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Damn.
Riley got out his notepad. “How long has he worked here?”
“I’d have to check.” Dr. Priest disappeared behind the reception desk.
Riley glanced at Gary. “Try Dan’s number again,” he said in a low, urgent voice.
Gary’s stomach clenched when he got voicemail again.
“Chris is a great guy. Everyone likes him,” Emma said with a smile.
Riley ignored her. “If the doc is right, Ludlow left right before Dan did. What if he left because hesawDan? That’s why he went out the back, to avoid running into him.”
Gary had another theory, one that came with icy fingers that ghosted his nape. “What if he went out the back way because he didn’t want anyone to see him and Dan in the same place?”
Riley paled. “Jesus.”
“2014.”
Gary was lost for a moment. “Excuse me?”
“2014,” the doctor repeated. “That’s when Chris joined us.”
“Do you have an address for him?” He crossed mental fingers.Don’t tell me we need a warrant before you’ll give out that information.
Dr. Priest cleared her throat, but Emma got in first. “He lives just down the street. Number seventeen. He has a place on the third floor.” Her eyes sparkled. “We all joke about it when he gets in late.”
Gary grabbed Ludlow’s photo. “I’m taking this, okay?”
Dr. Priest opened her mouth to speak and then swallowed. “Oh my God. O-okay.”
Gary and Riley hurried out of the clinic and up the street to number seventeen. He bounded up the front porch steps and found the buzzer for Ludlow.
Be here. Be here. And be alone.
The door opened, and he tensed, only to find an elderly lady peering at him. “Who did you want?”
“Mr. Ludlow, third floor.”
“He’s not home yet. I always hear when he comes home. You could wait for him, though. He won’t be long. He already went by here.”
“You saw him?” Riley asked.
She nodded. “He walked up the street, talking with some man. I was sitting in my window at the time.” She smiled. “I love that. People-watching isfarmore interesting than whatever I can find on TV. And when my daughter goes to work, I have to do something to pass the time.”
Gary held up the photo. “This is him, isn’t it?”
She smiled. “Sure.”
Riley got his phone out and held it up. “Do you recognize this guy?” One glance told Gary it was the photo of Dan.
She squinted at it. “Yeah, that was the man with him. He looked kinda familiar. Chris won’t be long, I’m telling you. He was probably going to the store. He does that sometimes after work. There’s a convenience store around the corner. He brings me a donut sometimes too.” She leaned forward, and her voice dropped to a whisper. “But I don’t let my daughter find out about that.”
Riley looked into the street. “Does he have a car?”
“Yes.”
“Which one is his?”
