learn if he or any of his deputies had managed to glean some evidence during their more thorough search of the Cadillac. She knew they must be finished by now, couldnât imagine why he hadnât contacted her. So when a call came in just as sheâd settled down to work, she grabbed the receiver, despite the blinking curser on her computer screen that seemed to mock her lack of progress.
âHello?â
âMadeline?â
Madeline paused, confused by the M. Ziegler that had appeared on her caller ID. It wasnât Chief Pontiff, calling her from some remote location. If sheâd guessed correctly, it was Ray Harper. Before the falling out that had left him and her father estranged, heâd been Leeâs best friend. When Madeline was little, Ray had even worked for them, doing odd jobs around the farm.
âHello, Ray. How are you?â
âGood as ever. And you?â
âHanging in there.â
âI heard about the Cadillac.â
Word traveled fast in Stillwater. âCan you believe it was right there all these years?â
âWho put it there?â
âI have no idea.â
âThatâs got to bother you.â
It did. But she preferred some development to nothing at all. Besides, she and Ray had both experienced a deeper kind of painâsheâd lost her mother and, a few years later, heâd lost his sixteen-year-old daughter, both to suicide. âIâm okay.â
âDid they find anythingâany answers?â he asked.
âNo, not yet.â
âThatâs too bad.â
âIâm not giving up hope.â He didnât say anything more, so she filled the silence. âI donât see you around town much anymore, Ray. Whatâve you been up to?â
âIâve been spending half my time in Iuka. My mother fell and broke her hip and she canât live alone anymore. Iâm with her now, moving her to my sisterâs place.â
That explained the strange name on her caller ID. âIâm sorry to hear about your mother,â she said.
âSheâll be okay now that sheâs with Patti. Anyway, I should be home later in the week. Let me know if anything changes, okay? Your father and I werenât on the best of terms when he disappeared. But I think about him often.â
âI appreciate that.â Her telephone indicated that she had another call coming in. âGood luck with your mom,â she said and switched over. But this caller wasnât Pontiff, either. According to caller ID, it was Clay. âWhatâs up, big brother?â
âNothing new,â he replied. âJust checking in.â
She finally pushed away from her computer and swiveled her chair to look glumly out the large front window of her office, which revealed an entire block of Stillwaterâs most prominent businessesâL & B Hardware, Town & Country Furniture, Cutshallâs Funeral Home, Lambertâs Auction Service and Let The Good Times Roll Billiards and Bar. A corner of the police station was visible, too. Her eyes zeroed in on it as if she could see through brick and mortar.
âIâm fine, just tired of the rain.â And growing more impatient by the minute, waiting for Pontiff to call.
âYou took yesterday pretty hard, Mad.â
âHeâs not coming back,â she said distantly. âI thought itâd be easier for me to know if he wasâ¦gone for good. But it isnât. It makes me angry. And it makes me feel guilty, as if I havenât done enough for him.â
âYouâve published every possible lead, posted rewards to encourage people to come forward with information, followed up whenever and wherever you could. Youâve hung on, and you havenât let anyone forget. Youâve done your best.â
She knew her dogged persistence had created problems for Clay and his sisters and mother. Theyâd had to constantly defend themselves, suffer two