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“Possibly.” He set the empty soda can on the marble island his men sat around. “I found this outside Lexi’s room.”
“Cheerwine?” Stan queried, studying the can. He didn’t look as if he was familiar with the brand either.
Ruth waved a hand in the air, dismissing it. “Oh, that’s not anything. I keep telling him not to leave his trash around, but it’s like talking to a brick wall. I’ll get rid of it.”
She went to take the can but Kane stopped her. His instincts had been right — and finally, he could now see what Bud had been trying to tell him all along. He needed her to say the words.
“Whodo you keep telling?”
“My son, Hank. He loves that brand of soda, has since he was a little kid back in South Carolina. He drinks that stuff like it’s water, orders it online. I tell him how bad it is for him, but he won’t listen.”
“He was here tonight?”
She nodded, not picking up on his tone yet. “He helps out occasionally, when I need a pair of extra hands.”
“He wasn’t on the list of staff?” Kane knew that very well, having checked it recently himself.
Ruth’s smile started to fade. “I never put him on it. I mean, he’s my son. He just helps me when I need it.”
And is granted access to come and go as he pleased.
“Where is Hank now?”
She must have realized it wasn’t an idle question. Her eyes turned dark with panic. The coffee pot trembled in her hand.
“Oh no, he won’t have anything to do with this. He loves Lexi. He talks about her all the time.”
“Where is he Ruth?!”
She blinked up at him unseeingly.
“He left a little while ago to pick up more ice for us. We were running a bit low.” Her voice had turned to a whisper.
“When? When was the last time you saw him?” It was crucial for him to establish a timeline.
She looked at the Victorian clock hanging on the wall.
“About an hour ago.”
Kane and Stan shared a tense look. “The same time she was first reported as missing.”
A haunted look came into Ruth’s eyes. The coffee pot dropped onto the island, spilling hot brown liquid onto the marble.
“No. He wouldn’t. I know he’s not like everyone else, but he wouldn’t hurt her. He wouldn’t have taken her…”
But Kane knew differently.
“What’s his address, Ruth? I need his address!”
She blinked up at him, shell-shocked and shaken.
“He has the house next to mine. I bought it for him so he could have his own space.”
By the time she sank into a chair, Kane had already left.
26
Ruth wasn’t much use after that.
