Page 15 of Little Child Gone (Nikki Hunt #10)

NINE

The rich aroma of coffee greeted Nikki as she walked into the Daily Grind, a downtown coffee shop on Water Street, not far from the river.

A large display case of sweets made her mouth water.

She ordered a giant cinnamon roll and a coffee loaded with cream and sugar to cover the awful taste.

She found a two-seater table in the corner, perfect for a private conversation.

Nikki checked her messages, hoping to have something more from Blanchard or Courtney about the remains, but they were both likely busy with current cases that had to come first over a cold one. Nothing yet from Stephanie or Patrick Hendrickson.

Both interviews with the neighbors had helped Nikki get a better idea of the family dynamics. She wanted to talk to both Patrick and Stephanie; had one of them been involved in the deaths of these two people?

“Sorry if I kept you waiting.” Chen slid into the booth across from her, coffee in hand.

Gray had taken over the lieutenant’s dark hair, but he seemed to be in better spirits than he had been the last time Nikki worked with him.

He’d still been reeling from personal issues affecting a missing children’s case, but now he seemed more focused, with less darkness in his eyes.

“I have to say, I’m really intrigued,” Chen said. “I heard the sheriff was out at the old Hendrickson place this morning. Rumor is remains were found.”

“Two sets, in the addition,” Nikki said. “We brought in a K9 this morning and didn’t find anything else on the property. Matt Kline bought the place because he works with Karl Hendrickson’s grandson Spencer.”

Chen made a face. “Stephanie’s son. God, that woman is a menace.”

“What do you mean?”

“She’s a defense attorney who will stop at nothing to get her wealthy, white-collar clients off. Plus, I went to high school with her.”

Chen was a few years younger than Nikki, but she knew he’d attended Stillwater High School. “Did you have a lot of interaction with her?”

He shrugged. “Some, but it was more my friend. He had a huge crush on her and she was popular and wealthy. Laughed in his face when he asked her out and then told her friends an embellished version of the story. She did stuff like that all the time.”

That lined up with everything else she’d heard about Stephanie. “What about Patrick? He’s a couple of years older than her, but I don’t think he was there at the same time as me either.” She sipped her coffee.

Chen drummed his fingers on the table. “Patrick Hendrickson. Pretty sure he was a big lacrosse star. I always heard that he and Stephanie didn’t get along. They were never seen together at school. He wouldn’t even give her a ride most of the time.”

“Wow.” Nikki nodded. “Blanchard and the forensic anthropologist are working to establish a time of death, but I’m fairly certain we know who our two victims are.

” She told Chen what Spencer Bancroft had shared earlier that morning.

“Spencer said Ms. Smith and her family showed up the spring of 2015 and then disappeared shortly before school resumed. The family assumed she’d left and stolen some valuables. ”

“I bet Stephanie was livid,” Chen said. “She’s a control freak. Wasn’t there some weird shit with Karl Hendrickson’s estate, too?”

“He left part of it to Ms. Smith and her children. They had eighteen months to claim it and never came forward. The family attorney did their diligence and searched for her as well. They never found anyone,” Nikki said.

“I also spoke to Karl’s old neighbors this morning.

Everyone has described Stephanie the same way: extremely difficult in general, contesting the will, pushing for the sale of the property.

It sounds like Patrick tried to protect his father’s wishes and took some antiques but supported the search for Ms. Smith. ”

“Did Spencer say if this Ms. Smith got along with Stephanie?”

“Stephanie wasn’t happy,” Nikki said. “We don’t know what the conversations were about with Ms. Smith, but Spencer said she hated her.”

“Good luck investigating that branch of the family tree,” Chen said. “I’m sure Stephanie was thrilled when her inheritance was threatened.”

“According to Spencer, his mother didn’t know about the change to the will until after Karl passed. Spencer is the one who acted as witness to confirm his grandfather was of sound mind to make changes. He asked me not to tell her if I could manage it.”

“Stephanie made it a point to know everything about anything she viewed as important,” Chen said. “She may not have known for sure, but she could have suspected it.”

“If she did do something, she surely had help,” Nikki mused. “One woman against a teenage boy and his mom and sister would be a tough task.”

Chen’s eyes lit up. “Spencer said this all happened in 2015?”

Nikki nodded, confused as Chen unlocked his phone and typed. “Let me search public records to make sure I have the year right.”

She finished her cinnamon roll and let Chen do his thing.

Chen sat his phone down on the table with a smirk.

“Stephanie and Daniel Bancroft divorced in 2014. He filed. They had a knock-down-drag-out over assets in court. I don’t know anything about the guy other than he was part of the family and stood to inherit from Karl as long as he stayed married to Stephanie.

Guess he couldn’t stick it out any longer. ”

Nikki wrote the name down in her notebook. “Daniel Bancroft. Do you know if he’s still living around here?”

“Pretty sure he moved out of state. Spencer didn’t mention him at all?”

“Just briefly,” Nikki said. “I left him a message this morning. I want to talk to him before Stephanie.”

Chen grinned. “Good strategy. Anyway, this is Miller’s jurisdiction,” Chen said. “Why are you talking to me? If you think my going to school with Stephanie will help, I assure you, it won’t.”

“Because of Eli Robertson,” Nikki said. “And Scott Williams. Two teenaged boys that disappeared within a year of each other, and now we’ve found one deceased, who was likely around the same age as the other two when he died.

If the toddler is still missing, he could be a victim, too.

” The limited information about Eli made it impossible to compare the cases.

Chen leaned back in the booth. “There’s a ten-year gap between crimes.”

“So it seems,” Nikki said. “Liam’s searching for additional missing boys that would fit the age.

We may be completely off, but given we currently have two missing teenaged boys and one is confirmed dead, I think we have to at least look at the possibility.

The sheriff’s office is handling Scott Willams’ murder, but Miller has been shut out of Eli’s investigation.

We’ve offered help but it’s been refused by the assistant chief. ”

“I know.” A muscle in Chen’s jaw tightened. “He’s a cool guy in some ways. Supported Chief Ryan becoming the first African American police chief here. But he hates interference from the FBI. He says we can handle the case.”

“Are you?”

“We’ve had surveillance on a family friend for the last week,” Chen said. “I can’t give you details, but they live in Minneapolis. We have reason to believe Eli may still be alive.”

“I assume this family friend is a sex offender?” Nikki asked.

“Two-timer,” Chen said. “Out early on good behavior. Because pedophiles should get multiple chances.”

Scott Williams’ body had been found washed up in the St. Croix River a year ago, weeks after he’d disappeared.

His remains had not been in good enough condition for Blanchard to rule out sexual assault.

“Do you know if your suspect has any connections to Scott Williams? Could he have taken him as well?”

“Other than attending Stillwater High School, we haven’t found any.”

“Uncle Mark, you cheated!” Lacey’s shrill voice made Nikki laugh. “Stacking draw-twos is against the rules.”

“No, it isn’t,” he retorted. “That’s how we’ve always played, isn’t it, Rory?”

Lacey folded her arms and glared at Rory. “Don’t lie, Dad.”

Hearing Lacey use the word still sent a swell of mixed emotions through Nikki. She loved that Lacey had made the decision, but Nikki would never be able to completely shed the guilt about her ex-husband’s death.

“I won’t.” Rory looked at his older brother. “It’s true. The actual rules say you can’t stack draw-twos, only draw-fours.”

Lacey smirked at Mark. “That means you still have to draw two.”

He rolled his eyes but drew the cards.

Lacey smiled sweetly at Rory. “Sorry.” She dropped a draw-four on top of the pile.

“You put a draw-four on me last time,” he griped.

“I’m trying to win. Suck it up, buttercup.”

Nikki and Mark burst out laughing. She’d learned a long time ago not to go after Lacey in UNO.

She had a knack for always getting a draw-four, especially when she shuffled the cards.

That was a trick she’d learned from her ex’s father.

Tyler’s parents remained in Lacey’s life, and she usually spent a couple of weeks with them in the summer.

Before she could take her turn, Nikki’s cell vibrated with a call from an Arizona area code. “I have to take this,” she said. “I’ll play next hand.” She left the kitchen, answering the phone before it stopped ringing. “This is Agent Hunt.” Nikki turned down the hall, headed for her office.

“Agent Hunt, this is Patrick Hendrickson returning your call.”

“Thank you for calling back.” Nikki closed her door and settled into her chair.

“Let me just grab some paper and a pen.” She rummaged through the stuff on her desk, snagging her legal pad.

She checked to make sure the pen had ink before continuing.

“All right. Before I say anything more, have you spoken to Spencer? He’s fine,” Nikki quickly added, realizing how he might have taken her words.

“He called me this afternoon. I’m still in shock.”