Page 49 of In Pursuit of the Truth

“What happened with the daughter?” Nate went to the fridge and motioned to it, asking Bailey if she wanted something to drink. She nodded, and he brought back a bottle of water for each of them before sitting down again.

“Sophia stayed here with her father. There were no custody papers drawn up that I could find. She was seventeen at the time.”

“The whole situation sounds terribly sad.” Bailey frowned.

“It gets worse. A year after her parents divorced, Sophia disappeared again, and her father filed a missing person’s report. Sophia was eighteen by then, and while an investigation was opened, there was no evidence to support foul play. She was deemed a runaway, and that was that. Sixmonths later, the house went up in flames. Mr. Tinsley escaped in time, but the house was a total loss. An extensive investigation was conducted, and it was later determined that faulty wiring in the basement led to the fire.”

Nate shook his head sadly. “Poor guy was put through the wringer, wasn’t he?”

“He eventually had the debris removed and then built the house that you currently live in. He finally decided to sell the place, and that’s when you and Joe purchased the property.”

Bailey wished she’d known all of this when they bought the place. They’d gone through the real estate company and never met the owner. It was possible Adam Tinsley wasn’t even in town at that time.

She took a sip of her water and replaced the cap. “Do we know where he is now? Is it possible he’s the one trying to get us to sell because he regrets the decision in the first place?”

Detective Paris’s voice came back on the line. “We’re trying to locate him. I’d like to have a conversation and ask him some specific questions as to how other buyers might have approached him. There might be something—or someone—that connects to the trouble you’ve been having, Bailey.”

“We’ve got another small puzzle we’re working on over here, too.” Nate told them about the watch. “I’m taking it in to be cleaned tomorrow. There’s a good chance someone who visited Bailey’s business dropped it at some point, but it’s definitely worth pursuing.”

“Excellent. Keep me updated on what you find. If you end up with a name or initials, Logan can run a search and compare that with anyone associated with the property just in case there’s a match.”

Logan’s voice came through from the background. “Just say the word.”

The conversation ended, leaving Nate and Bailey at the table, absorbing the information. There were still way more questions than they had answers, but for the first time, she felt like that might change soon.

Chapter Thirty

It felt surreal to see Bailey the next morning and be able to greet her with a kiss. She’d blushed, and Nate had enjoyed every moment of it before the morning was moving forward at full speed. Bailey got the boys dressed and fed while Nate took care of Minnie and washed the dishes. Then, they checked on and fed the goats and ducks on their way to the store. People started showing up to help at eight. Nate had opened the front gate so they could come and go as needed.

He was worried that Bailey might feel overwhelmed. She hadn’t seen a lot of the people coming in to help since Joe’s funeral, and there were many she’d never met. She quickly proved that she was on top of things and a skilled delegator.

Rachel was there, as well as Jenny. Both women promised to help Bailey keep an eye on Seth and Jordan.

Originally, Nate planned to take at least Jordan and maybe Seth to help him drop the watch off at the jewelry store. He was getting ready to talk to Baileyabout it when Detective Paris came in. He looked around at the bustling store and nodded his approval before zeroing in on Nate.

“Walker.” They shook hands. “Logan located Adam Tinsley. He moved some years ago to this side of Austin. He was reluctant to speak over the phone, so I’m heading that way now to question him. I thought you might want to come along.”

Nate tried to keep the surprise from his face. He wanted the opportunity to hear what Tinsley had to say, and Austin was just over an hour away. He would’ve refused to leave Bailey except that she and her sons were surrounded by some of the people he trusted the most.

Paris must have anticipated his worry because he nodded toward Jenny. “I’ve asked Durant to stay until we get back regardless of whether anyone else gets called out.”

“That sounds great. Do you mind if we drop the watch off at the jewelry store for cleaning on the way out of town?”

“Not a problem. See you out front in five.”

Nate found Bailey at the back of the store, took her aside, and told her where he and Paris were going. “At the very least, Jenny will be here with you. Most likely, you’ll be surrounded by officers all day. You and the boys will be safe. But don’t hesitate to call if you need me. Okay?”

She nodded. “I really hope you guys get some information we can use.”

“So do I. Stay safe.” He gave her hand a squeeze when he really wanted to kiss her goodbye. “I’ll text you when we’re on our way back.”

“Be careful?”

“Always.”

He knew Bailey, Seth, and Jordan were going to beokay. If their suspect had any sense of self-preservation, he’d steer clear of the property today.

Driving into Austin was a good reminder of why Nate preferred to live in a smaller town like Destiny. Sure, there were upsides to living in a big city: more places to shop, a wider range of medical care, and more job opportunities.

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