Page 23 of All He Sees
Nicky exhaled and considered the facts. If Pedro wasn't actually near Vale, then that would mean he wasn't the kidnapper.
But if he wasn’t not the kidnapper, then who was?
There were too many coincidences here, and Nicky wasn't willing to accept that Pedro was innocent so easily. This didn't mean Nicky had to trust him. She was just being honest with herself.
"I want to show you something, Pedro," Nicky said, pulling out a photo of the other two victims: Clara and Erica. She slid them toward Pedro. "These girls are missing too, Pedro. The first of them went missing eight months ago. They're probably scared and missing their families. You can help them if you just tell us the truth."
"I told you the truth!" Pedro exclaimed. "I don't know them; I don't know nothin' about them!"
"All right," Ken said. He took a moment to glance over at Nicky. "What about this? If you're not the guy who kidnapped Mira, then why were you in Vale? I'm sure some people in Vale remember you."
"My parents didn't like me hangin' around Vale," Pedro said. "That's why I moved, you know? You think I like livin' all the way in Vale? Look, forget all that--call Mike. Call my brother."
"A family member is hardly a good alibi," Nicky told him.
"But it's the truth!" Pedro said. "I was nowhere near Vale, okay?"
"We'll need to confirm that." Nicky stood up, glaring at Pedro.
"We'll be in touch," Ken said, standing too. Nicky glanced up at him, and then both of them stood and headed for the door, stepping into the cold hallway of the precinct. There were cops milling about, shooting the agents curious glances. It wasn't often FBI agents showed up at a place like this just off the highway.
Nicky was sure Pedro was guilty--or she wanted to believe it. But if he wasn't, then it meant this was a much larger case than they first believed.
And that worried Nicky. How could she pursue the case if she just couldn't find a lead?
Putting her hands on her hips, Nicky faced Ken. "All right, game plan. You call the brother. I'll get Grace to run Pedro's license place and see if his car was in Vale the day Mira disappeared."
"Sounds good," Ken said. "I'll meet you in the car, then?"
Nicky nodded. Ken turned and headed for the door past the interrogation room, and Nicky headed for the main door of the police station. She stepped out into the warm, humid night, and headed for her car. The second she stepped inside, she shut the door and locked it. Then she took out her phone and called Grace.
As always, Grace's chipped voice came through the line near instantly.
"Hiya, Agent Lyons," she said. "How can I help?"
"Hey, Grace. I need you to run a plate for me, find out if any security cameras caught this car out on August 18th and the night before, so the 17th. I need to know if it was near Vale."
"And who's the plate for?" Grace asked.
"Pedro Lopez," Nicky told her. She opened up her phone and read off the screen: "License plate number CYHN R08."
"Got it," Grace said. Nicky could hear clacking on the other end. Grace was working her magic. "Okay, let's see here... I have a hit on that license plate the night of the 17th, but it was in Huntsville, about two hours away."
Damn. Nicky's teeth gritted together. That lined up with what Pedro was saying was his alibi.
"Okay, and the morning of the 18th? Was he seen anywhere heading toward Vale?"
"Hmmm..." A pause on the other end. "Nope. He was seen driving outside of a coffee shop at about nine a.m. I can send you the footage if you want. Green car. CRV model."
Nicky let out an exasperated sigh. "No thanks, Grace. Your word is enough."
"Gotcha. Anything else I can do?"
"Nothing. Thanks."
Nicky hung up.
In the darkness of the night, she slouched against the seat of the car.
