“You’re kidding?” Trish said.
“He said they dated off and on while she was there. But he wouldn’t say whether he saw her the night she was at the frat party. I think he was afraid of implicating himself as a witness to something since he isn’t supposed to talk to the press.”
“Then what was he doing talking to you?” Trish asked.
“We literally bumped into one another at the diner, and he recognized me as the reporter who was writing the articles about his former high school girlfriend Sandy Cranston.”
“He dated her as well? I’m seeing a pattern here. Two girls he dated go missing. Was he wearing a Pembroke State baseball hat when you were talking to him?”
Quinn took a deep breath and closed her eyes, debating whether to answer her, but she hated to lie. “Yes, he was.”
“Oh my god. What if it’s him? What if he’s the mysterious guy no one would identify because of who his father is?” Trish said.
“I know. But at this point, we still need solid proof.”
“What more do you need? Do we know if he was in Lewistown when Heather Randall went missing?” Trish asked.
“I’ll see if Logan was able to get a good description of the three guys that the owner of the brewery said sat in Heather Randall’s section before she disappeared. Maybe we can see if the Lewistown police sent a sketch artist to get a drawing or something.”
“I can’t believe this,” Trish said. “What if it’s him?”
“I know. I’ve felt that way off and on, but there has been zero proof to nail him for it other than he knows them. He went to Pembroke State. He’s a frat boy who likes to party. None of these factors are crimes,” Quinn explained. “I’m sorry if I have upset you with this call or got your hopes up, but I just wondered if Barbie ever mentioned Cliff by name.”
“Not that I recall. I can see her keeping him a secret from us though,” Trish said.
“Why?”
“Because of who his family is. She’d have felt I would have reminded her of where she came from and not to go thinking she belonged in his world. I did it before when she was in high school, and she dated a boy whose family had money. They had just moved to Altoona, so he didn’t know too many people at the time. It was easy for her to keep the fact that we lived on the wrong side of the tracks a secret. She was pretty and dressed well enough that he didn’t suspect for months, but then the truth came out and it didn’t end well. I guess I thought she’d learned her lesson after that.”
“Maybe it wasn’t so much as learning a lesson, but that Cliff knew where she was from this time, and it was okay with him. They were both at Pembroke State away from Altoona. It didn’t matter where they lived here,” Quinn said.
There was a pause on the other end. “You may be right,” Trish finally said. “I just hope she was at least happy with him. No matter what happened to her. I–I have resolved myself not to think that she is dead even though I know deep down that is probably the outcome after all this time. I mean…what else could it be for her to just disappear like this without a trace.”
“There is a trace. I shouldn’t tell you this, but I’m going to because I want you to know that we are getting closer. I have someone who has reached out, and he apparently was hired to clean up after the bastard responsible. He took a photo of the trophies the perp’s been collecting, Trish. Barbie’s earrings were there.”
A gasp then a cry came over the line.
“We also have an FBI agent who is heading up a task force beginning a search for them. I believe Agent Street will find them.”
“Thank you, Jesus.
CHAPTER 9
Quinn placeda call to Agent Street and was surprised when she got him instead of his voicemail. She’d been afraid he’d be out on assignment instead of in the office because of the time of day.
“Good to hear from you, Ms. Moynahan, what can I do for you today?” Street said.
“I wanted to let you know that I have received two unsigned letters from someone claiming to clean up after the person responsible for the missing women. Today’s letter sent photos of the trophies collected as proof, and he has set up one of those anonymous mail drop boxes and sent me a key to it for us to correspond with one another. I thought I should let you know so if you wanted me to proceed in a certain way with him, I can.”
“Are you certain it’s a male you’re receiving these letters from?” Street asked.
“Nothing has indicated gender one way or another, but it has felt as if this is a man,” she said. “And just so you know, I have sent back my first response and asked if there was any way to help get him out from under the pressure he is under. The first letter was clear he was weary of doing this any longer. That was the reason he had sent the letter encouraging me to stay on the path I was on.”
“You said the photos were of the trophies. That’s good. This person is smart moving his correspondence to a mail drop. Did he give a reason?”
“He felt it was too dangerous to continue sending through the mail,” she said.
“Let me know if you get any more of these letters,” Street said. “I’ll also think about how we can use him as a source to get to who he works for without jeopardizing his life. Is anything else going on? I know I just saw you yesterday, but a lot can develop in that length of time.”
