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TWENTY

SHERIFF HUDSON

“We appreciate you coming in today, Anne,” I say as Chief Deputy Olson and I escort her out of the interrogation room, where we just spent the last thirty minutes going over her whereabouts the night Kelly Summers was murdered.

“Of course.” Anne smiles tightly. “I wish I could be of more help, but it was so long ago.”

“We understand,” I say. “And if we have any more questions, we’ll be in touch.”

“Of course.” She nods. “Enjoy the rest of your day,” Anne says, backing up a couple steps before turning on her heel and heading down the hall toward the front entrance.

When she’s out of earshot, Olson bumps her shoulder into mine. “What do you think?”

I look to her and shrug. “There’s not much to think. She didn’t have anything new to add, and she could barely remember her original testimony.”

“Almost like it wasn’t her testimony.” Olson raises a brow. “It’s too bad we can’t verify her story with something concrete like a receipt from that bar she and Sarah were at or traffic cams or cell tower pings.”

“Well, I could have back then, if Stevens hadn’t?—”

Olson cuts me off. “There’s nothing we can do about that now, so let’s just focus on what we can control.”

The corner of my lip lifts as I gaze into her big brown eyes, appreciating how she always keeps me grounded, anchored in the present, not regretful of the past or anxious about the future. Before Pam, I’d either react with anger or completely shut down. She helped me find the balance between the two, but unfortunately, with everything going on, I’ve been finding it more and more difficult to keep that balance, even with her help.

“Where are we at on the Howard disappearance?” Olson asks, pulling me from my thoughts.

“Hospitals and jails in the surrounding areas came up empty. I’ve got Lieutenant Nagel and a couple deputies interviewing friends, family, coworkers, neighbors, anyone that may know of her whereabouts.”

“Hopefully, we get a lead there or she just turns up. And who all do we have left to reinterview for the Summers case?” she asks.

I slide a small notebook from the front pocket of my shirt and flip it open. “There’s Bob, but I want to save him for last, given the Howard investigation.”

“Best not to rattle him about this now.” She nods in agreement.

“Scott Summers, Kelly’s husband, but we haven’t been able to locate him, and I’m not sure we ever will, unless, of course, he wants us to find him.”

“What do you mean?”

“Scott skipped town after the trial. No one’s seen or heard from him since.”

“That’s rather suspicious, right?” Olson tilts her head. “Guilty people run.”

“Yeah, they do. I always thought he was guilty of something, but I don’t think it had to do with Kelly’s murder.”

She raises a brow, but before she can ask another question, I steer the conversation forward. “There’s also Jesse Hook, the guy who was stalking Kelly, but he died of a drug overdose three years ago.”

“Stalking?”

“The defense described Jesse as a stalker. The prosecution said he was just a guy who was a little too infatuated with Kelly. Stevens cleared him, but we know now that doesn’t mean he was actually cleared.”

Olson shakes her head in dismay.

“And then there’s Sarah,” I add. “But I wanna be careful with her.”

“Why’s that?”

“She filed an appeal with the court to reopen Adam Morgan’s case, and I got a tip from someone over at Judge Carmack’s chambers that they’re going to grant her request. It’ll leave the department extremely vulnerable to legal action, so I’d rather not tick her off until I absolutely have to.”

“It’s being granted that fast?” Olson’s tone is skeptical.

“Sarah’s got friends in all places. If she wants something done, it’ll get done, and it’ll get done quickly.”

“The fact that Sarah filed an appeal to reopen the case kind of makes me think she didn’t have anything to do with Kelly’s murder, because why file then?”

“It’d look suspicious if she didn’t file, given the new information.”

“True.” Olson nods. “She could just be playing the game. What about Stevens? Did we hear back on how his surgery went?”

I look down at my wrist, checking the time. “No, not yet. But he should be out soon. Regardless, the surgeon informed me that following his operation, he wouldn’t be able to speak for a few days, and that’s if everything went well.”

“Damn,” she says.

“Damn is right, and the public wants definitive proof as to who killed Kelly. Unless we get some lucky break, I don’t think we’ll be able to give that to them.” I deeply exhale through my nose.

“If we push hard enough, maybe the truth will come out.”

“Maybe. But I only see that happening if there were two people involved in Kelly’s murder, and one of them turns on the other. Whoever did this has kept this secret for twelve years now, and as they say, two can keep a secret if one of them is dead.”

“Let’s hope there’s two of them, and that they’re both still alive then.” Olson wistfully smiles.

We’re cut off by the sound of my phone ringing. I unclip it from my belt and bring it to my ear. “Sheriff Hudson.”

“Sheriff, it’s Lieutenant Nagel. We found Stacy Howard’s vehicle.”

“Where?”

“Over on Lawson Road.”

“I’m on my way,” I say, ending the call.

* * *

Chief Deputy Olson and I walk toward the scene that’s unfolding on a dead-end street in a subdivision. There are plots of land for sale with several houses in different stages of construction, but none of them are complete. Deputies are spread out, surveying the area. The forensics crew is already hard at work examining Stacy’s vehicle, a black Hyundai Santa Fe, and Nagel stands near the abandoned SUV with his back to us.

“Lieutenant Nagel,” I call out as we approach.

He turns to face us and nods. “Sheriff Hudson. Chief Deputy Olson.”

“Fill us in,” I say.

“A patrol car spotted the SUV and called it in. I’ve got deputies searching for clues, and field techs are processing the vehicle for forensic evidence.”

I look to the forensics team and then back at Nagel. “They find anything yet?”

“Yeah, what appears to be dried blood on the steering wheel, so I think we’re looking at a possible abduction, sir.”

“Can we verify that it belongs to Stacy?” Olson chimes in.

“Not without a DNA sample. She’s an only child. Her mother passed when she was twenty, and her dad ran out on her when she was a kid, according to her roommate. However, I have Sergeant Lantz en route to Stacy’s apartment to collect a hairbrush and toothbrush; hopefully the lab can use one of those items for DNA comparisons.”

“Good,” I say. “And yes, I agree this is a possible abduction, which upgrades Stacy’s status from a missing person to a critically missing person. Has she been entered into the National Crime Information Center and the Virginia Criminal Information Network?”

“I’ll get Deputy Lane on it back at the station.”

“Once that’s entered”—I look to Olson—“I want you to consult with the Bureau of Criminal Investigation.”

“You got it,” she says.

“What about putting out a critically missing adult alert or a media release?” Nagel asks.

“We have to consult with BCI first, and they’ll take it from there, coordinating with state police to activate an alert and with the Public Affairs Office to put out media releases and social media posts,” I say, scanning the area. “I’m guessing there’s no traffic cams out here.”

“That’s unfortunately correct, Sheriff,” Nagel says.

I blow out a breath and shake my head. “Whoever dumped it here either got lucky or they knew it was a surveillance blind spot. Find anything else in her vehicle?”

“A cell phone was found on the floor of the passenger’s side. It’s dead though, as we expected, since its last known location, according to Stacy’s cell provider, was in the vicinity of her apartment.”

“Make sure that goes straight to the lab, so they can start working to unlock it.”

“It’s already en route,” Nagel says.

“Good. Hopefully, they’ll get it open so we can actually see her text messages, since her cell phone carrier doesn’t store them.”

“What about Stacy’s roommate?” Olson asks. “We should get ahold of Lantz, since he’s already headed to Deena’s apartment for the DNA collection. Maybe she knows Stacy’s password.”

“Good thinking,” I say. “Reach out to Sergeant Lantz so he can ask about that while he’s there.”

Nagel nods again. “There’s also this, Sheriff.” He holds up an evidence bag containing a white business card with red typography.

“Bob Miller,” I read the card aloud.

“Should we bring him in for questioning again?” Olson raises a brow.

I shake my head. “No, not yet. We just interviewed him, and he already admitted to meeting her, so that’s circumstantial at this point. And I don’t have enough to hold him anyway, but have it sent to the lab.”

“Yes, sir. Anything else?” Nagel asks.

My gaze veers to the vehicle, where the forensics team is dusting for prints and collecting every shred of evidence. Stacy’s been missing for four days now. We missed the first forty-eight hours, which are the most crucial. With her cell phone left behind, her vehicle abandoned, and the dried blood on the steering wheel, this is clearly an abduction—or possibly worse. My gut tells me Bob had something to do with this, but I can’t allow my vision to be tunneled. That’s why we’re in the middle of a shit storm with the Summers case. Maybe there’s another angle here I’m missing.

“Sheriff,” Nagel says, pulling me from my thoughts.

I look to him and then Olson. “Has anyone pulled a background check on Stacy Howard?”

They both shake their heads.

“I want that too.”

“I’m on it,” Nagel says, turning on his heel. He gets on his radio, alerting Sergeant Lantz and Deputy Lane to his new requests, and then he calls his team over to dispense instructions on next steps.

“Background check?” Olson squints.

“Just a gut feeling,” I say.

“And you’re sure we shouldn’t bring Bob in for questioning again?”

I scan the scene before me, taking it all in.

“No, I’m not sure,” I say. “But we interviewed him yesterday, and until forensics comes back on this scene, we’ve got no direct evidence tying him to Stacy’s disappearance. So, we have nothing new to question him about... at least not yet.”