“All right,” Stella said. “Think about what we’ve said, and let me know if you come up with further thoughts. We also need to speak with Mr. Banks again. Would you call me and let me know when he comes home?”
Juanita nodded, her face taking on a fierce look. “If you find out he’s hurt my children in any way, will you tell me?”
Stella seemed to be observing the mother closely as she stood. “We’ll be discussing these things together.”
Like Stella, Mattie rose from her seat, but Juanita remained huddled on the couch.
“Can I call someone to come be with you?” Stella asked.
“No. No, I need to just sit here a moment.” Juanita stared out the window.
“We’ll let ourselves out.”
When they stepped onto the porch, the Banks brothers were coming out of the neighbor’s house and heading toward home. Mattie slowed to say hello, but both boys gave her a shy look as they passed, saying nothing.
Before climbing inside her Explorer, Mattie had a thought. “Let’s go talk with Rosie Gonzales.”
Stella pursed her lips, looking out the windshield at the neighbor’s house. “Okay. Do you want to take lead on this one?”
“Sure.”
Together they walked next door, crossed the sidewalk that split a tidy yard filled with flower beds, and went up the steps onto the porch of a small clapboard house with dark-green siding and newly painted white shutters. Mattie knocked on the door.
Rosie Gonzales looked surprised to see them standing on her doorstep. “Yes?”
“Could we come inside and speak with you for just a few minutes, Mrs. Gonzales?” Mattie asked.
Rosie glanced toward the Banks house but then opened the door wide. “Of course.”
The house opened directly into a living room, where a boy and girl about the same age as the Banks brothers sat watching an episode of a game show. The room seemed cozy, well lit with floor and table lamps, and a bowl containing a handful of leftover popcorn sat on the coffee table in front of the children.
“Turn off the television and go to your rooms to finish your homework,” Rosie said. Perhaps it was Mattie’s uniform, but both children took one look at her and did as they were asked without protest.
“Please, sit,” Rosie said, taking a seat in a deep armchair with mauve cushions, while Mattie and Stella sat on the matching sofa. “How can I help?”
“First let me say I’m sorry for your loss. I’m sure Candace’s death came as a huge shock,” Mattie said. “Did you know her well?”
Tears brimmed Rosie’s eyes, but she held them in check. “I’ve known all those kids since they moved in next door.”
“And when was that?”
Rosie appeared to think. “About three years now. My kids were just starting school. Candace was a little older than the others, and she didn’t come to play like the boys did. But she was always sweet to my kids.”
“Did Candace have friends over while her parents were at work?”
“No, not really. Not that I noticed. Sometimes the older kids drive their cars up and down the street, but I just step outside and work in my yard. They drive away.”
Mattie liked the woman’s version of neighborhood watch. “Do you know anything about Mr. Banks having a drinking problem?”
Tightening her lips, Rosie nodded slowly. She looked down at the arm of the chair she was sitting in and brushed at the nap on its upholstery. Mattie was afraid she wasn’t going to say anything more, but then she spoke. “Burt spends most of his paycheck on booze and other women. It’s a sad situation.”
Other women?
Mattie nodded as if she already knew. “Can you give us the names of any of these women?”
“Nah. Juanita, she doesn’t even know. She just suspects. But he’s never home, never around. He’s tomcattin’ around somewhere.”
“Have the kids ever said anything to you about him being abusive toward them?”
Rosie shook her head. “No, there’ve been no complaints. Really, he’s rarely home. Never spends time with the kids that I know of.”
“Juanita hasn’t shared any suspicions about abuse with you?”
“No.”
There seemed to be no waffling regarding her answers, so Mattie had to take them at face value. “Do you have any idea who might have hurt Candace?”
Rosie’s eyes filled, and this time, tears spilled over. She let them fall. “No, I wish to heaven that I did. I would like to see the person who killed that sweet child suffer.”
Mattie looked at Stella to see if she had any more questions. The detective withdrew a business card from her pocket and handed it to Rosie, thanking her for her time and giving the standard instruction to call if she thought of anything that might help them with the case. Mattie thanked her as well, and they took their leave.
After entering the SUV, Mattie and Stella looked at each other. “Neither of these women suspects that Candace has been abused by her father,” Stella said. “And if he’s got another woman, that could explain where Burt was yesterday afternoon.”
Mattie started the engine and set off toward the station. “He could’ve been up on that hill with Candace.”
“When we talk to him, we’ll pin him down on exactly where he was.”
The knots in Mattie’s shoulders were so tight they hurt. “And I think we should confront him about his relationship with his daughter.”
“Question, Mattie, not confront. I don’t have any preconceived notions about it. Don’t let your past color your judgment on the case.”
Mattie shrugged.
“Your instincts are usually good, but I’m not sure this time. Right now, I like Brooks Waverly the most for this one.”
Mattie pulled into the station’s parking lot and steered the Explorer into a space. She sat for a few moments, thinking about it. “Maybe so, but I’m not ready to lock in on him yet.”
“I agree. We still have a lot of work to do.”
Mattie let Robo out the back, and he ran to sniff the lot before coming back to join her at the station door. Once inside, she and Robo went to the staff office, while Stella went to hers. Mattie sat and turned on her computer.
She’d retrieved the slip of paper with the license plate number on it that Rainbow had checked out earlier. Although the vehicle had been clean, there was something about the men’s furtive behavior that Mattie couldn’t let go. After opening the DMV website, she plugged in the numbers and letters on the plate and waited for the registration to load. It took only a few seconds.
A silver Nissan Pathfinder registered to Merton Heath. City of residence: Denver.
She went into the Colorado Crime Information Center database, and after typing in the name Merton Heath, his name and record popped up on her screen. She scanned through it. Merton Heath—registered sex offender.
Having trouble taking a full breath, Mattie sat back in her chair and stared at her computer. She scrolled through the information. He had been convicted of molesting a minor.
A pedophile. In Timber Creek. The day after a child’s death. What were the odds?
And she’d driven right past him.
Her body tight with anxiety, she strode from her office to tell Stella and the sheriff what she’d found. They needed to put a BOLO out on that vehicle ASAP. She wanted every cop in the state to be on the lookout for this guy.
Chapter 11
Cole sat in his truck, waiting at the end of their lane for the school bus. Angela was staying at school for a yearbook meeting, so Sophie was riding home on the bus alone. She was capable of walking down the lane by herself, but Cole liked to meet the girls when he could.