Page 11 of Cold Vengeance

“Yeah, because we’re so overloaded with work,” River said dryly.

Tony laughed. “I hear you, but I’m talking about doing what we can for Nathan.” He frowned at her. “That’s if wecanhelp him. What do you think?”

“Why don’t you let me run these active cases past you? I’d like to see what you think.”

“All of them?”

“Yes. I mean, we can concentrate on the Casanova case first, but since we’re not certain it had anything to do with April’s disappearance, we should look at each one, don’t you think?”

“Yeah,” Tony said. “Until we see April’s notes, we won’t have a clue which case might be connected to her disappearance. Or if any of them are.”

“That’s what I was thinking.” River stood up. “Want a cup of coffee?”

“Sure.” Tony got up from his chair and carried his cup over to the counter next to the coffeemaker. River didn’t even need to ask what kind he wanted. She took his cup, put it under the spout, and added the pod. Black coffee. Always plain black coffee. She brewed his coffee and then handed it to him.

“Thanks,” he said. “You really don’t need to make my coffee, you know.”

“I realize that, but I was taught to respect my elders.”

Tony grinned. “You’re only a year and two months younger than me.”

River shrugged. “Sorry. I forgot. I guess it’s because you look so much older.”

“Very funny.”

He headed back to his desk while she looked through the pods and picked a favorite—Southern Pecan. As she waited for the coffee to brew, her mind ran over the cases she’d listened to. She could understand why Nathan thought the Casanova case was the one that might be connected to April’s disappearance, but River wasn’t certain. There were a few of them that concerned her. She wondered if Tony would see the same thing she did.

“Hello? You still with us?”

Startled, River realized she was staring at her cup, but it wasalready done. She picked it up. “Sorry, just thinking. It’s hard to listen to April’s voice and not feel like I know her. I understand her interest in all of these cases. To be honest, I think I would have picked them too.” She sat down at her desk.

“So, you think the two of you are alike?”

“Yeah, I do. I think we could be friends. I ... I really hope this isn’t going to end badly.”

Tony stared at her for a moment, then said, “River, you know the chance that we’ll find April alive isn’t good. Unless she purposely left her father and Nathan behind, she would have contacted one of them by now.”

“I know. We’re used to seeing the worst outcomes. But there’s a part of me that can’t stop hoping that someday we’ll get that fairy-tale ending, you know? It’s not impossible.”

“But...”

River held up her hand. “You don’t need to protect me. I understand the situation.”

Tony smiled. “You amaze me. You’ve survived a nightmare most people couldn’t. But here you are, holding out hope for this girl.”

“With God, nothing is impossible.”

He nodded. “You’re right. But the Bible also tells us to guard our hearts and minds.”

“Point taken.”

Tony took a sip of his coffee, then said, “So, what can you tell me about these cases? We don’t have much time. We need to leave around five-thirty so we can get to Nathan’s by six.”

“First of all, let’s divide the work. You want the laptop, the phone, or the notebook?”

Tony sighed. “I can download the laptop and go through the phone. Why don’t you take the notebook? Since you identify with her, you might get more out of it than I would.”

“Exactly what I was going to suggest.”

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