Page 25 of Vanish From Sight

Noah gave him a moment. He couldn’t help but feel pity. His mother was only one of thousands of parents and elderly peoplethroughout the country who suffered in silence and would often slip away without anyone noticing. It made him think of his own father, and the fears he had surrounding him losing his memory. Who would take care of him? At least they were in a better position financially to bring in a caregiver, but someone like Thomas?

He sighed.

Once they collected the dogs and Noah placed Thomas in the back of the cruiser, Callie closed the door and turned.

“Now what?”

“We’ll have a vet check the chip in the dog and perhaps that will give us the name of the victim and her address.”

“You really think it’s hers?”

“Only one way to find out.”

8

Sunday, November 20, 7:15 a.m.

Answers were within his grasp but getting them was slow.

Noah was supposed to meet with a local vet later that morning to get the RFID chip in the dog scanned in the hope that it might lead them back to the owner and perhaps put a face to the missing woman.

At least now he had something to latch on to, a guiding light for the next step of the investigation.

As the sun rose over the quiet suburban street across from the museum his mother once worked at, the Bronco bounced over the curb when he pulled into the driveway of Kerri’s home. It had been months since he’d last visited. He was eager to catch up with his sister-in-law and see how his niece and nephew were doing.

Noah climbed the front steps and knocked, his pulse racingwith anticipation. Kerri opened the door and greeted him, her face no longer etched with sadness, only relief at a familiar face.

“Noah.”

He gave her a big hug. “Hey Kerri.” She invited him in and led him into the kitchen, where she had prepared a hearty breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon and toast. The savory scents made his stomach grumble.

He took a seat.

“Coffee?” she asked.

“Please.”

Noah looked around, his eye catching a framed photo of Luke and the family. Better days. He smiled. “Where are the kids? Axel?”

“Oh, they took him for a walk. I figured I would get out all that pent-up energy before he sees you and goes berserk.”

“I’ve missed him.”

“I bet.” She turned and handed him a coffee, then took a seat. The kitchen was bright and sunny, with large windows that let in the natural morning light. There were even more photos of Luke and the kids on the wall, and a bowl of fruit at the center of the pine table.

“You look well. How have you been?” he asked.

“I have my good days. The others I tend to hide from the kids.”

He nodded. Grief was difficult to process. Kerri smiled. “But enough about me. What’s happening with you? You’ve taken on a new position, moved back here. Where are you staying?”

“With Gretchen for a while.”

“Ah, I love her. She’s done so much for us since the funeral. She takes the kids some weekends, and dropped off meals in the first month.”

“Sounds like her.” Noah twisted and reached into a leather briefcase. He took out all the paperwork related to thewaterfront home and slid it across the table. “You familiar with this property?”

Kerri had been in real estate for so many years, there was very little that escaped her eye. Even if an agent wasn’t working for the same company, they were usually aware of homes and businesses on the market, how long they’d been there, and some of the history. What they didn’t know usually only required one phone call to find out. She took a sip of her coffee, set the cup down and opened the folder.