Page 61 of Nowhere to Hide
Eric drank some of his, letting his mind assimilate all that she’d told him thus far, and then put his mug back on thetable. “What do you remember about the vehicle this man was driving?”
“It was a white cargo van. Chevy, I think. New at the time.”
“This is very helpful.” Eric let the comment slip as he documented what she said.
“Helpful? But something that should be on record already.”
“Yes.” Eric smiled tightly. “Anything else you can remember about the van? Something distinctive?”
“A logo on the back bumper.”
Eric wrotelogoin his notepad.
“It’s come up a lot in dreams,” Selma added.
Eric’s enthusiasm waned some. Dreams weren’t exactly reliable. What if this woman had built the entire accident up into something that it wasn’t? But he shook the doubt aside. Her conviction felt credible. “You dreamed about it, or you saw it in real life at the scene of the crash?”
“Both. As I said, I’ve seen a therapist to discuss that day, and it’s come up in dreams many times.”
Eric looked down where he was swirling ink around the wordlogo. He stopped. “What was the logo for?”
“Travel Safe, that vehicle rental company. That’s why I was really surprised no arrests were ever made. I thought it would have been a straightforward path to follow.”
It should have been…Thirty-three years ago rental vehicles were clearly marked. On the upside, Travel Safe was still in business. Eric shut his notepad and tucked it and his pen away. Standing, he said, “Thank you for your time, Ms. Hatfield.”
“Sure.”
Eric saw himself out. While the coffee left a bitter aftertaste in his mouth, so did this visit. He could only hope the vehicle rental company was as meticulous at keeping records as the auto wreckers.
THIRTY-THREE
3:45 PM
Sandra flinched at the sound of gunfire.
“He’s fired his weapon again!” Kreiger was shaking his head. “That’s it, Vos. I’ve had it.” He got up and left the vehicle, and Sandra followed.
“Don’t do this. Not yet.” Her petitioning fell flat, even for herself. Ryan was becoming more unpredictable with every passing minute.
Kreiger spun around. His cheeks were bright red. “And why shouldn’t I?”
“We’re close to wrapping this up and proving that his mother was murdered.”
“I’m not sure I even care anymore.”
Sandra let a few seconds pass, not buying for a minute the lieutenant was that callous. He was frustrated more than anything and still struggling with memories from his past case. “I’ll push him on moving forward with the press release outside.”
“You don’t even know what happened in there.”
“Not yet, but I can use it to get his cooperation. It’s taking place outside or not at all.” It hurt her to think what that might equate to. While she’d assured Ryan of his safety, she had no real control over it.
“There’s no room for negotiation on this. Not anymore. He comes out—unarmed—to meet with thereporter”—he added finger quotes—“or it doesn’t happen at all. Am I understood?”
“Clearly.” Her phone pinged softly in her pocket.A text…She had the volume just loud enough to hear it, but she’d check the message in a minute. “Let me call him and find out what happened in there.”
“And I’ll make sure everyone is ready.”
The dark tone to his voice left no doubt thateveryoneincluded getting snipers into position.
