Page 21 of Once Hidden
Ann Marie gave Ida’s hand a slight squeeze before standing.“Thank you for talking with us.We’re going to do everything we can to find Amanda.”
Ida looked up at her with momentary clarity.“You find my girl.Please.”
Then Ida turned up the sound, and seemed to lose herself in whatever was on the television now.
Ann Marie turned away and followed the others outside.Once they were back on the sidewalk, Chief Rawley pulled out her phone and moved a few steps away to make a call.Ann Marie looked questioningly at Riley.
“Why did we end so abruptly?”she asked in a low voice.
Riley tilted her head toward the chief, indicating they should wait.
After a brief conversation, Chief Rawley rejoined them.“Maureen will be here in ten minutes.Now, about Marcus Alstead—he’s been a local troublemaker since he was a teenager.Multiple drunk and disorderly charges, couple of domestic disturbances with girlfriends, though nothing that ever stuck.”
“And he dated Amanda Lindeen?”Captain Hodge asked.
“Back in high school.She was one of the few girls smart enough to break it off.”Rawley shook her head.“He hasn’t been able to hold down a job lately.The interesting part is that he got fired from FleetRush Logistics about three weeks ago.”
Ann Marie caught the significance immediately.“The same company Cable Morris worked for.”
“Exactly,” Rawley confirmed.“And he happens to have a car exactly like the one Myrtle Sprouse said she saw slowing down when Amanda was there—a beat-up, dark blue Ford.”
Riley’s face remained impassive, but Ann Marie could see the slight tension around her eyes—the look she got when pieces were starting to fit together.
“We need to talk to him,” Riley said.
“He’ll probably be at home,” Chief Rawley replied.“Hasn’t been evicted yet because his aunt owns the place and feels sorry for him.”
They moved back to their vehicles, the afternoon heat making the air shimmer above the pavement.Ann Marie slid into the passenger seat beside Riley, her mind already organizing the new information.
As they pulled away from the curb to follow Rawley and Hodge, Riley glanced at her.“Nice work in there with Ida.You handled her perfectly—the way you positioned yourself, the gentle tone, knowing when to redirect.”Riley turned her attention back to the road.“You picked up on her confusion without making her feel uncomfortable or defensive.That’s not something they can teach at Quantico.”
“I’ve dealt with a lot of people in shock, grief, or denial.You learn to read what they need in the moment.”
“Well, whatever that taught you, it works.Ida gave us our first solid lead.Now let’s see if Marcus Alstead can tell us anything useful about Amanda Lindeen—or Cable Morris.”
The houses grew sparser as they followed the SUV through the residential streets, soon reaching what appeared to be the outskirts of town.Ann Marie watched the scenery pass, mentally preparing for their next interview.If Marcus Alstead was connected to both missing persons, this could be the breakthrough they needed.But Chief Rawley’s description of the man suggested this might not be a straightforward conversation.Unlike the gentle approach she’d used with Ida Lindeen, Marcus Alstead might require a very different strategy.
She checked her holster out of habit, making sure her weapon was secure but accessible, still hoping she wouldn’t have to use it.
CHAPTER NINE
Riley Paige guided her sedan through the sleepy streets of Talomaska Crossing, following Chief Rawley’s unmarked SUV.They drove past the town’s small commercial district—a handful of storefronts, a diner with a neon “OPEN” sign flickering in the window, a gas station where an elderly attendant sat on a folding chair, newspaper spread across his lap.
“You think Marcus Halstead is our unsub?”Ann Marie asked.
Riley considered the question.“He fits a certain type—rejection triggers violence, has knowledge of the area, possibly stalking behavior.But let’s see how he reacts to direct questions.”
“Chief Rawley seems convinced.”
“Local police often have instincts about their own communities that outsiders miss,” Riley acknowledged.“She’s known Marcus for years.If she thinks he’s capable of this, it’s worth taking seriously.”
As they approached the edge of town, Rawley’s SUV slowed, then turned onto an unpaved driveway where a rusted mailbox leaned at a precarious angle, the name “ALSTEAD” barely visible on its side.
Riley pulled up behind the chief’s vehicle.The bungalow before them had likely been charming once—a single-story home with a small garage attached on one side.What might have been cheerful yellow siding had faded to a sickly beige, peeling in patches.The front yard was a battlefield where weeds had emerged victorious, knee-high in places and choking what remained of an ancient flower bed.
And there, parked askew in the driveway, was an old Ford sedan.As Chief Rawley had told them, it matched the description Myrtle Sprouse had given of the vehicle that had slowed suspiciously when Amanda made her final delivery—” dark blue or maybe black under all that dust.”The vehicle’s position suggested it had been parked hastily, as if the driver had been in a hurry—or distracted.
“That sure does look like the car Mrs.Sprouse described,” Ann Marie murmured, echoing Riley’s thoughts.
