Page 63 of The House Beyond the Dunes

I hide my uneasiness. “Is this an attempt to be nice?”

“No. In fact, you look a little like Nikki Kane. She had light-brown hair, too.”

“Do you think Kyle was attracted to me because I look like a missing woman?”

“Not saying that at all. Maybe he has a thing for light-brown hair.”

Kyle had loved the color and commented on it several times. “Do you always investigate accidents this thoroughly?”

“When they don’t smell right, I do.”

I sigh. “I didn’t cause the accident. I had no reason to hurt Kyle.”

“Maybe he had a reason to hurt you,” he says quietly.

“Why would he want to hurt me?”

He reaches in his pocket and pulls out a picture. It’s Kyle, and he’s with a woman with curly hair. His face is visible, but her face is turned away. “I think this is Kyle with Nikki Kane.”

I take the picture, almost desperate to search Nikki’s face. But it’s not visible to the camera. The date stamp at the bottom of the photo is July 2, 2023, 3:00 a.m. “How can you be sure?”

“I’m not.”

“You’ve had this picture for almost six months?”

“Yes.”

“Why hold on to it? Why do you care?”

“Good question.” He draws in a breath. “Stevie raised the alarm bells about Nikki, but no one believed she’d vanished initially. Everyone thought she’d moved on to another town and guy. She had a history of prostitution. Cops weren’t called until July 8, six days after that picture was taken.”

“A blurry picture doesn’t prove Kyle wanted to hurt me or anyone else. Did you ever ask Kyle about Nikki?” I ask.

“I stopped by his office in early August. We had a short conversation. He didn’t say much and insisted he wanted an attorney present going forward. After that, he stonewalled me.”

“Did he admit to taking Nikki out?”

“He said he walked her to her car, waited until it started, and watched her drive off.” He sighs. “I think he was her client.”

“I’ve met a thousand Nikkis in my group sessions.” From this picture, it’s hard to gauge her age. “They are lost, sad, and desperate. What do you know about Nikki?”

“Not much. Like I said, she wasn’t using her real name.”

“I wish I could help you find her. Girls like her vanish too often. Why are you so deep into this case?”

He stares at me hard. “Iverson’s been on my radar since July. I’ve made it my business to learn what I can about him. I’ve been keeping tabs on him. Thought I was wasting my time, and then Iverson ends up dead at his secluded beach house and the woman with him is a Nikki look-alike. That’s too much of a coincidence for me.”

I can barely speak. Had Kyle brought me here to hurt me? “Make your point.”

“I pulled all missing persons cases between Nags Head and Norfolk for the last fifteen years. There were ten young women who looked like Nikki. I’ve accounted for nine of the ten. All the others are alive.”

“And the name of the missing woman?”

“Amy Grimes. She vanished during a vacation near Nags Head last summer.”

“Is Amy Grimes actually Nikki Kane?”

“I’m not sure.” Suddenly, he sounds weary. “Kyle is from up here, and now I know he was set to inherit a house in the woods that does not appear on any of his financial statements. It’s a good place to hide a kidnapped woman or bury her body.”

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