Page 48 of Last Seen Alive

“There’s no way this was an accident,” she said with conviction, although it must have presented as one for the state police to deem it as such.

“You think someone caused the vehicle to go off the road?”

She couldn’t ignore the niggling in her gut, the one reminding her that Logan had a car accident not long before Claire left him. An accident Logan himself had said freaked Claire out. It was more than a wife fearing she could have lost her husband. It had to be. Claire ran away not long after, throwing away her marriage at the same time. Had she suspected someone tried to take out Logan? By extension, had Rita been targeted? “We need to find out what caused her car to lose control.”

“I can call the officer on file with the state police.”

“You could, but I want to talk to her next of kin. They might be able to tell us something about Claire while we’re there too.”

“Looks like Rita left behind a husband and two kids, a boy and girl.”

Her heart splintered at the thought of disturbing their grieving process, but the intrusion could prove crucial for their case. “We don’t have any other choice.”

“Do you want to go now or head over to the lawyer’s first?”

She shook her head. She knew the husband wouldn’t be sleeping, and it was one visit she wanted to get over with. “We’ll start with Mr.Flynn.”

EIGHTEEN

There were two vehicles in the driveway, both middle-class suburban. One an SUV, the other a sedan.

Trent rang the doorbell and waited patiently. He understood Amanda wanting to come here after she had filled him in on Logan’s accident and added that Claire took off not much later. Amanda had said Claire seemed spooked, according to Logan, but there was a chance it didn’t have to do with the accident. He and Amanda could be chasing shadows.

The door was opened by a boy about ten, who gave him and Amanda the once-over, and from his face didn’t really know what to make of them.

“Yeah?” he said, barely coherent.

“Would your father be home?” Trent asked him.

The boy nodded and let the door remain open, the invite for them to step inside unspoken but apparent. Trent stayed put, and so did Amanda. The boy’s footsteps padded farther into the house.

A man came toward the front door, brow furrowed, gaze on Trent. “Can I help you?”

Trent held up his badge, and Amanda edged closer to him so the man could see her and her badge too. “Detectives with Prince William County PD,” Trent told him. “Are you AustinFlynn?”

“Yeah.” Hesitant and uncertain.

“We have a few questions about your wife,” Trent began. “If we could come in for a minute, we would appreciate it.”

“Not sure what you’d have to ask… but sure. I can’t spare much time, though. My parents are here.”

“We won’t be long. I promise.”

The man dipped his head and gestured for Trent and Amanda to enter. The house was tidy and smelled strongly of flowers.

“Somewhere we could sit might be best.” Trent phrased it more as a suggestion, not a requirement. They weren’t here with further bad news but talk about his recently deceased wife would be upsetting.

He took them to a sitting room. There was no sign of the parents, but they could have been in another part of the house with the children. They hadn’t seen the girl. A slight hissing sound had Trent turning, and he saw a scent diffuser in an outlet. A fresh dose of floral was pushed out.

Austin dropped into a chair directly across from a fireplace, and Trent and Amanda sat in chairs that had their backs to it.

“First of all, we’re very sorry for the loss of your wife,” Trent said.

“What is this about?”

Not the response that Trent had expected. Maybe he was tired of hearing sympathies. “We understand it was a car accident that took her life.”

“That’s right.”