Page 28 of All He Takes
"We're on it," Officer Green said.
With that, the manager left with the officers, leaving Nicky and Ken alone to survey the scene. Nicky set the photo back down, looking closely at it to see if there was another detail. The girl, like the others, had brown hair and was young and pretty. But the scene was a bit different too. The angle was wider. They could see more of the background.
Squinting, Nicky looked even closer. It was too dark. Nicky took out her phone and snapped a photo, then, on her phone, she went into the picture settings and upped the brightness, turning the screen to Ken.
There was a texture in the background.
No, not a texture--a wallpaper.
Damask. Blue and yellow in color. Something about it was familiar.
"We've seen this before," Nicky said to Ken.
He frowned at the screen. "Yeah, we have..."
But where? Why was it so familiar?
Then, it hit her:
"Mr. Dumond," Nicky said.
"What?" Ken frowned.
Her heart raced. No--she was certain of it. They'd seen that wallpaper earlier that day--at Harriet Antique. "It was in Mr. Dumond's shop," Nicky said. "He had this wallpaper at his store."
"Shit," Ken said. "He did. But he was so nice. We can't actually think..."
"I don't know. But we need to look into him."
***
Back in the car, Nicky had her laptop open while Ken sat in the passenger seat. Her fingers clacked at the keyboard as she searched for Charles Dumond from Pine Grove... but nothing came up.
"He said he'd lived there his whole life, didn't he?" Nicky asked. "He's not in the database."
"Maybe there are other Charles Dumonds, not from Pine Grove?" Ken offered.
Nicky checked that. The sun had fully set now, and they were sitting in the car, the only brightness coming from the screen. The police were still working at the store across from them, looking for more evidence, but Nicky had a strong feeling they'd find none.
"There are other Charles Dumonds, but none who seem related to him," Nicky said, scrolling through a list of names and photos. "These aren't him."
"So, it's an alias," Ken said. "He lied to us."
"It would appear that way," Nicky said. "But why would he lie? Why would someone who runs an antique store lie about where he lives and who he is?"
"Well, if he's the one who's been planting these photographs," Ken said, "he lied to make himself look innocent."
That was a very good point.
"It seems that way," Nicky said. She wasn't sure why, but she didn't want to believe it. Mr. Dumond had been such a kind man.
But who was he, really?
Nicky went online and looked up Harriet Antique, and what came up was an article from Pine Grove--with a picture of Mr. Dumond, smiling, looking kind as always. But they had a photo of him--which meant they might be able to track down his real ID.
"Before we go in guns blazing," Nicky said, "we need to know who we're dealing with. I bet Grace can track him down. I'll give her a call."
She pulled out her phone and dialed Grace's number. Grace picked up on the third ring.
