Chương 11
“What are you doing?”
“It was bent.”
“It’s a paper clip.”
“I know what it is.”
She continued until it was nearly straight.
Then she set it beside the phone.
“Better.”
Marcus looked at me.
I shook my head.
Do not.
He looked away.
Whitaker ended the call.
“We have authority to secure the county archive building pending a warrant application.”
“Secure means what?”
“No one enters or removes material.”
“Including Harper?”
“Especially Harper.”
My mother stood.
“Now we’re getting somewhere.”
Whitaker held up a hand.
“You are not coming.”
My mother stared at her.
Whitaker did not blink.
“This is no longer observation from a public road.”
“I own the records.”
“We don’t know that.”
“My husband put them there.”
“We don’t know what is there.”
My mother looked at me.
“Say something.”
“I agree with her.”
Her mouth opened.
Then she nodded slowly.
“That was a test.”
“No, it wasn’t.”
“No.”
She picked up her purse.
“I failed it.”
Marcus offered to drive her back to the diner.
She refused.
“I can drive Luis’s van.”
“You have one arm.”
“I have an automatic transmission.”
“You are still injured.”
She looked at him.
“Lieutenant Colonel, if you keep speaking to women over seventy like we’re unstable furniture, you’re going to have a hard retirement.”
Marcus pressed his lips together.
“Yes, ma’am.”
Sam offered to take her.
That she accepted.
Before leaving, she touched my arm.
Not a hug.
My family had never been particularly good at those when emotions were fresh.
“Do not make your father into a saint.”
“I won’t.”
“He could be impossible.”
“I know.”
“He once stopped speaking to me for two days because I threw away a receipt from Lowe’s.”
“Three days.”
She looked surprised.
“You remember that?”
“He called me about it.”
“What did he say?”
“That civilization depended on women like you being stopped.”
She laughed.
The sound startled both of us.
Then it disappeared.
“He was afraid before he died.”
The admission came so softly I nearly missed it.
“How afraid?”
“He started checking the road behind him.”
“When?”
“Last month or two.”
“Did he say who he thought was following him?”
“No.”
“Did you see anyone?”
She hesitated.
“One vehicle.”
“What kind?”
“County utility truck.”
“Which department?”
“I don’t know.”
“Color?”
“White.”
“Markings?”
“Small seal on the door.”
Whitaker had come close enough to hear.
“Anything else?”
My mother closed her eyes briefly.
“There was damage on the rear bumper.”
“What kind?”
“Black scrape, driver’s side.”
I looked at Whitaker.
She wrote it down.
“Why didn’t you tell police?”
My mother opened her eyes.
“I told Don.”
Of course she had.
Sam led her outside.
I watched the battered van leave the lot.
Marcus came to stand beside me.
“You okay?”
“No.”
“Good answer.”
“Don’t get used to it.”
Whitaker received another call.
This one changed her posture before she spoke.
She listened.
Then she said, “When?”
A pause.
“Who confirmed it?”
Another pause.
“All right.”
She ended the call and looked at me.
“What?”
“Sheriff Harper just reported his cruiser stolen.”
Marcus said nothing.
Neither did I.
Whitaker continued.
“He claims it was taken from outside a convenience store approximately twenty minutes ago.”
“That doesn’t fit.”
“No.”
“You saw him leave in it.”
“Yes.”
“Your agent saw him?”
“No.”
“Marcus recorded him.”
“Yes.”
She looked toward Marcus.
“Do not alter that video.”
“I won’t.”
Greene came out of the office carrying another evidence bag.
“What happened?”
Whitaker told him.
His eyebrows rose.
“That’s fast.”
“Meaning?”
“He’s creating distance.”
I said, “From what?”
Whitaker looked toward the direction Harper had driven.
“Whatever he plans to do with the cruiser.”
My phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
For a moment, all I heard was traffic.
Then Kayla whispered, “Nicole?”
My hand tightened around the phone.
“What happened?”
“Travis came back.”
“Are you safe?”
“He’s outside.”
“Where’s June?”
“Kitchen.”
“Lock the doors.”
“We did.”
“What does he want?”
Kayla’s breathing shook.
“He says he knows where you went.”
I looked at Whitaker.
She was already reading my face.
“Kayla, listen to me.”
“I’m listening.”
“Do not go outside.”
“I won’t.”
“Do not argue with him through the door.”
“He’s not arguing.”
“What is he doing?”
She moved away from the phone for a second.
When she came back, her voice was barely there.
“He put something on Miss Evelyn’s car.”
“What?”
“I can’t see.”
“Do not check.”
“He’s leaving.”
I heard a vehicle accelerate through the phone.
Then Kayla said, “Nicole.”
“What?”
“There’s writing on the windshield.”
“What does it say?”
She did not answer immediately.
When she finally did, the words came out one at a time.
“Your father found B-17 too.”
For a second, nobody beside me moved.
Whitaker held out her hand.
“Put her on speaker.”
I did.
“Kayla, this is Special Agent Dana Whitaker with the State Bureau of Investigation.”
Kayla went quiet.
Whitaker continued.
“Do not touch the car.”
“I won’t.”
“Do not touch whatever was placed on it.”
“I won’t.”
“Is Travis Cain still visible?”
“No.”
“Did you see which direction he went?”
“Toward town.”
“Vehicle?”
“Black Tahoe.”
“Plate?”
“I didn’t look.”
“That’s okay.”
Kayla breathed out.
Whitaker’s tone stayed even.
“Are the diner doors locked?”
“Yes.”
“Who is inside?”
“Me, June, Luis, Mr. Hanley, Carol, two people from the hardware store, and a delivery guy who is extremely unhappy.”
In the background, a man shouted, “I have frozen fries back here.”
Luis shouted something back in Spanish.
The ordinary noise made Kayla’s breathing slow.
Whitaker asked, “Is Evelyn Turner there?”
“No.”
“Good.”
I looked at her.
She ignored me.
“Kayla, stay away from the windows until law enforcement arrives.”
Kayla hesitated.
“Which law enforcement?”
Whitaker glanced at me.
“State personnel.”
That answer mattered.
Kayla said, “Okay.”
Whitaker ended the call.
I was already moving toward Marcus.
“We need to get back.”
“No,” Whitaker said.
I stopped.
“My mother may be heading there.”
“Then call her.”
“And tell her what?”
“The truth.”
May you like
“She’ll go faster.”
“Then I’ll have an agent intercept her.”
