Page 33 of Vanish From Sight

“Puts my place to shame,” she said.

Stepping out, Noah glanced off to his right toward lush greenery and towering trees. It all led away down a gently sloping hill toward a shimmering lake.

Noah knocked while Callie walked around the side, speaking into her radio to update dispatch on her whereabouts.

“Noah.”

He glanced her way and she motioned for him to follow. He came around and could see a man down near the lake, working away clearing weeds and tossing them into a wheelbarrow. Noah squinted as the light of the day shone in his eyes.

“Morning,” Noah said, taking in the sense of peace and serenity that could only be found far from the hustle of city living. The man dumped the long weeds in his arms into the barrel. He cupped a hand over his brow, squinting at them. He was dressed in a faded T-shirt, well-worn jeans and gardening gloves, a change from the suit-and-tie attire that came with the hectic world of finance.

“Mr. Evans.”

“Yes?”

“I’m Senior Investigator Noah Sutherland, State Police, and this is Deputy Thorne. Could we speak with you inside?”

“Whatever you need to say, you can say it here.”

Noah caught an edge to his voice and nodded. He glanced at Callie who raised her eyebrows. It wasn’t uncommon to find folks who were leery of letting police inside their home, let alone speaking with them. Then again, it depended on what they had to hide and what their past history of interactions had been with the law.

“What is this about?” he asked.

“Would you know where your wife, Katherine, is?”

“Your guess is as good as mine.”

“You’re saying you don’t know?”

“I’m saying she never told me.” He stared at them both, then scoffed before saying in a quiet voice, as he took off his gloves, “Let me guess. Katherine decided to file some bogus charge against me. Is that it? You know this isn’t the first time she’s done this — run away — but I didn’t think she would go this far.”

“No charges have been filed against you, Mr. Evans.”

He gave them a confused look. Noah tended to hold back from releasing information because a lot could be gleaned from the reaction of someone before they found out the truth. Some would be quick to tell stories, to come up with alibis on the spot even when he hadn’t said a crime had been committed.

“Then what’s happened?”

“That’s what we were hoping you might tell us,” Noah said.

Again, he fed him a line, a last chance to see what he might say.

“She’s been gone for five or six days. I assume she is staying with a friend, her mother, or…” He looked away, a painful expression masking his face. “At the shelter.” He dropped his chin.

“A shelter?”

“For women. Like I said, this isn’t the first time she’s left without saying where she was going. Last time it happened, over a year ago, she didn’t even tell her parents. Of all places, I found out through her work. I figured she’d done the same again.”

“What was the reason for leaving last time?”

“Work stress, loss of someone in the family, and tension in our relationship. Look. Whatever she’s told you, take it with a grain of salt because I’ve never once laid a hand on her. Argue. Sure. We’ve done that. Who hasn’t. But I sure as hell know where to draw the line.”

He paused to wipe sweat from his brow and stretch his back.

“And this time?”

“I couldn’t tell you. I mean, things were good, as good as they could be between us. Her work. That was another thing entirely.”

“And that’s why you never filed a missing person report?”