Page 37 of Long Gone

“Thank you.”

“So have you made any progress?”

“I’m still doing my initial digging. Trying to get up to speed.”

“So that’s a no?” Her tone was short.

“As I said, I’m still getting caught up on what everyone else knows.”

“I’m not paying you to find out what everyone else knows. I’m paying you to find new information.”

Here was the snippy Clarice Burton that Detective Jones had alluded to. “Clarice, if you’re unhappy with my progress, then feel free to contact Mitch and let him know you’d like someone else to handle the case, but I assure you that no one would have new information at this point. It’s too early in the investigation.”

I wasn’t thrilled with the idea of her pulling the case. It would be a blow to my ego. Nevertheless, I wasn’t going to put up with unrealistic expectations.

“No,” she said, her voice tight. “I’ll leave it for now. And I’ll call Anton and tell him you want to talk to him. But if he says no, you need to leave it alone.” Her tone turned menacing. “But you have to stay away from my daughter. I won’t drag her into this mess.”

“Agreed,” I said, not adding the silent for now. If Anton agreed to speak to me, I planned to ask him his thoughts on why his mother wanted to keep him and his sister out of my investigation.

I hung up, reevaluating my opinion of Clarice Burton. The case hadn’t been solved in the five years since her husband’s disappearance. Did she really think I’d solve it in less than twenty-four hours? Then again, she’d gone years without answers. No doubt she was impatient to wrap things up and move on with her life.

I headed to the courthouse and was about to walk inside a few minutes later when my phone rang.

“Harper Adams,” I answered, standing on the courthouse steps.

“Ms. Adams? This is Anton Burton. Hugo Burton’s son.”

While I’d hoped he’d call, I hadn’t expected him to call so quickly. I took that as a good sign.

“Anton, thank you so much for calling,” I said. “I’m sure you know that your mother hired me through Morgan, Hightower, and Adams to help her declare your father legally deceased. I was hoping to talk to you about him.”

“Do you think he ran off and left us?” he asked bitterly.

“I don’t have an opinion one way or another,” I assured him. “That’s part of the reason I’d like to talk to you. To get your perspective.”

“But not Mary Ann?”

“Your mother prefers I leave her out of this.”

He paused for several seconds. “That sounds like my mother. She’s always been overprotective of Mary Ann. Like she can pretend our father never disappeared and everything will be okay.”

“I take it you don’t approve of her tactic.”

“Mary Ann’s messed up, likely because we never talked about it.” He cleared his throat. “So when would you like to talk? Today? Tonight?”

“Whenever is convenient for you,” I said. “We could meet for lunch or coffee if you want to do it during the day. Or I could come to your home tonight.”

“I’m free for lunch. Want to meet at Sarah Jane’s Café in downtown Wolford? Say a little after noon? That’s when I get my lunch break.”

“I happen to be in downtown Wolford right now. I can see the café across the square.”

“Okay,” he said, and I noted the eagerness in his voice.

I hoped I wasn’t getting his hopes up only for him to be left with no answers when I was done. “I’m wearing a gray jacket and pants with a white shirt,” I said. “I have shoulder-length dark hair.”

“I’m wearing blue scrubs.” He took a breath. “Do you think you’ll really find out what happened to Dad?”

And there was my confirmation. “I don’t know, Anton, but I intend to try.”

---