Page 61 of Night Hawk
“My dad died on an op a year ago,” Toni said.
Zeigler rubbed his forehead and blinked a few times. “He woulda been too old to still be an agent, so what was he doing on an op?”
“It was my op, not his. He had no business being there, and I have no idea why he was.” She explained about Hibbard.
He set down his cup. “Your mother, then. We can call her.”
“Died when I was ten.”
Ziegler rested his head back on his chair and closed his eyes as if too tired to go on.
“You okay, old man?” Blake asked.
“Just thinking about everything you sprung on me.” He lifted his head and pinned his gaze to Toni. “You think your dad knew something about Martin? Knew he took Lisa and got his revenge?”
She shrugged. “My parents never told me about Lisa, so if Dad did know anything, he couldn’t very well tell me.”
“So say Martin was into sex with children,” Ziegler said. “Then you’ve got this Hibbard guy who’s trafficking all ages of girls. Maybe he has something to do with Lisa too.”
“It’s a possibility, but he would’ve been pretty young back then,” Clay said. “But let’s go back to Martin when Lisa disappeared. You didn’t consider him a suspect at all?”
Ziegler’s light blue eyes narrowed. “Sure, in the way youalwaysconsider male family members when something like this happens. But I didn’t have any evidence pointing to him or a reason to believe it was him. I can tell a faker a mile away. Just ask Blake here.”
“He really can,” Blake said. “I never got away with anything.”
Ziegler gave a gruff snort. “This guy wasn’t faking. He was genuinely upset. Said he never had kids of his own and considered her his granddaughter.”
Blake’s turn to snort. “Doubtful with what we now know about him.”
“If we’d only known it back then. Gotta figure your grandparents knew about Martin’s proclivities. I found him to be sincere, but there seemed to be something off about them. Like they weren’t telling me everything. Still, I could tell they wanted Lisa back, and I didn’t think they were hiding anything that would help find her. But now…” He shook his head. “Now I wonder if I should’ve pressed harder.”
“Hindsight always makes us question,” Blake said. “You did the best job you could’ve at the time.”
“Yeah, I guess.” He twisted gnarled fingers together.
“What did he and my grandparents think happened to Lisa?” Toni’s tone was tight.
“They said she was a well-behaved kid. Would never sneak out at night. And she didn’t know anyone, so she wouldn’t have left to meet another kid. They thought someone broke in and took her.”
He paused to take a quick sip of his coffee. “But there was no sign of a forced intrusion, and her window was unlocked. No strange fingerprints on any of the windows or doors. No footprints on the ground outside any window or doors. And no evidence of forced abduction. If someone took her, she didn’t cry out or struggle.”
“Could’ve been drugged.” Toni’s anguished tone cut right through him.
“We toyed with that idea, but again, no evidence.”
“And no one heard anything?” Clay asked.
Ziegler shook his head, sending the loose skin on his neck wobbling. “Your grandparents went to bed around ten, Martin closer to midnight. Your grandma got up at seven and went to check on Lisa. She was gone. She alerted your grandad and Martin. They looked for her near the house, and when they couldn’t find her, they called us.”
He leaned back in his chair again. “Our best hope in the early days were sex offenders in the area, but their alibis all checked out. Lost Creek being a tourist town coulda meant it was someone passing through, but that was a dead end too. Especially because of the no break-in thing.”
“And I’m right in saying there were no issues with human trafficking back then,” Blake said.
“Nah. Not around these parts. We were a pretty sleepy little town and a very rural county. Things have changed so much I hardly know the place anymore.”
“Can we switch to Rader and his wife?” Clay explained why he asked. “Blake shared what he knew, but I’d like to hear your take.”
“You know Rader didn’t even report her leaving. Neither did their kid. Well not a kid. Jason was sixteen and already had a juvie record by that time. Wife was carousing with all kinds of men, and the parents let Jason run wild.”
