“How did you notice them?”
“The driver—” River paused.“One of the drivers, anyway, I don’t know.He cut somebody off in traffic to follow me when I turned.You can’t help noticing an asshole like that.It’s a big black truck, dinged up.There are a lot of trucks in Utah, but I’m a journalist.My whole job is to notice details.The same truck was at the back of the Smith’s parking lot that night.I was walking out with my groceries.Almost dropped a gallon of milk because I couldn’t believe it.”She laughed, and she managed to unfold her arms and shove her hands in her pockets.“I thought I was crazy.I couldn’t sleep.My husband probably wanted to kill me because I kept getting up and looking out the windows.And I didn’t see the truck that next day.”
“But you noticed someone else,” Jem said.“Because you were keeping an eye out for that black truck.”
“The SUV,” she said.“And later that day, a blue Ford pickup.”
“All right,” Jem said.“You definitely got someone interested.What’d you do?”
“I don’t know.”It was half protest, half despair.“I was just working on this story.It’s still an ongoing investigation, so the police won’t talk to me about it.That’s fine.I like the work.I’m good at digging things up.”
“You definitely dug something up,” Jem said.
“Are we sure about this?”Tean asked.“Are we sure that’s what this is?Couldn’t it be someone from another story you did?”
Jem shook his head.
“What story?”River said.“I do local news.A lot of reporting on the church.A lot of stuff on marginalized communities.That was kind of the angle that got me into this one—that boy, the one who was kidnapped, and his Young Men president who was molesting him.I do a true crime podcast with a friend, and this would have been our biggest story by far, but it’s not like I’m doing investigative journalism on the mob.”
She was talking about Daniel.And about the dead man that had gotten Jem and Tean into this whole mess.
“What did you do two weeks ago?”Jem asked.
“That’s what I’ve been thinking about,” River said.“That’s what I can’t figure out.I must have done something to—to get on their radar.”
“No, you did something to scare them.And that pissed them off.”
“But I don’t know what I did!I didn’tdoanything.It’s not like I tracked this guy down wherever he’s hiding—”
“It’s more than one,” Jem said.“There are four or five of them.We’re not sure how many exactly.Three, at the least, who are the most dangerous.”
“The police said they’re looking for Rydel’s accomplice—” River began.
“They said that because they want to believe this is all one easy thing, and they’re looking for one person, and it all makes sense.But it doesn’t make sense.And it’s not one person.It’s five.”
“Oh my gosh,” River whispered.“Oh my gosh.”
“It has to be something from two weeks ago,” Tean said.“What do you remember?Anything might be important, even if it seems small.”
“Little stuff, like you said.I’m an independent journalist.I drive around.I talk to people.I pull archives, government documents.It’s not like I’m going undercover.”
“Who did you talk to?Where did you go?”
“People in South Jordan.People in Draper.Neighbors, you know?The Young family won’t talk to me, won’t let me talk to their son, but there are plenty of people in their ward who are willing to chat.”
Jem didn’t have any doubts about that.Mormon congregations were geographic, and in a place like Utah, a ward might consist of only a few blocks.All of those neighbors had witnessed those October events from more or less a front-row seat.They would have had plenty to say to a pretty White lady who knew how to make them feel important.
“That’s all?”Tean asked.
“No, I did what you said.The yearbook stuff.”She gave a laugh.“That kind of thing is actually really popular with true crime audiences.”
“You went out to the Uinta Basin?”
“Of course.That’s where he grew up.I talked to a few teachers who still remembered Rydel.And then I saw where he grew up.You wouldn’t believe what that place is like.It’s not like they had any close neighbors, but I did talk to some people in the area.Very different from South Jordan, by the way.Those people wanted to be left alone.”
Jem shot a silent question over his shoulder at Tean.
The doc’s bushy eyebrows were drawn together, and a hint of frustration showed through his usual reserve.“I don’t know,” Tean finally said.
