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“I didn’t.”
“But that’s you coming out of DiversaBlend right behind her,” she countered.
Novak studied the picture. “That’s not the one I went to.”
Brice was rooting in the garbage, and if she read his mind, looking for a receipt. He shook his head, set the cup back in the trash and set the can on the floor again.
“So if we showed your picture to them at this DiversaBlend, they wouldn’t recognize you?” she asked.
“Where did you say it was?”
“I didn’t, but…” She gave him the location.
“They wouldn’t know me, so go ahead.”
“Duane, I thought we were starting to connect.” Skilled as she was, she couldn’t pull that line off convincingly. “All right, fine, we weren’t. You see, I think you took this girl. I want to know where she is and what you want.”
“I didn’t do anything. I’ve been here all day.”
“You’re forgetting about the cup,” she pointed out.
“That was around noon at the one just down the street from here. I never took that girl. You’ve got nothing on me. Lawyer,” he spat. “If you need me to, I’ll spell it out for you. L. A. W?—”
Sandra shook her head and signaled for Brice to get the man out of her face. She’d already steamrolled past his first request, and if she wanted to keep her job without a reprimand on her permanent record, she’d better not risk doing so a second time.
She left the room behind Brice and Novak, staring through the back of his head. That man had her daughter somewhere. Hehad to because she couldn’t entertain the thought that he didn’t. That would take the search back to ground zero.
TWENTY-THREE
Before Sandra and Brice left the area, they went to the DiversaBlend that Novak had indicated. He was being transported by another agent back to the WFO where he’d spin in an interview room waiting for his lawyer to show up.
The door chimed when they entered the coffee shop, and a friendly woman behind the counter smiled at them. “What can I get for y’all?”
They both ordered Americanos, and then got right down to their real reason for being there.
Sandra held up her FBI credentials as did Brice, and the woman shrunk back.
“Nothing to worry about, ma’am,” Sandra assured her. “We just need to know if you saw a man come in here today around noon. Were you working then?” It might be a stretch given the hour now.
“I was. What man?”
This was where Brice stepped in with a photograph of Novak on his phone. Sandra was just going to describe him.
“This one.” Brice held his screen toward her, and the woman shook her head.
“Nope, I never saw him. He come in, though? We have a drive-thru too.”
Brice glanced at Sandra, then said to the woman, “He doesn’t have a vehicle, so he would have come in.”
“Then, no, I never saw him. Sorry.”
“Thanks for your help,” Brice told her.
“Don’t mention it. Enjoy your coffees.”
Sandra plucked her cup from the counter and took a long sip as Brice pushed the door open and they left.
“Novak has us chasing our tails, but he made a huge mistake sending us here. This gives us enough to get a search warrant rolling for the Novak property. You drive, and I’ll call Elwood.” She pulled her phone as they walked to their car.