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“My little sister.”
“Well, let’s not keep her waiting any longer.”
Zenith wasn’t far from Cooper Springs as the crow (or raven) flew, but the road meandered through the forest land instead of going straight across it. It probably had started out as a path used by deer and elk and now, hundreds of years later, had evolved into a two-lane road that wound around the forest between the towns.
On the drive, André tried to draw Jayden out with innocuous questions, but the kid remained silent.
Only when they were rounding the last curve into Zenith did Jayden speak.
“How long have you been a cop?” he asked.
“I was a U.S. Marshal before taking this job, so law enforcement but not a police officer.”
Jayden was quiet for a moment. André halted at the only stop sign in the town before continuing to Jayden’s street.
“A U.S. Marshal? What was that like?”
“Like any job. Sometimes it was boring and sometimes it was more excitement than I needed.”
“Like chasing down fugitives?” Jayden’s tone was reverential.
Fucking Hollywood.
“Not like the movies—not most of the time anyway. But it was satisfying to know we got bad guys off the streets and into custody. I enjoyed being with the Marshals Service because I got to do a bit of everything. We were sometimes even loaned out to other agencies to help them bring in sex offenders or suspected murderers.”
Flicking the indicator, he turned right onto a narrow residential street.
“What was the scariest case you were on?”
André actually couldn’t talk about the scariest case, seeing as how it hadn’t gone to trial yet. They would ask him to take the witness stand sometime in the next year, and he already wasn’t looking forward to it. A few minutes later, André stopped the cruiser in front of a depressed-looking home. Hardy Phinney’s yard looked like a master gardener’s creation compared to the Harlows’ lawn.
“You think I can have a word with your mom?”
“If she’s home,” Jayden said dismissively.
That didn’t sound promising.
“Come on, let’s get you inside.”
Jayden’s mother wasn’t home. His sister Abby was.
“Jayden!” Abby said before bursting into tears and punching him in the chest.
“Ow, that hurt!” he complained, rubbing at the spot she’d nailed.
“You promised you wouldn’t go up there again, but you did anyway. You promised!”
“Is your mom here?” André asked.
Abby shook her head, eyes still on Jayden.
André didn’t like the fact that Ms. Harlow wasn’t around and neither Abby nor Jayden seemed to know her whereabouts. Where was she that she hadn’t heard about Jayden finding remains? Cell service was notoriously bad in the area, but surely she worried about her kids? It was close to dinnertime. Did these kids fend for themselves?
Knock it off,he told himself. Maybe Lizzy worked long hours. Jayden and Abby were obviously self-sufficient. Quit being so damn suspicious. He was just on edge because he thought he’d seen Dante Castone.
Which he hadn’t.
André’s suspicions rose again. Even Abby had heard about today’s events.Where was Lizzy?
