Page 60 of Little Child Gone

“Tell me exactly what he said.”

“‘I don’t have time for your bullshit,’” Adrian said. “‘I just want to get a shake before my ride gets here.’”

Mrs. Farber finally spoke again. “That’s it? That’s all? You should have told them yesterday, Adrian. This could change things for them.”

“I thought you were on my side,” he whined.

“I am,” she said. “I’m here to make sure you aren’t taken advantage of, and you certainly weren’t. What if Taylor got in the car with a really bad person?”

“It’s all right,” Miller said. “He’s telling us now. What else did he say?”

“Nothing,” Adrian said. “Right after he turned around, a dark car stopped aways down the street. He ran toward it and got inside. They went east on Market. That’s all I know, I swear to God.”

“What kind of car?” Nikki asked.

“Chevy Malibu. Not brand new, not old. Darker color.”

“Did you see the plate?”

“I wasn’t looking, sorry.”

Miller allowed Mrs. Farber to take Adrian back to class. “Principal Carlson, could we look in Taylor’s locker?”

The principal hesitated. “Our privacy rules… we can search the lockers at any time, but searching personal possessions inside is another story. Parents can be really difficult.”

“You have the right to look in his locker,” Miller said. “We need to do it.”

Carlson sighed and called Holly Black into the office. “Take them to the freshman corridor and Taylor Hall’s locker.” She fished a key out of her desk. “This key will unlock the school-issued padlock.”

Nikki hung back to talk to Miller while they followed Holly down the hall. “Play the CCTV video again,” she said.

This time, she focused on Taylor’s shoes. “Those are the missing shoes from his closet, the ones he hid cash in. The Curry shoes.”

Miller shook his head. “What is this kid playing at? I’ll put out an APB for the vehicle with his photo, even though it’s really common. What if the shoes and money are in his locker?”

“Then I’ll rethink my theory,” Nikki said.

“Wow.” Nikki couldn’t believe the state of Taylor’s locker. Unlike his room, the locker was stuffed full of paper, books, and food. The size of the school meant students only had room for a half-sized locker, making the Curry shoes and Taylor’s backpack impossible to hide and possibly unable to fit.

“Teenagers are messy.”

“Not this kid.” She reminded him about Taylor’s meticulously organized room. “More proof of his mother’s influence.” She gestured to the open locker. “This represents the real Taylor.” Nikki studied notes stuck to the inside of the locker door. Most were school related, but at the bottom of the whiteboard, Taylor had written the name “Bailey” along with the same August 2015 date the Smiths had disappeared, followed by a question mark.

“What the hell?” Nikki asked. “Why would Taylor know anything about the Smiths?” She didn’t recognize Bailey, but they didn’t know the male skeleton’s name or what had happened to the youngest member of the Smith family. She looked at Miller.

“Maybe the date is a coincidence,” Miller said. “We don’t even know if Bailey was the youngest one’s name. Still doesn’t explain how Taylor would have found out about a family we can’t find.”

“He doesn’t know anything about his father,” Nikki reminded him. “What if he was searching for him and stumbled onto something really bad?” Her phone dinged with a text from Liam. “Brandon Kelly wants to talk now. He’s willing to meet us at the station.”

“Who is he again?” Miller asked.

“The guy Stephanie dated the fall the Smiths disappeared. Atwood was the affair that broke her marriage, but she dated Brandon publicly.”

“Then let’s go see what he has to say.”

When they arrived at the sheriff’s station, Nikki took time to drink a bottle of water and collect her thoughts. Brandon Kelly had been seeing Stephanie Bancroft when the Smiths had disappeared. If she had anything to do with what happened, she might have said something to him. Nikki had no idea if Brandon was going to be hostile or helpful, but he was likely their last chance at figuring out Stephanie’s mindset when the Smith family disappeared.

She tossed the bottle into the recycling bin and headed to the interview room, where Miller waited with Brandon Kelly.

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