbie Flak. The reporters knew that Flak's car was not at the office. Where was he?
Inside the station, Sammie Thomas, Bonnie, and Fanta adopted a siege mentality and tried to work. It was impossible. The phones rang and rang, and every hour or so one of the ruder reporters would almost make it to the front door before being accosted by one of the security guards. With time, the mob began to understand that Boyette wasn't there, and neither was Robbie.
Out of boredom, the reporters left and drove around Slone looking for a fire or a fight. To get to the bottom of things, they interviewed guardsmen as they walked the streets, and they filmed and re-filmed the burned-out churches and buildings. They talked to angry young blacks outside of pool halls and honky-tonks, and they stuck microphones into pickup trucks for priceless comments from white vigilantes. Bored again, they returned to the train station and waited on some word from Boyette. Where the hell was he?
By late afternoon, a crowd was beginning to assemble in Washington Park. News of this development spread through the media, and off they went. Their presence attracted more young blacks, and soon the rap was booming and fireworks were popping. It was Friday night-payday, beer day, the start of the weekend, time to blow off some steam.
The tension was rising. – Some forty hours after leaving the parsonage with an unwanted passenger, Keith returned to it, alone. When he turned off the ignition, he sat in the car for a moment to get his bearings. Dana was waiting at the kitchen door with a hug and a kiss and a very pleasant 'You look tired.'
'I'm fine,' he said. 'Just need a good night's sleep. Where are the boys?'
The boys were at the table eating ravioli. They jumped at their father as if he'd been gone for a month. Clay, the oldest, was dressed in his soccer uniform, ready for a game. After a long hug, the family sat down and finished dinner.
In the bedroom, Keith dressed after a quick shower as Dana sat on the bed and watched him. She was saying, 'Not a word from anyone around here. I've talked to Matthew a few times. We're watching the news and spending hours online. Your name has not been mentioned anywhere. A thousand photos, but no sign of you. The church thinks you were called away on some emergency, so no suspicions there. We might get lucky.'
'What's the latest from Slone?'
'Not much. They postponed the football game tonight, and that was reported as urgently as a major plane crash.'
'No news from Missouri?'
'Not a word.'
'It'll blow up soon enough. I can't imagine the shock waves when they announce they have found the body of Nicole Yarber. The town will explode.'
'When will it happen?'
'I don't know. I'm not sure what Robbie's plans are.'
'Robbie? You sound like you're old friends.'
'We are. I met him yesterday, but we have traveled a long way together.'
'I'm proud of you, Keith. What you did was crazy, but it was also courageous.'
'I don't feel brave. I'm not sure what I feel right now. More shock than anything else. I think I'm still numb. It was a rather unique adventure, but we failed.'
'You tried.'
Keith pulled on a sweater, tucked in his shirttail, and said, 'I just hope they catch Boyette. What if he finds another victim?'
'Come on, Keith, he's a dying man.'
'But he left his cane behind, Dana. Can you explain that? I've been around the guy for five days-seems like a year-and he had trouble walking without the cane. Why would he leave it behind?'
'Maybe he thought he would be easier to spot with a cane.'
Keith pulled his belt tight and buckled it. 'He was fixated on you, Dana. He mentioned you several times, something like, 'That cute little wife of yours.' '
'I'm not worried about Travis Boyette. He'd be a fool to come back to Topeka.'
'He's done dumber things. Look at all the arrests.'
'We need to go. The game is at 6:30.'
'I can't wait. I need something to distract me. Do we have a bottle of Communion wine around here?'
'I think so.'
'Good. I need a drink. Let's go watch a little soccer, then we'll spend the rest of the night debriefing.'
'I want to hear everything.'
CHAPTER 33
The meeting was arranged by Judge Elias Henry, and while he did not have the authority to order people around on a Friday night, his powers of persuasion were more than enough. Paul Koffee and Drew Kerber arrived in the judge's chambers promptly at 8:00 p.m. Joe Radford followed them in, and the three sat together on one side of the judge's worktable. Robbie had been there for thirty minutes, along with Carlos, and the atmosphere was already toxic. There were no greetings, no handshakes, no pleasantries. A moment later Mayor Rooney arrived and sat by himself, away from the table.
Judge Henry, as always in a dark suit, white shirt, and orange tie, began solemnly. 'Everyone is here. Mr. Flak has some information.'
Robbie was seated directly across from Kerber, Koffee, and Radford, all three still and subdued as if waiting for a death sentence. Robbie started by saying, 'We left Slone this morning around five and drove to Newton County, Missouri. Travis Boyette was with us. The trip took just under six hours. With Boyette giving directions, we worked our way through a remote section of the county, along back roads, then dirt trails, then to a place known locally as Roop's Mountain. Secluded, remote, overgrown. Boyette struggled to remember it at times, but eventually led us to the place where he claims he buried Nicole Yarber.' Robbie nodded at Carlos, who punched a key on his laptop. At the far end of the room, on a whiteboard, a photo of the overgrown clearing appeared. Robbie continued, 'We found the site and began to dig.' The next photo was of Aaron Rey and Fred Pryor with shovels. 'When Boyette was here in Slone in the fall of 1998, he worked for a company called R. S. McGuire and Sons out of Fort Smith. He kept a large metal box, one that was once used for hydraulic tools, in the back of his truck, and he used it to bury her.' Next photo: the top of the orange toolbox. 'The soil was not hard, and within ten, maybe fifteen minutes we found this.' Next photo: the top half of the toolbox with 'R. S. McGuire and Sons' stenciled on it. 'As you can see, the toolbox opened from the top with a latch to the side. The latch was secured by a combination lock, which Boyette claimed he bought at a hardware store in Springdale, Arkansas. Boyette remembered the combination and unlocked it.' Next photo: Boyette kneeling at the grave, handling the lock. The color drained from Koffee's face, and Kerber had perspiration on his forehead. 'When we opened the box, this is what we found.' Next photo: the skeleton. 'Before we opened it, Boyette told us there would be a wad of clothing next to her head.' Next photo: the clothing next to the skull. 'He also told us that rolled up in the clothing we would find Nicole's driver's license and a credit card. He was right.' Next photo: a close-up of the MasterCard, also stained but with her name easily readable. 'Boyette told us he killed her by choking her with her black leather belt with a silver buckle.' Next photo: a length of black leather, partially decomposed, but with the silver buckle. 'I have
