Page 47 of Unknown

He stared at them suspiciously, and his demeanor reminded Cora once again that they were in a small town environment, where attitudes and loyalty might well be far more insular than they suspected.

"Abel?" she asked.

"That's me," he said. There was still no friendliness in his tone. He suspected them automatically, because they were strangers.

"Abel, we're looking for Boris Upton. I believe he used to stay in town until recently."

"And why would you want him?" Abel asked.

Cora knew, with a twist of her stomach, that this was not going to be easy.

"I'm an investigator. He might have information on a case I'm following up on," she said, being careful to keep the request generalized.

Abel hesitated, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. Cora could see the gears turning in his head, as he weighed up the potential risks of sharing information with strangers.

"Who told you I know anything about him?" he asked, as if checking their credentials.

"I’m not telling you," Cora said. “You’re everybody’s friend, right? The guy everyone uses to move? Why should it matter to you who told me?”

Abel rubbed his bearded chin thoughtfully.

“We just want to know where he went," Cora repeated.

"I did help him move," he finally said. "But I can't tell you where he went. That's confidential. I mean, I don't know who you are. If you want to know where he went, why don’t you ask him yourselves?"

Cora sighed. It was time to let a few more details out, in the hope that the right ones might be persuasive. And she thought she knew what angle to take. Now that Abel had been standing in front of her for a while, she thought she recognized the tattoo on his wrist. It was a field cross, and that meant Abel might be ex-Army himself.

"It's important," she said. "We're investigating a murder case. Army recruits and young soldiers are being killed. It looks like hazing gone wrong, but it isn’t. It’s deliberately done.”

“Seriously?” Abel’s eyebrows shot up. She’d read him right. He had loyalty to people in town, but he did also have more distant ties with the Army himself.

“If we can find Boris, and get what we need, we could save lives. We've been given his name as a potential source of information." She still didn’t want to say he might be the killer. Right now, that was pushing it too far.

"Where have these murders been happening?" he asked, sounding surprised.

"At the Army base to the north of here," Cora explained, hoping that she'd make some headway if she explained. "Four people have been killed so far. And if we don't find Boris by tonight, that number might go up."

“Yeah,” Abel said. “That base is known for trouble. A lot of people in the area have complained about it. They say it’s not well-run. That bullying and bad behavior is not correctly disciplined. A lot of the places around here won’t even allow larger groups of Army people in. The smaller restaurants, and places like that.

"I agree with you,” Cora said, glad that they were now focusing on their common concerns. "We've been investigating for a day so far, and we've already taken four of the troublemakers out of circulation. They were known for causing problems and fights, but they were dealing drugs on the side and now they've been handed over to the police."

"Okay?" he said sounding approving.

"The Army is on a recruitment drive to get soldiers who are suitable. Who won't cause trouble and go rogue. But every recruit deserves a chance to be safe. It's a tough life, and a tough start. Not everyone makes it, but those who don't - they deserve to make it out alive? Don't they?"

Now, Abel was looking even more confused. "But how can Boris help you? I don't understand. He doesn't work at the base? Look, I know he has a history with the Army, and he had a tough time there, but that was a while ago. I don’t want him to get into trouble for this."

They were back on dangerous ground again, and Abel’s loyalty to his friends and peers was evident. It told her that Boris might have two separate personalities. One that he showed in public, and one that he only unleashed in private. That was what she was concluding. Abel thought he was a likable and innocent guy.

"It’s more about who he knows," she said.

"Well, I guess I can tell you, if it'll help," Abel said. "I moved him out of that house last week, and he went to a cabin that's about two miles north of here. It’s accessed from one of the trails that leads into the woods. It has a white roof, if that's any help."

"Thank you so much for the information. We’ll go and have a chat with him,” Gabe said blandly. But Cora knew that Abel was now conflicted. She could see it in his frown. His old Army loyalty had prompted him to give information, but now the friendship he had with Boris was making him conflicted.

She knew what she’d do in the situation if she were him. She’d give her friend in the woods a quick call, just to warn him that two investigators were on their way.

As soon as Abel’s front door closed, she and Gabe rushed to the car.

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