Page 42 of Vanishing Point
Rosalie and Franny exchanged a look.
“I don’t want to get my hopes up, but this is huge. It’s just a few questions, then I’ll be back by noon to pick up Mags and head out to the baby shower. And I’ll text Thomas where I’m going too.”
She went over to Mags, kissed her head. “I’ll be back before you guys know it.” Then she hurried out before Rosalie could decide she needed to come anywhere. On her way to her car, she wrote out the text to Thomas.
Meeting the postal inspector at Coffee Klatsch to answer some questions.
Thought she’d headed back to Denver.
Apparently not.
Take Rosalie with you.
I’d like to stay in the inspector’s good graces. It’s just a short drive there and back to the ranch. I’ll keep updating.
Okay. Love you.
She texted back her own Love you, then drove out to the coffee house. The postal inspector was already there, leaning against the trunk of her rental car.
Vi pulled into the parking space right next to her, then steeled herself to face the intimidating postal inspector.
Who thought Eric had committed afederal offense. That was enough to get Vi out of the car.
“Don’t you look pretty.” Inspector Kay said in greeting. She shaded her eyes against the sun.
Vi managed a smile, doing the same. “Oh, well, thanks. I’m going to a baby shower.”
She frowned for a split second, but then smiled kindly. “Why didn’t you say so? These questions can wait. I don’t want to make you late.”
“No, you said it’d be quick. Let’s just get it over with.”
The inspector seemed to think this over. “All right. Well, let’s skip coffee then,” she said, waving at the building. “When you received the envelope, the address was your cousin’s ranch.”
Which wasn’t a new question atall. “Yes.”
“I talked to the mail carrier, and he said he didn’t think he’d seen an envelope that fit the description that day. Thought he would have remembered that since he’s been delivering mail to the Young Ranch for years.”
“Well, it was in the mailbox with the rest of the mail. Thomas asked Audra about it, and that’s what she said.”
“Yes, that’s all in the report. It’s just strange, because the mailman who delivered the envelope to the police station remembered dropping it off thereandis on security footage doing so. He’s also been with the USPS for a few years, so unlikely involved.”
This all felt like the veryoppositeof leads that would end in Eric being arrested.
“Does your ex-husband have any connection to Bent County? And listen, I know you’ve probably already thought of that, but I just want to make sure there’s no tiny stone you’ve left unturned.”
The thought absolutelypetrifiedher. But she tried to think through that. Tried to focus on what the inspector was asking. “I thought long and hard before I came here last year,” Vi said carefully. “If I’d thought he had even a tiny connection to Bent County, I wouldn’t have ended up here.”
“What about to the post office in some way? A friend who was a mailman? A case maybe he talked about with postal inspection?”
“There was a case where he worked with a postal inspector,” Vi said. She only remembered because before that she hadn’t even known postal inspectors were a thing. And Eric talked about what a joke of a job it was, and how useless he’d thought the guy working with him on the case was. “I don’t remember details, but I know it was a long time ago. Early on in our marriage.”
The inspector nodded and typed something into her phone. “That’s good. Maybe I can get a subpoena for that information. It’s something to go on, anyway.”
“Really?”
She nodded. “Really. We’re so close. We just need one little break. One little connection, and the dominoes will start to fall. I’m sure of it.”
Vi stood there, the wind blowing around them. She was dressed for a baby shower, going to meet a bunch of her boyfriend’s friends and be folded into yet another area of his life.
