Page 28 of Little Child Gone

“Dad died four days later.” Patrick exhaled shakily. “So, when the will was read and I realized he’d changed it to include Ms. Smith, I was confused at first. I thought maybe he’d done it around the time she disappeared, but then I found out he’d changed it not long before he went into the nursing home. I know at that time that he was certain she must be dead.”

“Why did you think he changed it then?” Nikki asked.

“Honestly, I thought it was to stick it to my sister. When he sent me a copy, he told me not to open it, but that I would need it when the time came. I’m not one to go against Dad’s wishes. Then I heard the lengths we had to go to in order to fulfill our obligation to look for her and realized he’d taken one last shot at someone finding out what happened to the Smiths.”

“Didn’t anyone else ask about them?” Nikki asked. “No one ever came looking for them, a family member or friend?”

“Not a soul, as far as I know,” he answered. “I got the feeling from Dad that Ms. Smith didn’t know anyone in the area and was afraid to be social.”

“Afraid?” Nikki echoed. “That’s the word he used?”

“Yes,” Patrick said. “I should have pushed finding out more about her, but like I said, Dad was happy.”

“I understand,” Nikki said. “Is there anything else I should know before I speak with Stephanie?”

“You’ve tangled with her before, Agent,” Patrick said. “You can handle her.”

“Do you and Stephanie communicate anymore?” Nikki asked.

“Not since the funeral,” he said. “I no longer had any obligation to entertain her bullshit. I let the attorney deal with her.”

Nikki wondered if it were possible for Patrick to have an unbiased opinion about his sister. “How did Stephanie act after the Smiths disappeared?”

“Cocky,” he said. “Lots of ‘I told you so’s,’ that sort of thing. Dad tossed her out over it.”

“How did she take that?” Nikki asked.

“I wasn’t here to witness, but Dad said she got violent with him.” Anger thickened his voice. “She denied it, but Dad did have bruises on his arms when I visited not long after.” Patrick hesitated before taking a deep breath. “You’re likely trying to figure out how to ask me if my sister is capable of killing someone over money. As much as I’d like to defend her, I can’t.”

TEN

It took Nikki a few moments to understand the song invading her dreams was actually Miller’s ringtone. Rory groaned and rolled over, putting his pillow over his head while Nikki blindly grabbed for her phone. A 5:30 a.m. call from the sheriff was never good. “Miller, what’s up?”

“Just got a call about another missing teenaged boy. A high school freshman left school in the afternoon to walk to his job at Menards. It’s less than ten minutes from Stillwater High School. He never showed, wasn’t there when the mom came to pick him up. I’m headed to talk to the family right now.”

Another missing Stillwater freshman. Once the news got out, people were going to assume the worst. The media would start talking serial killer because they loved to talk about serial killers and speculate about the worst possible outcomes. “I can meet you at the station in twenty.”

She got out of bed and quickly found jeans and a sweater.

“Case?” Rory grumbled from bed.

“Yes. I’m sorry. Can you get Lacey to school?” Nikki liked to drop Lacey off when she could, but that wasn’t going to happen today.

“Yep. Be careful.” He started snoring softly.

Nikki quickly brushed her teeth and hair, slathered her face with moisturizer and hurried into her office to gather her things. She peeked in on Lacey, who was still asleep, her right foot hanging off the bed. “See you later, Bug,” Nikki whispered.

Twenty-three minutes later, Nikki arrived at the sheriff’s office. She grabbed her work bag and SIG Sauer out of its locked box underneath her seat. She never took her weapon into the house. Lacey wasn’t a kid that snooped or got into things she wasn’t supposed to, but it wasn’t worth the risk.

She deposited the bag and pistol on Miller’s back seat and got in beside him. Nikki immediately asked the question that had been nagging her since he’d called. “The kid wasn’t there after work, and you said the call just came in?”

“Yep. Dispatch didn’t ask any more questions.”

Nikki adjusted her seat belt. “Where do they live?”

“Near Lake McKusick by Oak Glen Golf Course.”

“Pricey neighborhood,” Nikki said.

---