Page 7 of Little Buried Secrets

I crossed one leg over the other. “What do you mean?”

“Bronte left a note under the windshield wiper of the other car that said she was sorry. Then she fled the scene without talking to the other driver or reporting the incident.”

“When did the fender-bender happen?”

“The day before Margot went missing, according to Bronte. Convenient, isn’t it?”

“What did Rae say about it?”

“She didn’t know about the damage to Bronte’s car until I pointed it out. Bronte had been parking the car a little farther into the garage than usual, so her mother wouldn’t notice it was dented.”

“Bronte would have had to come clean at some point,” I said.

“Maybe not. Her boyfriend works at an auto body shop. She said he was going to take care of it for her.”

“Who’s the boyfriend?”

“Daniel Moffat.”

“Have you spoken to him?”

He nodded. “Daniel corroborated her story. Doesn’t mean he’s telling the truth. Doesn’t mean she is either. The two of them could be in cahoots, for all I know.”

“It’s one thing to get into an argument with your sister. It’s another to run her down while she’s riding her bike.”

Foley drummed his fingers along the edge of the desk. “Think about it. She could have been fuming after their argument, went for a drive, saw her sister on her bike, and decided to give her a little nudge. Maybe she hit her harder than intended. Maybe she hit her so hard that she killed her, and in her panicked state, she felt she had no other choice than to get rid of the body.”

His theory, while having some merit, seemed a bit far out to me.

“It’s … uhh, one way to look at it,” I said. “Guess you’ll know more after you examine the car.”

“Silas is doing it now. Oh, and one other thing … when I spoke to the hospital, the nurse on duty the night Margot went missing said a man called and asked if they had a young woman by the name of Margot Remington there.”

“I’m guessing the man didn’t leave a name?”

“No, ma’am. The call came in around eight o’clock. That’s all the nurse could tell me.”

A man had been looking for Margot before she had been reported missing, a fact I found curious.

“Have you questioned anyone else about Margot’s disappearance?” I asked.

“Several people. We just talked to Grant Nichols right before you arrived.”

“Who’s he?”

“Dr. Rae’s boyfriend. Been seeing each other for about five months now. Likable guy. A lot younger than she is though.”

Rae had kept Grant a secret. From me, at least. I wasn’t bothered by it. She’d lost her husband a couple of years before. It made sense for her to take things slow with the new guy.

“How much younger is Grant than Rae?” I asked.

“About ten years.”

Good for you, Rae.

“I wasn’t aware she was in a relationship,” I said.

“Grant told me Rae wanted to keep it quiet for the first few months for the sake of her daughters.”

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