“Colin, I don’tknowit!”
“But the theater owners would have him listed on their payroll, right?”
“I would imagine.”
Colin surged to his feet, his phone in his hand, and stalked into the living room. “Oh, Jesus, Josh,” Nate breathed out. “Why didn’t I think of him sooner?”
“Nate, stop it!” David said. He drew Nate into his arms and rocked him against his body. “You are notallowedto blame yourself!”
“Nate, the guy may have absolutely nothing to do with it,” Joshua told him. “Let Colin handle it. If there’s any truth to be discovered here, he’ll find it. This isn’t on you!”
“Whoever this bastard is,” Nate said, “he’s already destroyed three lives. I don’t want any more students to go through this horror.”
“Nate,” Joshua said, “every law enforcement agency in Charlottesville is working on this case. And if this guy you remembered has anything to do with the case, they’ll discover his involvement and they’ll catch him!”
Nate eased away from David’s embrace and nodded, reaching to take Joshua’s hand. “Thanks, Josh. God, I hope you’re right.”
Joshua squeezed Nate’s hand then looked up as Colin returned to the kitchen and sank into his chair, laying his phone on the table.
“I just talked to campus police. Donny’s going to go talk to the Culbreth owners today. He’ll find out who this guy is and interview him.” He laid his hand on Nate’s shoulder. “You may have given us our first break in this case, buddy. Thank you!”
* * *
After breakfast Davidand Nate cleared away the dishes while Colin and Joshua walked down to the lake. They sat together at the water’s edge, gazing out over its sparkling surface, talking quietly.
“Do you think this tip of Nate’s will go anywhere?”
“I dunno, babe,” Colin told him. He hugged his knees and stared across the lake to the opposite shore. “It’s always hard to tell what information might lead to something important. I know we’ll check it out.” He turned as David arrived and lowered himself onto the grass beside Colin.
“Hey, Davy. You guys done?”
“Colin, Nate’s taking it hard, the business about the janitor. He’s kicking his own ass all over the place for not remembering that guy sooner.”
Colin nodded and pulled himself to his feet. As he moved toward the cabin he turned and pointed at David. “Stay here. I want to talk to him without you hovering over him like an anxious mother. I might need to verbally spank him a bit.”
David waved him on. “He’s all yours. He’s sure not listening tome.”
Colin shoved the kitchen door open and moved toward the living room. “Nate! Where the hell are you!”
“On the porch!” Nate’s voice called and a moment later he appeared in the doorway. “What’s up, Irish?”
Colin pushed the door open, gently shoving Nate out of the way. “I want to talk to you, that’s what’s up.” He grabbed Nate’s arms and sat him down on the glider, settling himself on the porch railing opposite him. “What the hell iswrongwith you? Why are you all gloomy about coming up with the info about that janitor? You figured it out, Nate! You thought it through and came up with a viable lead. We’ve got a dozen Charlottesville cops on this case, and none ofthemcame up with info about this guy! You nailed it, buddy!”
“Yeah, but none of them had contact with him.”
“Nate, you didn’t even know about the third victim until today. Besides, we interviewed everyone at that theater. Weaskedabout previous employees, but we didn’t go back far enough. If you hadn’t remembered this guy, I doubt we would haveeverknown about him. You should be patting yourself on the back, not kicking yourself in the ass.”
He pushed off the porch railing and sat down beside Nate. “Listen, buddy,” he said, draping an arm around Nate’s shoulder, “this guy may have nothing to do with the abductions. We’ll know soon enough. But if he does, you’ll have played a big role in making our campus a much safer place.” He grazed Nate’s jaw with a fake punch. “So, stop moping! You know seeing you sad makes Davy crazy, and he’s no fucking fun when he’s crazy.”
“Depends on the kind of crazy you’re talking about,” Nate said, flashing his Cheshire cat grin.
“Hey!Somekinds of crazy I have no interest in discussing.” He stood, pulling Nate up with him. “Lighten the fuck up.”
Nate lowered his head and pressed his forehead against Colin’s arm. “Thanks, Colin.”
“C’mon,” Colin said, scrubbing his knuckles against Nate’s head. “Let’s go join our better halves.” He led Nate through the cabin and out the back door.
As they approached the lake where Joshua and David still sat, he gave Nate a gentle push. “Get over there and do whatever you need to do to make him smile.”
