“Yes, I told her I wasn’t ready to be a father. Like I said, we weren’t actually dating. I was using a lot of drugs back then. I made stupid choices.”
Maren and Haven emerged from the other room. “It’s clean.”
Joel picked up a dirty dish on the counter and placed it in the sink. “I feel bad for what happened to Gayle. I shouldn’t have led her on.” He turned to face the two officers. “I’m trying to be a more honorable guy from now on.”
Something in Joel’s tone of voice rang true to River. He was eaten up by guilt, trying to better himself. Still, even if he wasn’t the killer, he might know something crucial about Gayle. “What did you think happened to Gayle when she disappeared?”
He shrugged. “She always talked about moving to California. When she stopped coming around, I just assumed that she’d taken off.”
Maren stepped forward. A flash of fear came into Joel’s eyes when Haven advanced beside her handler. River knew the K-9 was a sweetheart, but the stature and appearance of the red Doberman made her look threatening. “Did Gayle ever mention anyone following her or offering to help with pregnancy expenses?”
Joel thought for a moment then shook his head. “Not that I remember.”
“What about free or sliding-scale clinics. Do you know if she was going anywhere for medical care?”
“Yeah, actually the last time I talked to her, she said there was a free clinic down in Denver that she really liked.”
“She didn’t happen to mention the name of it?”
Joel shook his head. “Just that it was in Denver and she had to take three buses to get there.”
Not a strong lead but a lead all the same. The team had already started visiting free clinics in the region to ask if the victims had been patients and also to warn staff to be on the lookout for anyone offering help to young pregnant women. There was a lot of territory for the task force to cover but hopefully someone would remember Gayle.
River pulled out his business card. “Joel, thank you. If you remember anything else, even if you don’t think it’s important, give me or Officer Anderson a call.”
Maren pulled out her business card as well.
Once they were outside, Maren said, “I know Joel seems like a guy trying to turn over a new leaf, but his whole attitude about the relationship and pregnancy breaks my heart. Gayle must have felt so alone.”
“I know. I can picture her sitting on those buses going to all that trouble to get her baby medical care,” said River. “We have to get justice for Gayle and Jenny and Nina and find Mia before it’s too late. Those brave girls deserve that.” His throat grew tight. So many lives hung in the balance. He didn’t want to revisit the anguish of losing another young person.
“Agreed. There’s still a chance we can find Mia alive, but we have to work fast. I’ll let Emmett know about checking out more free Denver clinics so he can get some team members on it. You probably want to get back to finding out to what happened to that other missing girl.”
He nodded. “I know this is a time drain from the task force, but this is another young life that hangs in the balance. I have to find Elsie so she can be with her mother.”
Noah’s death had made him feel like he wasn’t worthy of a family of his own, but maybe he could reunite other families.
Maren patted his arm. “All these lives matter.”
“Thanks.” He leaned a little closer to her. “Your sister’s life mattered too. I know it’s hard to work in the middle of grieving such a loss, but you and Haven did a good job in there today.”
“Thank you,” said Maren.
He gave her a quick hug and they parted ways.
He drove across town, intending to go back up to the search site to try one more time to see if Frankie’s nose could tell him what had happened to Elsie. But first he needed to stop by Lydia’s place and get something of Elsie’s for Frankie to scent from.
As he pulled up to Lydia’s house, he was glad to see the patrol car parked outside. When he knocked on the door, he was surprised when an older man with gray buzz cut answered the door.
Lydia came from the kitchen. “River, this is my father-in-law, Norm.”
The man held his hand out to River, offering him a firm handshake. “I came to give Lydia some support. My wife would have come, but she’s pretty broken up about what’s happened. I dropped her off at home so she could take a sedative.”
Lydia stepped toward him. “Why did you come by? Is there news about Elsie?”
The look of hopeful expectation on Lydia’s face sliced right through River. He shook his head. “The local PD are following up on some of the leads you gave us, and Eva is checking the histories of people connected to the school.”
Norm touched Lydia’s back. “I’m sure the police are doing everything they can.”
