Page 11 of Veil of Silence

He set down the pill organizer and crossed to the bed. His father’s handwriting filled page after page of the yellow legal pads. Names. Dates. Arrows. Question marks.

Dad had never met a blank legal pad he couldn’t turn into a conspiracy board.

Austin lifted the first one.

CHRISTIAN LOVELESS

Beneath it were the words: Why that night?

Austin stared at the notation. His father hadn’t merely come to Knoxville because Christian’s return had stirred up old memories.

He’d been investigating again.

Austin turned the page.

Callahan—who paid to change the routes?

Why the same families?

Voss connected?

Austin recognized both names from the case. Roy Callahan had handled bookings for the Loveless family’s Southern Gospel group—and he’d been found dead three weeks ago. Murdered. Everett Voss had been the primary suspect in Christian’s disappearance. He’d disappeared in recent years, almost as if he’d vanished off the face of the earth.

He turned another page.

Roy said he could explain.

Did he ever tell Loveless?

Find financial records.

Austin frowned.

This wasn’t a suspect list. It was a trail of questions, each one leading to another.

Typical Dad.

“What were you doing, Dad?” Austin muttered.

Denise shifted near the door. “Do you need me to call the police?”

“Give me another minute.”

Austin scanned the room. There should have been more files.

A lot more.

His father had kept everything from the Loveless investigation in an old file box for years. Interview copies. Notes. Newspaper clippings. Maps. Enough paper to make Austin wonder why the FBI bothered with computers.

He looked at the housekeeper. “The box you saw him carrying yesterday. You’re sure he brought it into this room?”

“Positive.”

“Did you see him leave with it?”

“No. I didn’t see him leave at all.” She looked almost apologetic now.

The box wasn’t here. Neither was Dad’s car.