Page 88 of Inside Silence
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I try to stay out of the way, but still stick close enough I don’t miss anything being said.
It takes a lot of self-restraint not to go off in my truck and actively look for my girl, but I wouldn’t even know which way to turn. So instead, I’m waiting for anything that might give me some direction so I have a place to start.
I gather it’s still going to be a while before the forensics people get here, but in the meantime, Savvy had one of her deputies set up floodlights that bathe the embankment in bright light. What we hadn’t been able to see in the dark were the tracks leading down the embankment. The car had traveled the steep slope from the shoulder of the road right at the start of the guardrail, to the lake below.
One of the firefighters, who’d gone into the waters in scuba gear to check out the submerged vehicle, surfaces and removes his mask to report a paver had been used to weigh down the gas pedal, and he observed two cell phones in the footwell on the passenger side of the car.
I listen in while the crime tech gives the diver instructions on how to collect those cell phones to preserve any evidence.
“Will they be able to pull off fingerprints on the spot?” I ask Savvy, who doesn’t seem to veer too far from me.
Neither does Roy, as a matter of fact. His buddies left, but he’s hovering a few feet away. Maybe they’re afraid I’m going to lose it, which I feel on the verge of doing, to be honest.
So I try to focus on details and am guessing whoever took the kids would have had to handle the phones to turn them off. Hopefully they left fingerprints that will give us a lead.
I refuse to consider the possibility it might already be too late.
“Look, those phones have been in the water for a while; chances they’ll be able to pull usable prints of those are pretty slim,” Savvy explains. “And I’m not sure if Chris can do it right here or if he has to try back at the lab, but my guess is he won’t find any.”
“Why do you say that?”
She blows out a shaky breath before answering, “Because I’m pretty sure whoever is responsible is toying with us. I think this was all set up as a distraction.”
“A distraction from what?”
She shakes her head. “I’m not sure, but I think I should head back to the station.” She puts a hand on my forearm and looks me in the eye. “And I think you should come with me.”
“I wanna stay. What if they find something here?”
“If they do, we’ll know as soon as anyone else does, and in the meantime you can help me go over some of the tips Dad messaged me are starting to come in.”
Either twiddle my thumbs here or get busy at the sheriff’s office. It’s not a difficult choice.
“Fine, I’ll follow you.”
I catch a look shared between her and Roy, who is flanking me on the other side.
“Go with Savvy, and leave your keys with me,” he suggests. “I’ll get your truck back to town.”
I’m not sure I like being without wheels which, I sense, is their objective. However, Roy did drive up here with me and will need a way back to town.
“Sure,” I concede, tossing him my keys.
I’m struck speechless to find how busy it is when we walk into the sheriff’s station. Brenda is manning the phones at the front desk and looks busy when we walk by. Inside the large open office space, I’m surprised to see Bess and Ginny sitting at desks alongside a deputy, whose name escapes me, and Brant Colter. All appear to be on the phone.
“Well, holy fuck, honey. Come here.”
Brant’s wife Phil slams the coffeepot she was carrying on a desk and pulls me into such a tight hug, I’m finding it hard to breathe. Except when she lets go of me a moment later, I still can’t seem to get a full breath of air in my lungs.
“You need something to eat,” she announces, patting my cheek as she appears to wipe a tear from her own. “Keep up your strength.”
She swings around at Savvy, wagging an admonishing finger at her. “And you too, missy. I’m willing to bet my 1962 Fender Esquire you probably didn’t have anything since breakfast, if you even had that.”
“I need to talk to Dad,” Savvy protests.
“Nothing says you can’t eat and talk at the same time,” Phil stubbornly observes. “So go talk, I’ll bring you guys some coffee and a sandwich. Carlos at the Bread & Butter dropped off a couple of trays after the diner closed.”
