Page 36 of Critical Doubt

"Oh, my, that's important. Do you know what has happened to Todd? We heard he was missing. Now his house is on fire," Diane continued. "It's very worrying. Is something going on? Should we be concerned?"

"I honestly don't know. I was wondering if either of you have seen anyone lurking around the house or the street."

"Yes," Amy said, nodding her head with certainty. "I saw a car driving slow down the street last night when I was walking the dog. I looked at the driver, and when he saw me staring, he sped up and left."

Savannah straightened at that piece of information. "What did he look like?"

"He had on a ball cap. It was dark, so I couldn't see his features."

"What kind of car was he driving?"

"It was a Prius. I think it was silver," Amy replied.

"About what time did this happen?"

"It was a little after ten."

"You didn't tell me any of this, Amy," Diane complained.

"I didn't think it was important. It's not like he did anything. It just seemed like he was looking for an address and then he left."

"He could have been casing the house," Diane put in. "Should we tell Chief Tanner what Amy saw?"

"You should definitely tell him," she said, as Ryker and the chief came toward them.

As the two ladies called Tanner over, Ryker rejoined her. "The print was destroyed by falling debris," he said.

"I have it on my phone. I can still send it to my team. They'll do more with it than Tanner would have done anyway."

"Did those women have anything to say?" Ryker asked.

"One said she saw a man in a car driving slowly down the street last night, but she didn't get a great look at him. It was about ten last night. When he made eye contact with her, he drove off."

"That's hours before I heard the noise by the window, but that doesn't mean anything. He could have come back."

"Seems like a good possibility. Hopefully the investigators will be able to get some clues once the fire is out. Did Tanner talk to you when you were in the yard?"

"Yes, I'll fill you in, but why don't we get out of here?"

She was a little surprised by his suggestion. "You want to leave now?"

"There's nothing more to do. Since your car is blocked by the fire truck, we can take mine."

She wondered why he was in a hurry to leave the scene, but she didn't see any point in staying now that Tanner had arrived. "All right. We can go to Abby's house," she said, following him to the car. "I'd like to change my clothes and my bag is there."

"I don't know if you should see Abby looking like you do. She'll get upset."

"She's not there. She's in Ridgeview with her parents. She wanted to be with her family and keep Tyler away from the search for Todd."

"I don't blame her. I feel for that kid. I'm glad he has a strong mother."

"They both have support, but they still have to get through this on their own, and it won't be easy."

He gave her a quick look. "I guess you have firsthand experience, don't you?"

"Sadly, yes."

"How did your mom die?"