Page 16 of Little Child Gone (Nikki Hunt #10)

Nikki quickly scanned her notes on Patrick: high school salutatorian before enlisting in the army.

He spent sixteen years in the army before entering the private sector as a cyber security specialist. As far as Nikki could tell, Patrick hadn’t lived at his Dad’s home for any length of time since leaving high school.

“I know it’s a lot to comprehend. Did you know the Smith family? Do you think it’s possible the remains could be theirs?”

“Well, they must be,” he said. “They disappeared and Dad had Spencer board up that room. He never went near the apartment again. I guess that’s why no one smelled anything, plus Spencer mentioned lime.”

“We confirmed lime had been poured all over the closet floor and lower walls,” Nikki said. “Is that apartment heated?” The furnace was in the basement, according to Matt, but it dawned on Nikki that she’d only noticed heating vents on the house, not the apartment.

“No,” Patrick answered. “We always used the fireplace and an electric heater. I’d actually been discussing putting heat in there for the winter for Ms. Smith’s family because I didn’t want to worry about them having a heater and starting a fire.”

“When did you discuss this?” Nikki asked.

“A couple of weeks before they disappeared,” Patrick said. “That’s part of the reason Dad was so stunned and couldn’t believe they’d just left. I’d told him we’d get the heat installed, but that he needed to make sure Ms. Smith intended to stay.”

Nikki sat up straight. “Spencer didn’t mention that.”

“He probably didn’t know,” Patrick said. “My father didn’t share a lot.”

“But Spencer helped search the property for them,” Nikki said. “Surely Karl would have defended his reason for thinking they didn’t just leave.”

Patrick laughed. “Agent Hunt, you didn’t know my father. He never defended his reasoning because he didn’t have to, at least in his mind. If he wanted you to help with something, the why never mattered. Only the how.”

“Do you remember the last conversation you had with your father about Ms. Smith? Do you remember the names of her children? Her first name?”

“She kept her cards pretty close to her chest. The last time I visited Karl he was in the nursing home.” Emotion thickened his voice.

“He hadn’t talked about her in a long time.

I know he never accepted that she would have just left.

He said she had to have been taken. Maybe even murdered, even though that made no sense. ”

“Spencer said she and the kids arrived in the spring and disappeared in August,” Nikki said. “Your father didn’t know her very long, yet he seemed confident she wouldn’t have disappeared.”

“He was lonely,” Patrick said. “He never dated after Mom died. I think Ms. Smith brought some happiness into his life.”

“So, she was his caretaker and housekeeper,” Nikki said. “Let’s say they were close and she might have confided in him. I know it’s a long shot, but do you remember him talking about why he was so sure she didn’t leave? Did he know something about her that he didn’t share with anyone else?”

“No,” he said. “Only that he’d confirmed she’d intended to stay.”

“Your father told you this, but did you hear anything from Ms. Smith directly?” Nikki asked. “Is it possible he lied because he wanted you to put heat in regardless?”

“I suppose so, although I don’t know why he would,” Patrick said. “But he’d convinced Ms. Smith to register her son at school instead of homeschooling.”

“Did she register him?” School records like that would be accessible. That would change the entire investigation.

“No,” he said. “Ms. Smith planned to do it the Monday after the fishing trip. She wanted Dad to go with them. My father’s mind was sound then, and I believe him. My sister didn’t.”

Nikki didn’t miss the way he spit out “sister.” “Stephanie didn’t like Ms. Smith?”

“Oh God, no. Didn’t trust her, saw her as a threat.

Stephanie hates other women in general, though, so we mostly ignored her.

Dad was happy with Ms. Smith and the kids being there, and that’s what mattered to me.

After they disappeared, Stephanie refused to consider anything other than Ms. Smith being a scam artist. She told Dad to his face that he was lying or senile about Ms. Smith telling him she’d stay. He’d been conned.”

“How did that go over?” Nikki asked.

“Dad threw her out,” Patrick said. “As far as I know, he never let her back into the house after that. Dad’s health was good then, but within a couple of years, he’d gone downhill and couldn’t be on his own. He’d stopped being active and gave up.”

“You said the last time you visited him in the nursing home he talked about Ms. Smith, and then we went off on another track,” Nikki said. “What were you going to say?”

“I visited him about a month before he died—spent a little over a week here and saw him every day—and every day he talked about seeing her there, in his room. Then he said Mom had been there, and his parents.” Patrick’s voice sounded strained.

“She was visiting him, he said. I asked if that meant she was dead, and he said yes. You know how they say people start seeing their loved ones who’ve passed on before them when they’re close to dying? ”

“I do.”

“Dad died four days later.” Patrick exhaled shakily.

“So, when the will was read and I realized he’d changed it to include Ms. Smith, I was confused at first. I thought maybe he’d done it around the time she disappeared, but then I found out he’d changed it not long before he went into the nursing home.

I know at that time that he was certain she must be dead. ”

“Why did you think he changed it then?” Nikki asked.

“Honestly, I thought it was to stick it to my sister. When he sent me a copy, he told me not to open it, but that I would need it when the time came. I’m not one to go against Dad’s wishes.

Then I heard the lengths we had to go to in order to fulfill our obligation to look for her and realized he’d taken one last shot at someone finding out what happened to the Smiths. ”

“Didn’t anyone else ask about them?” Nikki asked. “No one ever came looking for them, a family member or friend?”

“Not a soul, as far as I know,” he answered. “I got the feeling from Dad that Ms. Smith didn’t know anyone in the area and was afraid to be social.”

“Afraid?” Nikki echoed. “That’s the word he used?”

“Yes,” Patrick said. “I should have pushed finding out more about her, but like I said, Dad was happy.”

“I understand,” Nikki said. “Is there anything else I should know before I speak with Stephanie?”

“You’ve tangled with her before, Agent,” Patrick said. “You can handle her.”

“Do you and Stephanie communicate anymore?” Nikki asked.

“Not since the funeral,” he said. “I no longer had any obligation to entertain her bullshit. I let the attorney deal with her.”

Nikki wondered if it were possible for Patrick to have an unbiased opinion about his sister. “How did Stephanie act after the Smiths disappeared?”

“Cocky,” he said. “Lots of ‘I told you so’s,’ that sort of thing. Dad tossed her out over it.”

“How did she take that?” Nikki asked.

“I wasn’t here to witness, but Dad said she got violent with him.

” Anger thickened his voice. “She denied it, but Dad did have bruises on his arms when I visited not long after.” Patrick hesitated before taking a deep breath.

“You’re likely trying to figure out how to ask me if my sister is capable of killing someone over money.

As much as I’d like to defend her, I can’t. ”