“A picture of Nina?” Darcy asks as Margaret cups her hand above the screen to block the glare.
Darcy squints at the photograph which catches the woman turning away as if she senses the camera. Her hair appears a touch lighter than the sandy browns in the posters, but hair color can change as a child matures into a woman. The eyes draw Darcy’s attention. This woman looks like the aged phantom of Nina Steyer.
“Send a copy to my phone.”
Margaret nods and swipes through her phone. Tipton’s door slams. The onlookers crowded outside Maury’s clear a path as the sheriff beelines toward Darcy and Hensel.
“Well, where’s Nina?” Tipton places his hands on his hips. Darcy can see from the set of his jaw that Tipton itches for a confrontation. “Let me guess. Disappeared a moment before I arrived.”
“She tried to hitch a ride out of town again,” Darcy says.
“I suppose the trucker disappeared too?”
“He’s inside the diner. We’re about to interview him. You’re welcome to join us unless you’ve already decided this is a wild goose chase. Would you at least look at the picture the waitress took of Nina?”
Darcy calls up the photograph and zooms in on the woman’s face. Tipton groans. Then something flashes in his eyes. Anguish and desperation.
“The FBI doesn’t have jurisdiction in Scarlet River,” Tipton says, glaring at Hensel. He shifts his attention to Darcy. “And you’re not an active agent. Stand aside. My county, my interview.”
Tipton adjusts his hat and pulls the door open. The sea of customers splits as he struts toward the counter where a skinny man in blue jeans and a flannel shirt sits with his back to them. The man leans over a plate of pancakes and hash browns, unaware of the sheriff towering behind him. A female cook slides a cup of fruit in front of the customer. Her eyes go wide at the sight of the sheriff, and she swivels on her heel and escapes into the bustle of the busy kitchen, throwing harried looks over her shoulder.
Sensing the sheriff, the man drops his fork and turns.
“You the man who claims he saw Nina Steyer?”
The trucker touches a napkin to the corners of his mouth and clears his throat.
“A woman asked me if I’d drive her out of town, but I don’t know any Nina Steyer.”
“You got a name, son?”
“I’m Keith Boughton.”
Boughton offers his hand, but Tipton ignores it.
“You in the habit of picking up hitchhikers?”
Boughton glances at Darcy and Hensel for help as he fumbles for a reply.
“I…I didn’t mean any harm. Told her I was headed up Athens way, if that was okay, and I’d be happy to give her a ride. That’s when I noticed everyone looking at the woman like they’d seen a ghost, and I thought maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to let her inside my truck.”
“So you left her alone in the parking lot?”
“No, she’d already gone. Hey, am I in trouble?”
Darcy removes the folded poster of Nina. Tipton snatches it from her hand and spreads it out on the counter, jabbing his index finger beside Nina’s face.
“Is this the woman you saw?”
Lifting the poster, Boughton scrutinizes the photo. The truck driver tilts his head and furrows his brow.
“Well, I’ll be.”
“So it was her?”
“Couldn’t have been. This was a woman, not a girl. But with God as my witness, this could be her little sister.”
Tipton sighs and takes the poster from Boughton. Pointing at the text on the bottom, his finger follows each word.
“Went missing ten years ago.”
Boughton sits back in his chair, the gravity of the situation pressing on him.
“Shoot…I didn’t know. Ten years. You really think it could be her?”
Tipton wheels away from Boughton and moves among the intimidated wait staff and cooks, interviewing each as Darcy and Hensel trail behind. For a man convinced Nina never visited Maury’s, Tipton appears dogged, relentless. Darcy glimpses anxiousness again.
While Tipton speaks with the staff, Darcy and Hensel split up and move through the crowd. Using the poster of Nina pinned inside the entryway, Darcy shows the picture to each person. Most remain unconvinced, but a few point to Nina’s photograph and nod, steadfast they saw an older version of Nina Steyer.
Tipton looks as if he’s run a marathon at a full sprint when he meets Darcy and Hensel in the parking lot.
“I’ll need a copy of the waitress’s photograph,” Tipton tells Darcy.
“Don’t you think it’s a good idea to put a BOLO out on this woman?”
“Already done,” the sheriff says, removing his hat and wiping sweat off his forehead. “Except she’s done nothing wrong, unless you want me to bring her in for hitchhiking. Shit. I can’t deal with a ghost chase when I’ve got a missing girl to find.”
Sandy Young went missing yesterday afternoon. Darcy knows the statistics. Few child abductions have happy endings after twenty-four hours pass, and the clock is ticking against them.
“You’re already looking into known sex offenders in the area?”
“One step ahead of you, Ms. Gellar.”
“I know one guy in town who likes girls Sandy Young’s age.”
Darcy recounts the story of the man following Jennifer through the store and the close encounter in town, doing her best to describe him.
“Gil Waggoner,” Tipton says with a groan.
“You know him?”
“We’ve had our share of run-ins with Waggoner, mostly the drunk and disorderly kind. But two years ago he tried to pick up a fifteen-year-old girl hanging out with her friend behind a downtown pub. No place for two teenagers.”
“Is he capable of abduction?”
Tipton ponders the idea as vehicles turn out of Maury’s, the excitement dying down.
“It’s not beyond the realm of possibility. I’ll check on Waggoner.” Tipton rubs his face. “This horse shit didn’t happen around here twenty years ago. The whole area is going to hell. Serial killers. Kidnappers.”
He spits kidnappers and looks toward the sky, seeking answers that don’t exist.
“Sheriff, bring in my team,” Hensel says.
Tipton’s eyes narrow. Darcy can see him wrestling with the idea.
“A lot of good that did me ten years ago when we still had a chance to find Nina.”
“You’re dealing with a kidnapped girl and a stalker in league with Michael Rivers. Don’t solve the case on your own.” Recognizing Tipton’s apprehension, Hensel steps closer to Tipton. “We’ll help you figure out who the kidnapper is. You make the arrest. It’s your investigation.”
Tipton clenches his teeth and lifts the radio off his belt.
“Filmore, I want the men manning the roadblocks to look for a woman resembling Nina Steyer…yeah, I said Nina Steyer. And tell the other deputies we’re bringing in the FBI.” Tipton stares at Hensel and Darcy. “Let’s bring Sandy Young home.”
CHAPTER NINE
The farmhouse door closes, blocking out the howling wind and the unusual cold. Hensel and Darcy spent two hours inside the sheriff’s department while Tipton coordinated with the FBI before she drove back to Laurie’s, leaving Hensel with Tipton.
“So the FBI is coming to Scarlet River?” Laurie asks, falling into the kitchen chair.
Darcy sips from a mug of hot chocolate, the porcelain warm in her hands.
“The team flies into Atlanta in an hour.”
“Amazing. I never understood how you did it, Darcy, dropping everything at a moment’s notice and flying to the scene of a horrible crime. Wait, how is Agent Hensel getting around if you have your car?”