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“Shut up,Sean.”
Ignoring his friend, the boy plowed on. “But my dad will ground me for like the whole rest of the summer if he finds out. We didn’t mess things up. Anything still here had to be washed away by the rains. It’s not like we spoiled anyevidence.”
“But you could have.” The forensic ident investigators had returned in daylight after the body had been removed, but according to the call Ethan had gotten yesterday, their efforts had been in vain. Like the kid said, the rain had been an accomplice in destroying any physical evidence the offender might have left behind. Ethan had intended to remove the tape when they stopped here this morning. That didn’t mean, however, that he was willing to cut these punks any slack. At the very least, he’d put a scare into them that might serve as a warning the next time they decided to insert themselves in a crimescene.
“Naw, those forensic ident guys are pretty thorough. And it’s been raining for likefour
days. Even footprints would’ve been wipedout.”
Ethan cocked his head and studied the boy more closely. “You police now?” With the explosion of crime shows on TV, everyone was an expert thesedays.
Sean ducked his head. “No. My dad’s a constable, though. That’s why he’d rip me a new one if he heard about this. I know we shouldn’t have done it. I’m just saying…there was no harm done. We come here a lot to fish during the day and sometimes camp out. It’s the most isolated part of the river around here, so we don’t have to worry about anyone botheringus.”
Isolated came in handy if they’d come to engage in illegal activities. On the heels of the thought came another. Isolation might also have been what drew the offender to this spot. “Ever see anyone in thearea?”
Sean shook his head. “The easiest way to this place is bywater.”
True enough, Ethan conceded silently. But the forensic ident unit had searched the shoreline for nearly a mile downriver to no avail. The weather had destroyed any trace of theUNSUB.
“There was a van parked up there a few days ago, though,” Sean continued. “Saw it when we were coming across in the canoe. Figured it was a couple fu—…uh…screwing orsomething.”
Interest flaring, Ethan asked, “A van. Anyone init?”
Shrugging, the boy said, “I don’t know. Didn’t really pay attention. I guess there was, because it was gone by the time we pulled the canoe toshore.”
“What day wasthat?”
“Uh…” He screwed up his forehead. “Saturday?”
“Friday,” the shorter kid put in with an air of resignation. “It was a white Ford Econoline with lettering on the side. Or maybe one of those magnetic signs that companies use. 2014 orolder.”
Ethan narrowed his eyes. “You got a better look at it thanSean?”
The sneer was back, in the kid’s voice and his expression. “No, I just know the vehicle. My stepdad’s got a plumbing business and had a van like that, except it was navy. He waited until 2015 to replace it because that’s when Ford changed to theTransit.”
To Nyle he said, “Take off Sean’s cuffs.” He reached in his pocket for his cell and snapped a couple of pictures of both boys. “Tell me yournames.”
“Rick Anthony,” the shorter kid said resignedly. Ethan observed Sean’s gaze darting to his friend and knew the kid had given him a false name. Being a smartass was going to get the kid in trouble, probably sooner rather thanlater.
“SeanBlanchett.”
“Detective Samuels will take your addresses and phone numbers in case we need to contact you again. Should we discover you gave us false information, we’ll show your pictures at the local police station.” Rick’s expression stilled. “We’ll be a lot less patient in thatcase.”
“Uh…it’s Rick Anthony…Sibbits.” The kid turned to shade his eyes as he tracked the canoe’s progress downriver. Then groaned. “Man, I gotta go. It’s half a mile away already. How am I supposed to get toit?”
“You know how to swim, don’t you? Give your information to Detective Samuels and you can go.” The kid didn’t wait another second. He reeled off his address and phone number before beelining for the river bank and descended it, his gaze trained on thecanoe.
Nyle finished writing down the information then flipped his notebook shut. “You can join your friend,” he told Sean. “But you need to start making better choices if you want to enjoy your freedom thissummer.”
Relief flashed over the boy’s face. “I do. I mean, I will.” He nearly tripped over his feet as he headed down theslope.
“I don’t have a teenager yet,” Nyle muttered, “but if either of my kids turn out like those two you might have to get me out of lock-up.”
Alexa smiled. “Especially Rick. That attitude would be tough to livewith.”
Nyle eyed her with interest. “Do you have anychildren?”
She shook her head. “I was widowed before we could start afamily.”