Page 94 of Nash Falls

“I checked with the Perkinses. The police never came by. And they told Billy not to mention it to anyone, which is why he didn’t tell you. And now he’s dead, allegedly in an accident. Only he wasn’t going in the direction of his home when he died, he was going in the direction of the police station, where I told him to file a report on what he’d seen.”

“So a man and a woman posing as police officers got through the gate and then took your daughter? And this Adams had to die because he knew about them?”

“Yes.”

Nash could almost see the detective shaking his head.

“We’ve got to prove that connection, Mr. Nash.”

“Then prove it. I just told you what I found out.”

“Why would you go and talk to the security guard in the first place?”

“To see if he knew anything.”

“But we had already talked to him and the other guard,” pointed out Ramos.

“Right, but he didn’t tell you about the fake police, did he?”

“Well, we need to corroborate that story.”

“Ijust corroborated it. Adams told me and I told you. And there’re the Perkinses.”

“No, the Perkinses never saw these two people, according to you.”

“Yes, that’s right, they didn’t,” conceded Nash.

“So right now, with Adams dead, we only haveyourword for it.”

“I’m not lying. Why the hell would I lie?”

“I’m not saying you’re lying, Mr. Nash. But in a criminal investigation, every fact, every statement, must be verified. I can’t accept anything at face value.”

“Then… then verify it.” A fuming Nash clicked off.

Nash was a control person and he had never felt more out of control in his life. Nothing seemed to make sense. But there was one obvious fact that stood out: His daughter was gone. That, for him,wasverified. And if the people connected to Steers were behind her kidnapping, then Rhett and Barton would know all about it. The problem was, how could Nash find out what they knew without guaranteeing that Maggie would indeed be killed? If she hadn’t already been.

The thought of his daughter being dead, which had been floating just below the surface of his conscious being, now exploded out of its depths, and Nash felt the urge to throw up. He ran to the bathroom, but when he hovered over the toilet, his gut calmed and he straightened.

You running around like an idiot is not going to help Maggie. You’ve got brains and some bit of nerve. Use them, for God’s sake.

And then an idea hit him. He put on a suit, saw Judith off on her walk, and drove to work.

CHAPTER

47

WALT, WHAT IN THE HELLare you doing here?”

Rhett stood in the open doorway of Nash’s office staring in disbelief at him. “Shouldn’t you be home with Judith?” he added.

“I didn’t come in here to work. I came in here to think, and I can’t do it in a house where my daughter was taken from.”

Rhett shut the door and sat across from him. “I’m so sorry about all this, Walt. Has there been any word about Maggie?”

Nash studied him closely while trying hard not to appear to be doing so. “No, nothing.”

“You know, when I was a kid someone tried to snatch me.”