Page 21 of Little Child Gone

Spencer nodded. “Instead of splitting the inheritance between my mom and uncle, he changed his will to give Ms. Smith twenty-five percent. The will stipulated that time and effort had to be put into searching for her. If she wasn’t found within eighteen months, the will reverted back to its original form.” His eyes sparkled. “I was excited. I thought we’d find Rebecca and her family. Grandpa knew my mom wouldn’t honor his wishes, so he made sure Uncle Patrick and his attorney had a copy of the will. But even though they followed all the guidelines, they never found her.”

Nikki tried to catch up with the racing thoughts in her head. If the bodies were members of the Smith family, a motive had emerged. “Did your mom or uncle know about that before your grandpa died?”

“Uncle Patrick said he didn’t open the will, which were Grandpa’s instructions. I think he suspected Grandpa would throw a wrench into things, even if it was just to make Mom miserable.”

“They really didn’t get along?” Miller asked.

“I’m not sure my mom gets along with anyone, to be honest. But it definitely got worse after my grandma passed. I remember my dad talking about the money they got then, because Grandma wanted her kids to enjoy the money from selling the machinery businesses. She hoped that would help Mom and Grandpa get along better, but it didn’t. My father always said they were too much alike, but Grandpa had a heart.”

This was the first Nikki had heard about Spencer’s father. “Are your parents still married?”

He burst out laughing. “God, no. They should have divorced a long time ago.” He thought for a moment. “I think they divorced in 2014. All blurs together.”

“Was there a prenup?” Miller asked.

“No, but Dad’s an engineer and his aunt left him some money. He just wanted out at that point.”

One thing bothered Nikki. “How do you know your grandpa was of sound mind when he changed the will? Given his age, I’d think someone as familiar with the law as your mother would have been able to successfully dispute it.”

Spencer chewed the inside of his cheek. “Can this stay between us? I don’t want my mother to hear it.”

“We can try,” Nikki said. “I can’t make any promises, especially without knowing the information.”

“Grandpa had me as a witness when his attorney came with the changes. I told the attorney Grandpa knew what he was doing, even if I didn’t know his reasoning.”

“That was my next question,” Nikki said. “Why did he want to leave money to this woman who disappeared and hurt him so much?”

“I don’t know,” Spencer admitted. “He told me it was none of my business, so I didn’t push.”

“Then how were you able to say he was competent to make the decision?” Miller asked.

“Grandpa was like that about everything involving money, mostly because my mother always had her nose in his business.” Moisture built in his eyes. “It has to be them. Why didn’t I open that closet?”

“Come on, man,” Matt said. “Most people would have done the same thing, especially if everything seemed normal.”

Deputy Huse returned. “The dog didn’t scent inside. How do you want me to handle the apartment? It looks awfully small, so he’s likely to scent as soon as he enters.”

“Just walk him through,” Miller said. “We know he will scent in the bedroom and hall, but I want to make sure we’ve checked every possible inch of this place.”

Deputy Huse headed into the apartment. Miller looked at Matt. “We’ll need to go through what’s left of the original shop, too. I assume you have a key?”

Matt nodded. “Since the dog didn’t scent, can we start cleaning and remodeling?”

“In the main house,” Miller said. “Apartment needs to stay sealed.”

Matt’s watch vibrated. “I have to be somewhere in an hour and I have to drop Spencer off first.”

Nikki fished a business card out of her back pocket and gave it to Spencer. “If you think of anything else, however miniscule, call me. Matt, we can lock things up.”

He and Spencer headed back out into the freezing wind.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Nikki leaned toward Miller. “Is Ms. Smith a fake name? Was she running from someone?”

“My guess is it’s a fake name or they would have found her,” Miller said. “But which two family members are our bodies? What happened to the toddler, did one of them escape with him? Didn’t Blanchard say the male was adolescent but had hit puberty?”

Nikki knew what he was getting at. “You’re thinking he could be the same age as Eli Robertson. Did the killer assume these bodies would be found when the house was sold? Did the purchase act as a catalyst in some way? It’s a jump, Miller.”

Nikki thought he was on the wrong track, but they should follow up. “Do you think the assistant chief would give you any more information since we’ve discovered these remains?”

---