Page 6 of Little Child Gone

“Would Chisago respond?”

“I’m sure,” Nikki said. “If I remember correctly, the Hendrickson place is only a few miles from the county line, too.”

“Trauma sucks.”

“It does.”

Courtney adjusted her seat belt. “I hope you know how much spending time with Lacey helps me. She’s so smart and advanced for her age. She reminds me of an inquisitive grad student who doesn’t realize how tough the world is.”

“I’m so glad,” Nikki responded. “She certainly keeps your mind off things when she’s around.”

“She did. I’m glad she likes the microscope. Even if she shifts focus, I bet Lacey sticks with science. You should put her in STEM classes when the time comes.”

“We probably will,” Nikki said. “I don’t want to think about her being in junior high yet. There’s something I wanted to tell you, though.” Nikki slowed down at the busier part of Manning Avenue north, houses and condos giving way to open tracts of land and blowing snow. “Lacey asked me how I felt about her calling Rory ‘Dad.’”

Lacey’s biological father had been murdered a few years ago, and Rory had stepped in to fill the role. They all made sure to keep Tyler in their lives. He had a Christmas ornament on the tree, and Rory had always been supportive of keeping Tyler’s memory alive, including helping Lacey make an ornament for him this year.

“Oh my God, really?” Courtney put her hands over her heart. “That is so sweet.”

Nikki nodded. “I told her that it was up to her. She thought about it for a minute and then said that Tyler would always be Daddy, but Rory had been Dad for a few years.” Nikki could still remember Lacey’s solemn expression when she’d asked if Tyler would be mad. “She worried it would hurt Tyler’s memory, but I told her that he’d be relieved that she loved Rory so much. I think she’s going to bring it up with him today.”

“He’s going to bawl like a baby,” Courtney said.

“Probably.” Nikki turned onto 240th Street, following it around the remaining cornfields. “Thirty years ago, the only things you saw out here were corn and farm equipment. Hendrickson owned a lot of land. Kids liked to race down the road at night because there was so little traffic.”

Nikki’s boyfriend at the time had owned a muscle car, and he frequently raced the Hendrickson drag strip, as everyone called it. Nikki had always refused to ride in the car with him, and he’d called her a coward. She should have dumped him then. “Damn. That gas station definitely wasn’t there back then.”

“Hendrickson must have been loaded, between selling the machinery business and so much land.”

“I’m sure he was.” Nikki turned right onto Olinda Trail. “One of our best K9 trainers lives around here.” She gestured to the surrounding land. “I know progress happens, but I hate seeing houses gobbling all the farmland up.”

“Is that a solar farm?” Courtney asked.

“Yeah, Matt said the driveway was just after the solar farm on the right.” Nikki slowed down as they passed a grove of trees that blocked any line of sight from the road to the house. She’d never been to the Hendricksons’ actual house, but she knew it was at the end of a long drive, trees surrounding the property and separating them from the cornfields. Nikki’s tires handled the icy driveway with ease, following the drive to the house.

“That doesn’t look like a historical house,” Courtney said. “Looks like a seventies rambler.”

“I think the original house burned down,” Nikki said. “That’s why Matt’s house on Bone Lake is so important to the local history. It’s original and in excellent condition, which is very rare.”

Nikki and Courtney were still getting out of the Jeep as Matt Kline exited the front door and hurried toward them.

“He reminds me of Ryan Gosling, with shaggier hair,” Courtney muttered. “Is he still single?”

“I have no idea.” Nikki slung her work bag onto her shoulder. “Hey, Matt. Happy New Year.”

“Yeah, Happy New Year.” Matt wore only a black T-shirt covered with drywall dust and ratty, paint-stained jeans.

“You know it’s, like, twenty degrees?”

“Yeah, let’s hurry inside.”

“Courtney was at my house when you called, so I brought her along.”

Courtney held up her black bag that she lugged to every crime scene. “Head of FBI Evidence Response.”

“Good. I think you’ll have plenty to examine.”

Nikki and Courtney struggled to keep up with Matt’s long strides. “What made you choose this property to remodel?” Nikki asked.

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