Page 38

THIRTY-SEVEN

DAHLONEGA USED CARS

Back in the car at the morgue, Ellie did some quick research, matching DMV photos to confirm the woman in the car accident was indeed Barbara Thacker. “We have to talk to Thomas Thacker,” Ellie murmured. “If his wife Barbara is the girls’ mother, he could be the father.”

“And if he killed the twins and she knows about it, she could be on the run from him.”

Ellie nodded. “I’ll have forensics run his prints along with Modelle’s against whatever they find on the knife Cord recovered from that mine.

Derrick looked up from his tablet. “Thomas Thacker is a mechanic. He works at the same body shop in Dahlonega where the Pathfinder was sold.”

Ellie plugged the address into her GPS, started the engine and pulled away. “And his wife Barbara?”

“They’re divorced. Her address is in Pawpaw Valley.”

“That’s twenty miles away,” Ellie said. “We’re closer to Dahlonega so let’s check him out before we drive to her house.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Ellie left town, then maneuvered the country road from Coal Mountain toward the quaint small town of Dahlonega, Georgia. Between the holiday lights and decorations, majestic backdrop of the mountains, and friendly, welcoming people it had been voted the best small town to visit at Christmas time in the south.

Ellie wanted to savor the setting, but she couldn’t, not with the image of those little girls on Laney’s autopsy table a reminder that life could be snatched away in a nanosecond.

A few minutes later, they passed the town square and she saw residents and visitors combing the streets, ducking into the Christmas All Year Round shop, the ice cream store and the other businesses, and smiled at the families.

She parked at the used car section, and she and Derrick climbed from the car, surveying the parking lot. She didn’t see the Pathfinder they were looking for although there were several SUVs and assorted used vehicles.

As she and Derrick strode toward the office, the wind whipped her ponytail around her face. Ellie pushed her hair aside as they entered the building. A perky brunette sat at a central front desk while salesmen negotiated transactions in three glass enclosed offices.

Derrick led the way to the receptionist desk where he stopped and smiled at the young woman. “We need to talk to Thomas Thacker.”

The brunette barely looked up from her computer. “He’s not here.”

“Then the manager, Bob Burgess.”

The receptionist pointed out a short balding guy in an outdated suit in the larger corner office.

Bob was just finishing with a customer. He stood and shook the couple’s hand and handed them the keys to their new pre-owned vehicle. The couple left with a smile and Ellie introduced herself and Derrick.

“We’re looking for the owner of a 2004 Pathfinder who purchased it from your car lot. We believe he works for you.”

Bob smoothed his combover. “Actually, he did work here for a while but he no longer does. When we first got that car, it was in bad shape and was totaled. I thought it was just good for parts, but he fixed it up so I sold it to him at a big discount. Two weeks after that, he said he gave it to his ex in the divorce settlement.”

“Do you have a current address for him?” Ellie asked.

“Not a home one, but he took a job over at the Mercedes dealership.”

The man sounded bitter about that. “Did you know his wife?”

Bob shook his head no.

“Any idea why they divorced?” Ellie asked.

“He never said.”

“Did you meet her?” Ellie asked.

“Nope. She never came around.”

Ellie raised a brow. “What about his children?”

“Thacker didn’t have any.”

Ellie and Derrick traded a curious look, then Ellie thanked him and they left. Outside a light snow was falling, and she slipped on an icy patch on the asphalt. Derrick caught her arm to keep her from falling and for an awkward moment, their gazes locked. Ellie’s breath caught, her heart stuttering.

A family with a toddler girl climbed from a Suburban near her Jeep, drawing her attention back to the case. They had a child killer to find.

And who knew if others might be in danger.