“Black is fine.”
“So tell me about why you made the drive.” Clayton settled back and took a sip of his coffee, but while he projected a relaxed air, he was fully alert.
Todd quickly filled him in on finding the girl in the alley and their suppositions that she was Eliza Brandenberg. “Principal Hayes indicated that her brother Ryan overdosed a year ago. And then the family moved about six months ago.”
Clayton glanced around as if to make sure no one was too close, and then he leaned forward. “That’s what people were supposed to think.”
Todd frowned as he leaned closer to the table. “What do you mean?”
“Ryan stumbled into something in his circle of friends. We’re not sure what, but the kid had never done drugs.”
“Come on. You know as well as I do that too many young people try once, and that experiment ends tragically.”
Clayton nodded but tapped the table. “Sure. But there was something more to this. His girlfriend was with him that night, right up until the hour before he died. She said they weren’t doing anything like that.”
“And you believed her?”
“Yeah. I did. You could tell she kept running through the timeline in her head and was genuinely confused. She kept talking about how he didn’t have time to go get drugs if he even knew where to find them.”
“Where was he living?”
“He’d started taking classes at the college and moved into an apartment.” Clayton clasped his hands around the mug. “The kid had everything going for him, but as I retraced his steps the last couple days, it didn’t add up.”
“If it was an overdose, why retrace his steps? You wanted to find his dealer?”
“Maybe. And his parents were as insistent as his girlfriend that he wouldn’t use.” Clayton sighed then took a sip, as if to buy himself time. “I couldn’t find anything to suggest he had or was ready to experiment. Instead, I found a couple people who said he was poking around as if he wanted to find someone who sold the drugs. But it wasn’t to buy them, it was to find the person responsible for selling his friend drugs. His friend who did OD on the drugs because there was fentanyl in them.”
“So you think he got too close to the truth.”
“Not only do I think so, but his parents did too. I directed them to a friend in the FBI after it became clear the case was closed here.” Clayton sighed. “Next thing I know the family’s moved.”
“No word why?”
“My friend would only tell me it was for their protection.”
“That sounds ominous.”
“Yeah.”
Todd leaned back and let his mind rove over what Clayton had told him. “So you think they what, disappeared into witness protection?”
“Maybe? It seems a little crazy that something like that would happen in Wayne, but I’m not sure what else it could be. When I tried to probe, I was stiff-armed.”
“Huh.”
Clayton nodded. “Look. I don’t know what happened. All I have is strong suspicions. I don’t think that young man used drugs. He was the definition of the clean-cut kid next door.” He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. “I also couldn’t get anything out of the FBI, but maybe you can since you have an emergency. If something happened to her parents, then you need to figure out where she’s been, because I doubt it’s been a good situation.”
“That concerns me, too.” Todd took the paper and snapped a picture of it. “Can I use your name?”
“Sure. I don’t know if it will help, but if we can get answers for the family and justice for Ryan, I’m in.” He glanced around the coffee house. “Wayne is a safe, quiet town. We don’t have big crime here, and I want to keep it that way.”
“Understood. I’ll let you know what I learn.”
“Thanks. I have to get back to the station.” Clayton stood and pulled on his jacket. “Be careful.”
“You, too.” After Clayton left, Todd glanced around, then placed a call to the agent. He left a message emphasizing the importance of a quick return call. Then he headed to the school. Time to see what else he could learn from the principal.
The ICU waitingroom felt empty when Bridget reached it. She texted Dani.
