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“I think. And yet I thought she sounded a little edgy. She said things were fine. Gary was fine, polite, cool, and all that. I guess he’s hanging around now like a good puppy.”
“He has been attentive,” Colleen said.
Mark glanced at Colleen. She knew he was thinking about the way they’d found Gary when they had first talked to him—buffing his beloved car.
“I don’t know. She didn’t mention any other men. And I don’t know if it’s because you came to talk to me, and I’m putting things where there wasn’t anything, or if I’m starting to wonder if the conversation wasn’t a little...”
“A little?” Colleen asked gently.
“Like I said, she just sounded edgy.” He hesitated again. “Afraid.”
“Do you think she was afraid of Gary Boynton?” Mark asked.
“I’d like to say yes. But I’m not sure. She said he was great, and while I don’t believe she’s in love with him, I do think she has an honest affection for him.”
“But she sounded as if she were afraid?” Colleen said.
“The call was so bizarre. I felt she was reaching out to me, and yet, she didn’t dare.”
“But if she wasn’t afraid of Gary...what?” Mark asked.
“Maybe work? She said she liked to get home while it was still light. She drove some country roads to get home, and she didn’t like the dark. But she told me that because she was hanging up. She has always been someone who will not talk on a phone, even on speaker, when she’s driving. She said she hoped we’d always be friends, and hoped I’d really forgiven her.”
“And what did you tell her?” Colleen asked.
“I said I’d be there for her, always, no matter what, if she needed me.” His eyes were distant, as if he was remembering the phone call and the woman he had loved. “Then I heard about what had happened to her on the news. Thank God, I heard she was alive and in the hospital before I heard she’d just been taken, possibly by The Embracer. But the news came out at about the same time that a guy had been arrested, so...”
“You presumed the culprit had been caught,” Mark said.
“I think most people believed that, yes,” Monroe said. “But...”
“We have to be sure. There’s a bit of a timeline we’re working on, and every little bit of information helps.”
“Have I helped you at all?” he asked hopefully.
“Yes, like I said,” Mark assured him, “every little bit of information helps. For one, we didn’t know she never had her phone out when she was driving. That explains why she maybe didn’t call for help, I guess. And knowing how nice she is explains why she would stop to help someone in the road.”
“I’m glad that helps,” Monroe said, giving them a weak smile.
“It does,” Mark assured him. “Trust me, you can’t ask someone if they happen to be a nice and caring person or not. Well, you can ask, but...that’s really something you need from someone who knows them.”
“Oh, good then.”
“What can you tell us about her current boyfriend?” Mark asked him.
“Gary Boynton? I met him a few times at the Ayerses’ house before I knew I was being replaced by him. He’s got some business deal with Dierdre’s father. He was...polite. Far more courteous than Dierdre’s father—he treated me like a bum from the first day I met him.” He laughed. “I even heard Dierdre giving him a hard time once for being rude to me. She told him it was against everything she had ever been taught about being decent to everyone. He said he couldn’t be decent to a man who was totally wrong for her.” He paused again. “Boynton was... I guess the word I would use is indifferent. I was a musician. I didn’t deal in Bitcoin or the stock market or e-commerce. I just wasn’t interesting to him. But he was polite enough.”
“Thank you. Did you ever see him interact with Dierdre?” Colleen asked.
“Again, courteous, thoughtful... My encounters were brief.”
He waited to see if they had any more questions.
“I wish...” he began, and then he shook his head. “I wouldn’t mind speaking with Dierdre—without her father or Gary Boynton. I’d love to know what had bothered her that day.”
“Maybe we can arrange that,” Mark said.
Ragnar walked in as he spoke.
Vince Monroe stood, an automatic gesture, Colleen thought. It was the polite thing to do. She and Mark stood as well.
“Hey, guys, sorry. I’ve been at the hospital.”
“And Dierdre is all right?” Monroe asked anxiously.
“Fine. She was released. She, Mom, Dad, and Boynton have headed home.”
“Ah. Well, thank God she’s all right,” Monroe said.
“You’re the musician,” Ragnar said. “Sorry. I’m Special Agent Ragnar Johansen. Thank you for coming in.”
“For whatever good, though your partners have said I’ve given them something, so...”
“You will call us if you think of anything else, no matter how trivial it seems?” Colleen asked.
“I swear,” he vowed.
“You’re free to go with our most sincere thanks,” Mark said.
Monroe nodded, paused to give Red a pat, and left the room.
When he was gone, Ragnar told them, “I was watching with Angela. We had the camera running.”
“And what did you think?”
