Page 19 of Lost Truth
5
Clouds rolled over the sun as Hayden stood outside Kai’s cottage and ended his call with Nick. With the way things were going, he wondered if the sun going away was a warning of upcoming difficulties. Thankfully, he’d piqued Nick’s interest with the drive. Nothing negative about that.
Hayden texted Nolan to tell him about their discovery and asked him to inform Mina and get her buy-in before he turned the drive over to Nick. She also needed to know they were following chain of custody protocol with the evidence. Whenever she arrested a suspect and brought him to trial, proper procedures like this would increase their chances of successfully introducing the evidence. The last thing they wanted was for a sharp defense attorney to get the drive thrown out on a technicality.
Nolan texted his acknowledgment, and Hayden joined Abby and Cady on the small porch.
“Did Nick agree, or do I need to work my charms on him?” Abby chuckled, but her expression was deadly serious.
“He agreed,” Hayden said. “Once I told him about the type of drive and the encryption, I think he might’ve actually driven down here to get it just for the challenge of cracking it.”
Abby let out a quick whoop and high-fived him. “I knew you could do it.”
“Thank goodness.” Cady’s breath came out in a wave of relief.
Hayden couldn’t agree more. “He suggested overnighting the drive to him, but I don’t want to wait that long or risk the carrier losing it. I’ll drive it to him tonight or ask someone on the team to do it. Nick will start working on it the minute it arrives.”
“Someone else can drive. You’re needed here.” Abby maintained direct eye contact, her confidence in her decision typical for her.
“Yoo-hoo,” Kai’s silvery-haired neighbor called out as she bustled down her walkway, her cane thumping. “I don’t believe I know you folks.”
“Great, a nosy neighbor,” Abby said. “I’ll handle it. I’m used to dealing with situations like this.”
The three of them met the elderly woman at the sidewalk. She wore a flowery dress and pink cushioned slippers and looked to be in her eighties. She poked out a wrinkly hand. “I’m Dorothy Green.”
Abby pushed forward, a smile on her face. “Abby Day, and these are my associates. We work with the Lost Lake Locators. Have you heard of our business?”
“Who in this town hasn’t?” Dorothy looked each of them over with a critical eye. “You made quite a splash by buying the inn, but then the big news was your involvement with the mayor’s death. That was something, wasn’t it? I was so impressed when you figured out who killed him.” She clutched the buttons on her dress. “And what a shocking conclusion!”
Abby nodded, and Hayden hoped she would change the subject before they went down a rabbit hole into their investigation of Mayor Sutton’s murder.
She smiled at the woman as if humoring a child. “Do you know Kai?”
“Well, of course I do.” She sniffed as if offended. “I’ve lived in this neighborhood since I met and married my dear Walter, may he rest in peace. Then Kai bought his house about twenty years ago. I think you could say I know him better than anyone in town.”
“So he told you he was going on vacation then,” Abby pressed her gently.
“Yes, and it’s about time.” Her expression softened. “The poor man rarely takes time off, and I was so glad to see he decided to get away for a week.”
“Did he mention where he was going?” Abby asked.
Dorothy turned her head just a bit. Did she want to avoid this question?
“He didn’t say what his destination was, and I didn’t ask. I figured he would tell me if he wanted me to know, and he wanted his privacy. Also, he didn’t want anyone bothering him this week.”
How odd that this woman, who appeared to be quite nosy, hadn’t questioned Kai about his destination. But she seemed to really care for him, so maybe she was respecting his wishes.
Abby stared more intensely at Dorothy. “Can you think of anyone he might have shared his vacation plans with?”
Dorothy tipped her head in the direction of the tall two-story house on the other side of Kai’s cottage. “Maybe Jake.”
“Jake?”
“Jake—Jacob Hill. He lives on the other side of Kai, and they’re surfing buddies.”
Hayden made a mental note of the name, but Cady scribbled it down in her notepad. If the man was home, they still had time to question him before heading to the surf shop.
“So everything seemed okay with Kai, then?” Abby circled back as all good detectives would do in an interview to be sure the person replied with the same answer.
