Page 47 of One of Six

"I will." I give him a little wave as I join Essex on the boat. I notice Ridge and Violet sitting on the deck, ignoring each other. At least it will be quiet for a while.

I sit down in the shady part of the boat next to Essex. He has his laptop on his lap and is waiting for it to boot up. "What did my brother want?"

I rest my head on Essex's shoulder and say, "He wanted to make sure I knew there were no hard feelings. I did feel a little guilty, but nothing happened between me and him."

"I'm relieved he feels good about us." He looks at the other two. "What do you think of them?"

I snort. "I don't think Ridge knows if she's serious or not."

"Honestly, I can't decide either." Essex chuckles. "Forget her for now. Give me a name from the list?”

"Steven Gibbs. He went missing thirteen years ago. He's from Chattanooga."

“I’ve found him. He left on a business trip on a Thursday and was never seen again. Says he was going to Montgomery." Essex opens a new tab and uses an online map. "It's about a three-and-a-half-hour drive between the two." He goes back to the news report. "He has one sister. Or at least he did. I wonder what his job was?"

"A building inspector," I whisper. "Do you think he was on his way to inspect a Lincoln Construction project?"

"I guess he could have been. I mean, Chattanooga is on the Tennessee border, and then he could have easily been licensed in Alabama. Lincoln Construction is big in that state."

"Okay, let's put him on the list for more information."

I watch Essex type up some neat notes on Gibbs. "Next?" he smiles.

"Robert Tate. Disappeared twelve years ago. He's from... I don't know. I didn’t get that far."

He scrolls through a lot of things until he finds a link with the information we need. "This guy worked for your dad. He was a roofer. Went out drinking with friends. Didn't feel well, left early. Never seen again. His car was never found. He had a wife and three kids—four, six, and nine. Lived in Greenville, Alabama."

"Oh, those poor kids."

"Yeah. Next name."

"George Wilcox. Disappeared eight years ago. From Marietta, Georgia."

"Says he drove cement trucks and worked for Remington's. I've heard of them. Big construction company in Marietta. They’ve got trucks all over the place... Wilcox disappeared at a roadhouse. At least that’s where they found the truck. He never showed up."

"So far these people have all been in the construction business in some way. I feel sick at what is being revealed."

"Try not to think about it too long. Let's just get through the list."

I nod and agree. "Roscoe Dale. Disappeared eight years ago. Stone Mason from Lafayette, Louisiana."

"That's a long way to go considering the others were closer to home."

"Hmm. What else does it say?"

"Not much that I can see. He was married. No kids. Went out to get milk. Hasn't been seen since. This piece was written last year on the anniversary of his disappearance."

"I wonder why he's on the list. I mean, Stone Mason fits in with the other missing people, but he's an odd one because of where he lived."

"Let's move on."

"Peter Frederick. He was working for Lincoln Construction when he disappeared seven years ago. I remember him vaguely. He came by the house once or twice. He always wore a suit, so he must have had a management job."

"It says he disappeared on vacation in Miami. Frederick and another man, Vince, went to visit Peter's brother and his family. The family reported them missing. They'd taken separate cars for dinner. When they left the restaurant, only one car made it home. No sign of the other with Peter and Vince."

I rub my arms, feeling cold at what we're discovering. "That must be Vince Foyle. He also disappeared seven years ago. So, he disappeared with Peter. I don't remember Vince."

"Probably because Vince was Peter's partner, which means they were in a relationship. Vince was a lawyer."

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