Page 89 of Lost Lake
“Sometimes, but the trails I usually take are much longer.”
A deviation from her usual routine. This could be important.
“Why this one today?” El asked.
“Got called into work early this morning. Meant I only had time for a short run.” She crossed her arms. “I work in the PICU, and the babies need us. We have to be flexible with our schedules when someone else calls in sick.”
She certainly was well qualified to assess Lucy’s condition. Even if for only a moment. “In your professional opinion, did the child look well?”
Caitlyn released her arms and seemed to relax at the change in questioning. “She did. Her face and clothes were a little dirty, but otherwise she appeared to be well-nourished and hydrated.”
“What was she wearing?” El asked, in case it might be something Gabe would recognize.
“I only remember her blue jacket. It was quilted and had something embroidered on the chest. Looked like a dog, but not a real dog. More like a cartoon character.”
Gabe sat forward. “Are you familiar with the showBluey?”
“Yeah, yeah.” Her eyes lit up. “My son used to watch it. He’s nine now. Too old for that baby stuff, or so he says.” She chuckled. “I forgot all about Bluey. So yeah, that was it. It was Bluey.”
“Are you sure?” El asked.
Caitlyn nodded. “Positive.”
El now had no doubt the man and child Caitlyn saw were Lucy and her abductor. She looked at Gabe. His expression held the same certainty.
They had a solid lead. Now they needed to find them.
“And the man? Can you describe him?”
“He was tall. Maybe six feet. He had dark hair.” She glanced at Gabe. “Kind of like yours.”
“Did he also look like me?” Gabe clenched his fists.
El got it. He thought Caitlyn might be describing his brother.
No hesitation, she shook her head. “His face was far different than yours. First off, he wasn’t nice looking.” She clapped her hand over her mouth. “I hope that doesn’t embarrass you, but you are.”
“It’s all good.” His offhand tone contradicted the red color crawling up his face.
She wrinkled her nose. “Anyway, he had a really skinny nose with a hook at the end. I couldn’t tell if his eyes were small or if they were just narrow because he was glaring at me.”
El shared a pointed look with Gabe, and his hands relaxed. “Any facial hair?”
“Full beard.”
“And his clothing?” she asked. Ulrich had the details in his report, but witnesses remembered things as time went on and El wanted to make sure she got every detail.
“I only got a good look at his jacket and stocking cap. The cap was black, the jacket sage green. Short. Like the bomber jackets so many people wear these days, but there was a patch on the chest. Maybe military.”
El was thankful for the additional patch detail. “Was there anything else unique about him that might help us find him?”
“Hmm.” She bobbed her leg. “He seemed out of place. You know, you get that feeling where he’s in the outdoors, but he really isn’t an outdoors kind of guy.”
Although Jonas Trent really didn’t fit her description, El pulled up his picture on her phone and showed it to her. “Is this the guy you saw?”
“No. No. Absolutely not.”
El scrolled to a picture of Silas Tinsley. His blond, nearly white hair glistened in the light. He did have sort of a narrow nose, and he could’ve dyed his hair. A long shot, but she showed the picture to Caitlyn.
