"The lights were off on the SUV?"
"Yes. No strobes. I passed by slowly. Got a good look. The driver of the vehicle wasn't there. Neither was the police officer. I didn't stop because I figured the cops were handling it." She shrugged. "I drove on and made a call not long after to tell Paul I was going to pick up some groceries. Asked him if he wanted anything."
"And you didn't know the girl was missing until later?"
"Not until I heard about it at work from someone. Roughly two or three days later. After that it was a media frenzy. I phoned the police to let them know what I'd seen."
"High Peaks?"
"No. The Adirondack County Sheriff's Office."
"So no one called you from the police department before that?"
"No. But then again I wasn't the only vehicle that passed by the scene that night."
Noah looked down, flipping pages. "Right. Hank Sheridan said multiple vehicles passed by. Then there was Witness B, a man coming from the opposite direction later."
"That's right."
"So just to go over that timeline." He had it in front of him but he always liked to see if a witness's account shifted. After five years, most people's stories drifted at least a little. Dates moved, times rounded, details that had been certain became approximate. It was natural and it was human and it told you nothing by itself. But when a story stayed exactly the same, word for word, that told you something too. "You left work at?"
"I left around 6:45 PM."
"And you arrived at the scene around?"
"7:10. I think."
"And there was a police cruiser already there?"
He used the word cruiser deliberately.
"Not a cruiser." She didn't hesitate. "A SUV. Dodge Durango Pursuit."
"You have a good memory."
"In my line of work as a nurse, you have to. Lives depend on it."
"I hear you," Noah said. "The devil is in the details."
"So you don't recall seeing anyone at the crash site?"
She cupped her drink with both hands and shook her head. "Nope. I even looked back as I drove away, you know, in my rearview mirror."
"Did you pass any other vehicles?"
"A couple."
"Any recollection?"
"It was dark. Headlights are bright. I've driven that route for over twenty years. You kind of blot those out."
"Did you see anyone walking along the road? Anyone duck off into the bushes?"
"They asked me that back then." She met his eyes. "My answer is still the same. No one." She paused. "I wish I could be of more help. As a mother I feel for the parents. I couldn't imagine my kid going missing."
Noah nodded and finished his drink. "Well, I appreciate it." He stood and tucked the folder back into his bag.
Lydia stood with him and led him back through the hallway toward the front door.
