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She waited expectantly.

“Have you remembered anything new that perhaps you feel is relevant or significant in some way?”

The young woman thought for a moment, then shook her head. “No. I’ve already told the sheriff everything I can remember. I’ve had a few nightmares, and sometimes I find myself dwelling on it, but it’s always the same.”

Vera gave her a wide smile. “I’m sorry to hear about the nightmares. I’m sure they’ll pass once we have the person who did this in custody.”

Kayleigh nodded. “Hope so.”

“Did you know any of the other victims before the events occurred?”

The younger woman shrugged. “I don’t think so. I mean, I can’t say for sure—I’ve maybe seen them at a community event or just walking around the square, but I didn’tknowthem. We’ve talked since—Vance, Oliver, and I.” She looked to Bent. “You mentioned that it might be useful if we talked informally to see if it sparked any new memories.”

Great idea. Vera never ceased to be surprised by what a good investigator Bent was.

“I’m glad you decided to do that.” Bent gave her a nod of approval.

“What about Nolan Baker?” Vera ventured. “Were you acquainted with him before?” An idea had the wheels turning in her mind. This could be something.

Kayleigh made a face, not sad or angry ... maybe annoyed. “I don’t really know him. But three years ago when we were both still at UT, he asked me to Christmas dinner with his family. It was sort of strange because we had only one class together, and we really weren’t friends or anything. I don’t know. It was like out of the blue. But sincemy family was in Fayetteville, too, I figured why not. It was a free ride, and he seemed nice. But ...” She drew in a big breath. “The whole time we were at his family’s home, he was ...” She shrugged. “I don’t know, behaving as if we were a couple. No, not just a couple. A serious couple.”

Maybe not as strange as Kayleigh thought. “Was that the only time the two of you interacted?”

She nodded. “Other than the one class we had together that semester, we really didn’t see each other. It was like he didn’t know I existed before or after that one dinner. I didn’t care, but it was just odd. You know when something or someone gives you that creepy feeling? That’s how I felt afterward.”

“Thank you, Kayleigh.” Vera turned to Bent to see if he had anything to add.

He settled his hat in place. “We appreciate your time.”

Vera kept quiet until they reached the truck, but her instincts were vibrating. “You have to know this is far too big a coincidence to ignore.”

“Agreed. But I’ll restrain myself from jumping to conclusions.”

Vera gave him a look. “Who’s jumping to conclusions? The whole ‘come to dinner’ thing was likely just to make his parents think he was dating a girl. When she never came again, he probably told his mother she dumped him. Elizabeth would not have been happy about that.”

Bent laughed. “I admit that you could be onto something, but let’s see what the other two have to say before we go closing in on a single scenario.”

No problem. Vera smiled to herself. She was right, and he knew it.

15

Randall ResidenceWashington Street, Fayetteville, 2:45 p.m.

The interview with Vance Honeycutt had been much like Kayleigh Marshall’s, quick and to the point. He and Nolan had classes together in school. They had known each other their whole lives. But they were never friends. In fact, they hadn’t liked each other back in high school and still did not. The trouble had started when he and Nolan both ran for class president. Nolan started the rumors that caused so many of his classmates not to vote for Vance. Nolan swore it wasn’t him, but then when Vance took over the restaurant from his father, Nolan ensured the story was buried. If Vance had felt any doubts all those years, that move relieved him of every single one. Vance considered Nolan to be arrogant and far too “me focused.”

Vera couldn’t deny that Nolan Baker, bless his heart, was both of those things.

It was on to Oliver Randall then.

“Mr. Randall,” Vera began.

“That’s my dad,” Oliver said. “Just call me Ollie. My friends do.”

Vera nodded. “Ollie. The sheriff and I were discussing whether you were acquainted with the other victims before the abduction.”

“I went to school with Van and Nolan. Van is a good guy. Hard worker, let me tell you. We’re not close, but not for any particularreason. We go to different churches, and truth is, we’re both busy with our respective family businesses. Like I said before, I don’t know Kayleigh much at all. She’s come into our restaurant since ... what happened, but if she came before, I never noticed.”

“You and Nolan Baker,” Bent said, “played football together as well.”