out, I guess. They were together all the time.â
âDid you know that theyâd packed some clothes?â
âI heard that, yes.â
âThen whatâ?â
âHow should I know?â she said quickly. âLook, mister. Youâve got no right to come here and bother us andâand interrogate us.â Tears welled up in her eyes. âWhy donât you just leave us alone?â
I nodded. âIâm sorry.â I took out my wallet and fished out two of my business cards. âHere,â I said. âGive one to Mikki. If you hear anything or think of anything, Iâd appreciate it if youâd give me a call.â
âLike what? What could we tell you?â
âI donât know,â I said. âTake them anyway. Maybe youâll think of something.â
She shrugged, took the cards, glanced at them, then stuffed them into her pocket.
I held out my hand to her. âIâm sorry I bothered you,â I said.
She started to reach for my hand, and then her eyes darted past me.
I turned. A black-and-white police Explorer had pulled in behind my car, and Chief Sprague and Officer McCaffrey had gotten out. Sprague looked in my direction with his hand shielding his eyes. Then he turned and said something to McCaffrey, who shrugged and got back into the cruiser.
Sprague waved and came toward us. When he got to where we were standing, he said, âWell, Mr. Coyne. I see youâve met my friends.â
âYes,â I said. âWe tossed daisies into the river.â
He smiled quickly at me, then turned to Sandy. âYou okay, kiddo?â
She shook her head, then went to him and hugged him. He patted her shoulder. Then Mikki came over, and they had a three-way hug, with their arms across each otherâs shoulders and their heads close together.
I turned and started for my car.
âMr. Coyne,â called Sprague. âHang on.â
I stopped. Sprague spoke earnestly to the two girls for a minute. Then Sandy held out her bunch of daisies to him. Sprague plucked out two of them, tossed them into the water one at a time, then stood there with his head bowed.
After a minute, he turned, gave each of the girls another hug, and came to where I was standing. He was shaking his head. âItâs going to take a long time for this town to heal,â he said.
âItâll be forever for Jake and Sharon,â I said, âunless they find Brianâs body.â
âMan, you got that right.â He waved at the river. âThey dove all through this deep water here, and they broke the ice and searched for almost a mile down below before they quit. Iâm going to do everything I can to get them to come back. Mr. Nash, our DA, heâs pulling some strings. Brianâs body is stuck somewhere under the ice down there, and the idea of not finding him until the river breaks up in the spring is just intolerable.â
âSo the state police have given up the search?â I said.
âMr. Nash and I are working on it,â he said. âBut you know the staties. Theyâve got their priorities, and little Reddington isnât one of them.â
We started back to our vehicles. âWhat did the kids have to say?â he asked.
I shook my head. âNothing. Theyâre sad. They seem like good kids.â
âThey are,â said Sprague. âJenny and Brian were, too. I believe in kids, Mr. Coyne. I believe that all kids start out as good kids. A big part of my job is keeping them that way.â
âThatâs admirable,â I said.
âAdmirable?â He shook his head. âItâs just common sense.â He cocked his head at me. âOh. You were being sarcastic, huh?â
âNot at all,â I said. We stopped at Spragueâs cruiser. Inside, Officer McCaffrey was talking on the radio. âYesterday,â I said to Sprague, âyou told me the kids had packed some clothes, as if
Lightnin' Hopkins: His Life, Blues