Page 20 of Little Child Gone (Nikki Hunt #10)
ELEVEN
Before they left for the high school, Miller asked Nikki if she could have someone on her team contact Taylor’s Indianapolis friends as well as the surrounding airports and public transportation.
She called Liam while Miller called his chief deputy for an update on the ground search for Taylor Hall.
“We’re not sure what we’re dealing with yet,” Nikki told her partner as she paced around Miller’s big vehicle. “The family’s insistent he wouldn’t run away.”
“They’re usually the last ones to know,” Liam said.
“He’s very close with his siblings,” she told him. “They’re adamant he wouldn’t leave town. Did you get the picture I texted? It’s his most recent school photo.”
“Yeah, looking at it now. I’ll call the public transit authority in Indianapolis,” Liam said. “They should be able to check buses and the train. Pretty sure Amtrak goes through there a few times a week. Hopefully they’ll also be able to get me to the right people at Indianapolis Airport Authority.”
Miller had wrapped up his call. “Keep me posted,” Nikki told Liam as she climbed into the big Suburban. “We’re trying to get to the high school before band practice ends.”
“Deputy Reynolds is going through the CCTV around the high school.” Miller accelerated through traffic. “They’ve talked to houses closest to the school. No one recognized Taylor’s photo, so they’re expanding the door knock area.” He glanced at Nikki. “What do you make of the mom?”
“I’m not sure yet,” she admitted. “She certainly seems to be in shock. I think Amelia’s comments about her mother having guilt are interesting. Taylor’s the oldest, so he’s going to remember the bad times the best.”
“Menards responded quickly this morning,” Miller said. “Deputy Reynolds was able to confirm Taylor didn’t show up for his shift. They also have Christy’s SUV parked near the back employee entrance. Her story checked out.”
“We should look at the CCTV near here, too,” Nikki said. “Confirm both parents got home when they said they did.”
“Jared emailed time-stamped security footage before I left,” Miller said. “It doesn’t look like it’s been altered, but I’ll have our techs make sure.”
“I doubt it has been if he gave it that willingly,” Nikki said. “He seems genuinely distraught.”
“What do you think Christy put in that big Stanley cup?” Miller asked. “I thought her eyes looked glazed when we left, but I didn’t smell anything.”
“You can’t smell vodka,” Nikki reminded him. “But it could have been coffee for all we know.”
“I want to know what friends and teachers have to say about the family dynamic,” Miller said. “Who are you calling?”
“Chen,” Nikki answered. “Voicemail.” She left Chen a message asking for an urgent callback involving a missing teenager and then called Garcia to let him know about Taylor Hall.
“Damn it,” Garcia said when she’d finished. “Could we have a serial kidnapper on our hands?”
“I’m not sure,” Nikki said. “Chen told me yesterday they believe a family friend took Eli. I’ve contacted him about Taylor, but from everything Miller and I have heard so far, it seems like a stretch.”
“Where are you on the cold case?” Garcia asked. “I read your email last night with the updates. Patrick said their family attorney handled the search for Ms. Smith. Did he say what the attorney actually did to find her? Did Spencer or anyone else sit for a sketch of her?”
“I don’t know. It’s so odd that no one knows Ms. Smith’s first name, or if Smith is even her real last name,” Nikki admitted.
“I’d like for Liam to follow up on the dates and information from Patrick and Spencer, to confirm things as best we can.
I have the family attorney’s number, but I’d like to talk to them myself. ”
Garcia sighed. “Stephanie Bancroft called the office this morning. My administrative assistant took a message. The gist is that Stephanie is pissed, and you’d better call her today or else .”
“Damn. Did she actually say ‘or else’?” Nikki asked.
“She did,” Garcia said. “I’ll return the call and deal with her today, but you need to talk to her tomorrow, regardless of the new case.”
Nikki thanked her boss and promised to update him on Taylor Hall throughout the day.
“I can’t wait to deal with Stephanie Bancroft.
” She glanced at Miller. “Did you read the email I sent last night?” After her call with Patrick, she’d forgone the UNO game and instead emailed Garcia, Liam and Miller the information Patrick had shared.
“Yeah, I did,” Miller said. “I did a little research of my own last night. Started going through the county’s unsolved cases, missing persons, looking for anything that remotely matched what we’ve been told about the Smiths.
” He blew through a yellow light. “There was a hit-and-run less than a mile from the Hendricksons’ place the same Saturday the family disappeared.
Victim was a Hispanic female who’d given birth. She’s still unidentified.”
“So Ms. Smith ran for some reason,” Nikki said, crestfallen. “That means the body in the trunk is likely Rebecca’s.” She and Miller sat in silence for a moment.
“We could still find the toddler,” Miller reminded her. “I don’t see any real connection between this cold case and our current missing kids, but the age bugs me. It all just bugs me. Something is off.” He turned into the high school’s massive parking lot.
The Halls lived less than fifteen minutes from the high school.
Nikki had visited a few times since she’d returned to Stillwater, but the sheer size of the campus always shocked her.
The horseshoe-designed building had always been large because it was the only high school in Washington County.
It reminded Nikki of the government buildings, with a light-brick exterior and paved circle showcasing the United States flag, as well as the state flag.
“I still can’t believe how different it looks since we went to high school.” Nikki and Miller had been classmates, although they hadn’t known each other back then. Miller had been a star football player, and Nikki had been in marching band the first couple of years of high school.
“Still Pony red, though.” Miller parked in front of the school’s main entrance, ignoring the parking rules. “After we talk to the principal, let’s split up to cover the faculty and students. You want to go down and talk to the band kids, and I’ll take the staff?”
“Fine with me,” Nikki answered. “Does the principal know we’re coming?” She followed Miller to the locked doors.
“No.” Miller pushed the security button and waved his badge in front of the camera next to it. The door buzzed open. Miller led the way through the doors to the front office near the entrance where they were buzzed through a second secure door.
A bottle-red, middle-aged woman greeted the two of them from behind the desk. “Can I help you?”
“We need to speak with Principal Carlson about a missing student.”
“I’m Principal Carlson.” An older woman stepped out of her open office door. “Is this about Eli Robertson?” Her voice shook. “Please tell us it’s good news.”
“Taylor Hall didn’t make it to his shift at Menards yesterday afternoon,” Miller said. “We’re trying to locate him.”
Principal Carlson’s skin turned almost as gray as her hair. “Taylor is missing now, too?”
Miller introduced himself and Nikki. “We’re searching for him, yes. But please keep that confidential. Can we talk in your office?”
“Of course.”
They followed her into a mid-sized office filled with organized clutter. Nikki was impressed by the number of books about reading and critical thinking that lined the shelves behind the principal’s desk. She motioned for them to sit.
“Do you think this is related to Eli?” Her gaze shifted from Miller to Nikki, a knowing glint in her eye. “I’ve seen you on the news, Agent Hunt. You work really bad cases. If you’re here?—”
“Nikki’s not swamped with cases right now, so I asked her to come along,” Miller said. “Two heads are always better than one.”
Nikki smiled at the principal, hoping she believed Miller. “Nothing we’ve learned so far links the cases. Or says that this one is particularly ‘bad’ as you’ve put it. I’m just here to help. We’re here to talk with Taylor’s friends and the teachers who know him well.”
“To answer your question about Eli, we don’t know yet. Can you see if Eli and Taylor had any classes together?” Miller asked.
Carlson opened the laptop sitting on her desk and typed for several long seconds.
“No, they don’t. Taylor’s in concert band and Eli does theatre, so they may have interacted there.
But no classes together.” She looked at Nikki.
“It’s hard to think that we have two different people taking boys the same age, for different reasons. ”
Nikki decided to break one of her usual rules about giving out information—whether it was true or not.
Tension drenched the small office, genuine fear in the principal’s eyes.
They had to stop panic before it started.
“We suspect Taylor’s taking some time to himself, but we still need to make sure we’ve spoken to everyone in his life.
I’d like to get started with the band and the director. ”
Carlson seemed to relax a little bit. “All right. Holly?”
The woman from the front desk appeared in the doorway. “I couldn’t help overhearing. I pray this isn’t happening again.”
“This is one of our paraeducators, Holly Black,” Carlson said. “Could you please escort Agent Hunt to the music department?” Carlson looked at Miller. “I assume you’d like me to call in his teachers?”
Nikki had learned through Lacey’s parent–teacher conferences that paraeducators were basically the teachers’ helpers or assistants, which was what they were called when Nikki attended high school. She followed Holly out of the office into the massive building, fighting memories.