Chương 2
The silver necklace remained where Daniel had first seen it.
He photographed it before an evidence technician collected it.
Lily watched everything through the fogged window of Vega's cruiser.
At 2:41 in the morning, Daniel sat beside her in the motel office while the owner argued with a detective about registration records.
The office smelled like burned coffee and lemon disinfectant.
Lily had finally put on a pair of motel slippers because her feet were cold.
They were much too large.
Every time she shifted in the chair, one fell off.
Daniel picked it up twice.
The third time she said, "I can do it."
"Okay."
She bent over and retrieved it herself.
Detective Hannah Cole entered carrying a legal pad she probably would not use. She was forty-six, narrow-faced, with wet blond hair pulled into a knot and a habit of rubbing the bridge of her nose when she was irritated.
Daniel had known her for eleven years.
He knew from the way she looked at him that she already disliked several things about the situation.
"Lily," Cole said, crouching rather than standing over her. "I'm Hannah."
Lily said nothing.
"I work with Officer Reed."
"No, you don't."
Cole glanced at Daniel.
Daniel almost smiled.
Cole said, "Not every day."
"You don't have the same clothes."
"I'm a detective."
Lily considered that.
"Do detectives have guns?"
"Some do."
"Do you?"
Cole hesitated. "Yes."
"Then why didn't you catch him?"
The question landed harder than anything an adult had said that night.
Cole sat in the other chair.
"We're trying."
Lily looked at the rabbit.
Cole did not immediately ask about the burial.
That was one of the reasons Daniel respected her.
Instead she asked Lily if she wanted water.
No.
Hot chocolate.
No.
A blanket.
No.
Did she know what town she was in?
No.
Did she know her last name?
Lily looked up.
"Mercer."
Daniel wrote it down even though Cole had already done so.
"Lily Mercer," Cole said. "What's your mom's name?"
"Claire."
"Claire Mercer?"
A nod.
"How old is she?"
"Thirty-four."
"Where do you live?"
"At home."
Cole waited.
Lily frowned at her.
Daniel looked down to hide another almost-smile.
Cole tried again. "What town is home in?"
"Bellweather."
Daniel knew Bellweather. Forty miles east, population maybe twelve thousand.
Cole's pen stopped.
"What street?"
"Juniper."
"Do you know the number?"
"Eight-one-four."
Cole stood.
Daniel followed her into the narrow hallway behind the office.
"Run it," she told Vega.
Vega was already typing.
Thirty seconds later she looked up.
"Claire Mercer. Thirty-four. 814 Juniper Lane, Bellweather. Registered nurse at Bellweather Regional."
"Vehicle?"
"2019 gray Honda CR-V."
"Phone?"
Vega read out a number.
Cole called it.
They heard three rings through her speaker.
Then voicemail.
Cole ended the call.
"Missing-person report?"
"Nothing."
Daniel leaned against the wall. "Child says her mother was buried, mother's necklace is in a room occupied by a man who ran from police, and the guy knows the kid by name."
"I noticed."
"Didn't sound like it."
Cole gave him a tired look. "You want me to arrest the rain?"
"No."
"Good. Because right now I have a frightened child making an allegation we have to take seriously and almost no idea what happened before you found her."
Daniel lowered his voice.
"She didn't invent that man."
"I didn't say she did."
"He ran."
"I noticed that too."
The motel owner interrupted from the office.
"You people gonna reimburse me for the door?"
Nobody answered him.
Cole rubbed her nose.
"Who rented Seventeen?"
Vega said, "Cash rental. ID says Thomas Bell."
"Real?"
"Not unless Thomas Bell got twenty years younger and changed his race."
"Camera?"
The motel owner called, "Camera's been broken since June."
Cole closed her eyes.
"Of course it has."
Daniel looked through the doorway.
Lily was talking to her rabbit.
Not playing.
Talking.
Her mouth barely moved.
He went back in.
"What are you telling him?"
She covered the rabbit's good ear.
"Private."
"Fair enough."
Cole returned a minute later.
"Lily, I need to ask you something important. When did you last see your mom?"
Lily's face emptied.
Daniel watched her left thumb begin rubbing the same patch of rabbit fur again and again.
"In the car."
"Tonight?"
Lily nodded.
"Whose car?"
"Mom's."
"Who else was there?"
"Him."
"The man at the motel?"
Another nod.
Cole said, "Do you know his name?"
Lily's thumb stopped.
"Gary."
"Gary what?"
"I don't know."
"How does your mom know Gary?"
Lily shrugged.
"Did he live with you?"
"No."
"Was he a friend?"
"No."
"Did your mom call him a friend?"
Lily's mouth tightened.
"Mom called him a mistake."
Daniel looked at Cole.
Cole's expression did not change.
"Did Gary hear her say that?"
"Yes."
"What happened?"
Lily pressed the rabbit against her mouth.
Cole waited.
Daniel heard the motel ice machine dump a load into its bin outside.
The ordinary sound seemed obscene.
Finally Lily said, "They were fighting."
"About what?"
"The key."
Daniel looked at the rabbit.
Cole did not.
"What key?"
Lily's eyes flicked toward Daniel.
He saw the mistake before she spoke.
"The one he told me not to touch."
Cole gave Daniel a look.
Daniel said, "Evidence preservation."
Lily whispered, "Mom put it in Bunny."
"When?"
"Yesterday."
"What did she tell you?"
"She said don't let Gary get it."
"Anything else?"
Lily nodded.
"What?"
Her voice became smaller.
"Run."
That word changed the room.
Cole sat back.
"Did your mom tell you where to run?"
"To police."
"Did she say why?"
"No."
"Tell me about tonight."
Lily's breathing quickened.
Daniel moved closer but did not touch her.
She stared at the carpet.
"Gary drove."
"Your mother's car?"
"Yes."
"Where was your mom?"
"Front."
"Were they arguing?"
A nod.
"Then what happened?"
"He stopped."
"Where?"
"Trees."
"Do you know where?"
"No."
"What did you see?"
Lily shut her eyes.
Daniel expected tears.
None came.
"He pulled Mom out."
Cole's voice softened. "Then?"
"I stayed down."
"Where?"
May you like
"Back seat."
"Could you see them?"
