Page 33 of Long Gone

“You’re very civic-minded,” I said, using the term Malcolm had used the night before. “You support multiple youth sports teams. You’re a booster for the high school athletic program. You’re on the county commissioners board?—”

“A thankless job,” he interjected.

“You support multiple fundraising charities in the town of Wolford and the county.”

He held out his hands. “What can I say? I love this town.”

“But you’re not from around here, correct? You’re from Mississippi?”

“That is correct,” he said, a flash of surprise flickering in his eyes. He shifted in his seat. “I’m sorry. I was under the impression you were here to ask me questions about Hugo Burton.”

“Oh, I am,” I assured him with an eager look. “It’s just that I looked you up to see what kind of business you had with him, and all that other stuff came up. I was impressed.”

Some of his hesitation faded, and his self-importance reappeared. “Well, like I said. I love Wolford.”

“I’m surprised you haven’t run for city council or mayor,” I said. “My father was mayor of Jackson Creek back when I was young. He loved the town and saw it as his way of giving back, so I appreciate someone who’s so dedicated to their community.”

His smile spread. I had him back.

“But my father was born and raised in Jackson Creek. I guess I’m just curious how you came to live in Wolford. I’m sure there’s a good story there.”

“Oh,” he said, some of his brightness fading. “It’s not all that interesting. I was offered a job here right after college. It was supposed to be temporary, but I just loved the place so much, and then I met and fell in love with my wife”—he turned a picture frame around on his desk so I could see an old photo of him with an attractive middle-aged woman and three children—“and the rest is history.” He turned serious. “Miranda said you were here to ask me some questions about Hugo because you’re helping poor Clarice have him declared dead.”

He didn’t want to talk about his past before he came to Wolford. Interesting.

“I am,” I said. “I know you were working on a project with him with the Colter Group at the time of his disappearance, so I was hoping you could help me understand what he was up to, both with your business dealings and his own.”

He frowned, drumming his fingers on his desk, expelling nervous energy. “Of course, I’ll help any way I can, but I’m just not sure how much help it will actually be.”

He was already acting dodgy, which I didn’t take as a good sign. He could kick me out at any minute, so I sucked down my irritation and pretended to be grateful. “Anything you can tell me will be helpful.” I paused, then said, “Maybe start by telling me about the Colter Group.”

“Sure. Sure.” He sat back in his seat and locked his fingers over his stomach, which looked pretty trim for a man in his fifties. I suspected he visited the gym fairly often to impress poor Miranda. “I started the Colter Group with five investors with the purpose of bringing outside employers into the area. We were hoping to bring more jobs to the county, and we pooled our resources to do so.”

“How long before Hugo’s disappearance did you create the group?”

“Honestly, not all that long,” he said with a frown. “We all knew each other because we were all civic-minded.” He made a face. “The other three men were business owners—Skip, who owns a Ford dealership.”

That had to be Skip Martin, who had also invested in Sunny Point.

“Doug owns multiple fast-food restaurants, and Dickie owns a grocery store.”

“Skip Martin, right?” When he nodded, I added, “Do you have last names for Doug and Dickie?”

“Sure, but why?”

“So I can ask them about Hugo, of course.”

“They really didn’t have much interaction with him, and besides, Doug sold his restaurants and he and his wife moved to North Carolina to be closer to his ailing mother-in-law.”

“Still…”

He sighed. “Doug Skelton and Dickie Troost.”

Why didn’t he want me to talk to them?

“And Hugo was part of it too,” I said.

He lifted a shoulder in a lazy shrug. “True. I only brought Hugo on because, well, we went way back, and he was in the middle of developing some of his own properties that happened to be bigger than the ones he’d completed before. I figured I’d bring in his expertise.” The frown on his face looked a little over the top, but I decided to take the bait anyway.

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