It was the last thing Mattie wanted to do; working outside with Robo was her thing, not this office work and tedious fact-finding. But it was important that someone go through the tape. “Sure.”
“I’ve got it set up on the desktop in my office.”
Robo dogged Mattie’s footsteps as she hurried to Stella’s office, and he settled on the floor behind her when she sat in the chair. She rocked the computer mouse to activate the screen, which displayed a still shot of a row of three cash registers, only one of them manned, on the paused footage. The quality of the picture was pretty good compared to some CCTV film she’d seen before.
She noticed a clean pad of notebook paper that Stella must have left in front of the screen and selected a pen from those in the holder. It took a moment to figure out how to run the tape forward and back so she could begin the review process.
The time stamp on the tape said Saturday at 0800 hours, which she recorded on her notepad. She believed the players in question would appear after ten o’clock, but in the interest of being methodical and thorough, she began watching the film from the start.
At first there were no customers present, and the one cashier on duty drifted in and out of the picture, apparently whiling away the time on an early Saturday morning. Whenever a customer approached, she would pop back into place to ring up their purchase. Mattie grew impatient with the lack of action and began to fast-forward until a person entered the frame. Then she would slow the speed and even stop it to see if she recognized anyone.
Around nine o’clock, business picked up and there were more faces to scan, but still none that were familiar. She continued to view the tape in a series of fast-forwards, slows, and stops until shortly before eleven o’clock on the time stamp when Tonya approached the checkout counter. Her sudden appearance on the film snatched Mattie’s breath away.
Though the film was black-and-white, she could imagine the fiery tangle of long, red hair that spilled out beneath the girl’s stocking cap.
Tonya’s face appeared wan and pinched with stress when she first appeared in the frame, but as soon as she engaged with the cashier, the lively expression that Mattie was familiar with returned, transforming her into the beautiful girl she’d met at Cole’s clinic. Though there was no sound, the two chatted as Tonya set her items on the counter: a box of disposable diapers, a baby’s one-piece sleeper, and what appeared to be a cozy baby blanket.
Tears prickled Mattie’s eyes as she froze the frame and recorded the details along with the time stamp. Mi cielo, she thought, borrowing an exclamation of dismay she’d learned from Mama T. My heaven, she’s buying things for her baby before she goes into labor. She knows the baby’s birth is imminent and she wants to prepare.
Had Tonya changed her mind? Did she want to keep her baby? Or were these merely farewell gifts as she said good-bye and sent her baby off to its new home?
Mattie’s attention was now fully focused on reviewing the film. She switched to another camera and pulled up footage from within the clothing aisles. After fast-forwarding to ten thirty on the time stamp, she slowed the footage, scanning for Tonya’s familiar silhouette, a pregnant girl with long hair beneath a stocking cap. There were still only a few customers in the store, and it didn’t take long for Mattie to find the person she was looking for.
Tonya strolled the aisle, her gait somewhat heavy with her feet placed wide and one hand low on her belly. She paused at a rack, holding up baby sleepers and putting them back until she made her choice. After placing it in a basket that dangled from one of her arms, she trudged to a shelf, where she selected the blanket and then the package of diapers. With her odd gait, she tottered out of the frame, so Mattie paused the film to make note of the time. She advanced the tape slowly, scanning for any other customers who might have been predators, but no one appeared to follow the girl.
The time had matched up within a minute to the shot at the cash register, so Mattie believed Tonya had left the baby department and gone directly to check out. She went back to the cash register film where she’d left off and watched Tonya continue a conversation with the cashier—did the girl always engage with strangers, or had she been lonely?—until Tonya waved her hand, lifted her two bags, and shuffled toward the exit.
“Damn,” Mattie muttered, wishing like crazy that the store utilized outdoor CCTV. Who had been waiting there outside? Was it Skylar? Carla Holt? An unknown predator?
When will we get Tonya’s cell phone records? Her frustration high, Mattie uttered a few curses, because today was Sunday and the records probably wouldn’t come in until tomorrow. Had Tonya phoned someone? Did she start to drive home to Timber Creek but turn back because she’d gone into labor? Did she call Carla Holt’s clinic? Where the hell had she gone next?
Mattie continued to advance the cash register film, looking for anyone else who was familiar. Within five minutes of Tonya’s departure, Skylar Kincaid appeared in the frame at the cash register. Mattie hit pause so she could record the time, and she captured a shot of Skylar’s expression frozen on the screen. The young man scowled at the cashier, his demeanor positively dark.
She advanced the tape slowly, searching for a good picture of the items Skylar was purchasing. What she saw made her gasp. They were almost identical to Tonya’s: baby clothes, blanket, and diapers. But there were two additional items on the counter—baby formula and a set of baby bottles.
“Good grief.” She drew in a breath and released it slowly to ease the tightening in her chest as she clicked on the forward arrow. Robo stood and came over to nudge her arm with his nose, and she absently stroked the soft fur on his head while she focused on the screen.
Skylar had said that he and Tonya had talked outside in this store’s parking lot, but he’d failed to mention that he’d gone inside to shop. Had he known that Tonya had gone in there too? Mattie would bet her next paycheck that he had.
He’d obviously planned to take the newborn. Had he followed through with his plan? If so, where had the baby been while he was at the station this morning and then while he sat inside Clucken House to have breakfast? Had his sister already arrived in town to take care of the baby, and had he lied about waiting for her? If so, why was he still hanging around? Why hadn’t they both gone home?
Unanswered questions scuttled through her mind like rats as she continued to advance the film. Soon after Skylar left, she found Reagan Dawson, paying for bags of chips and candy. His demeanor seemed calm and composed, nothing remarkable of note, and there was no one with him.
Mattie was thinking she’d probably seen all she was going to when she was surprised to spot Deidra at the register. The pretty woman smiled at the cashier and chatted while she placed her items on the counter. Mattie froze the tape and focused on the objects: a large bottle of cleaning liquid, a package of something that looked like sponges, and rubber gloves. This seemed to corroborate Deidra’s statement that she’d stopped to buy cleaning supplies on her way home from the birthing center, and it only made sense that she would stop at the store next door.
Stella appeared in the doorway, a Cheshire cat grin on her face. “Wait till I tell you what I just found out.”
“And I’ve got a bunch of stuff I’ve discovered here.”
“Great. You go first.”
Stella frowned with concentration as Mattie summarized what she’d found on the footage so far, and she lifted the notepad she was carrying to begin to take notes.
Mattie picked up her own pad to show Stella what she’d recorded. “I have details and times right here.”
“Perfect.” Stella reached for the pad and studied it. “So even after Skylar talked to Tonya, he planned to get his hands on that baby.”
“That’s what it looks like.”
“Reagan Dawson’s appearance seems to match what he said.”
“That’s right.”
“And Deidra Latimer picked up cleaning supplies.”
“Yes,” Mattie said. “What did you find out?”
“You did find a connection. So this shifts us back to Carla and Deidra.”
Stella nodded. “Mom says Kaylee’s boyfriend is her high school sweetheart and a great guy. She doesn’t suspect him of any wrongdoing. After Kaylee told him she was pregnant, he convinced her to come back to Colorado Springs and move in with him. Evidently the two didn’t marry right away so they could keep Kaylee on her parents’ insurance. But once things settled down and Kaylee was released from postnatal care, the two of them did plan to marry.”
“What does the mom think happened? What’s her take on Kaylee and the baby’s disappearance?”
“Kidnapping. But she has no idea why and she has no idea who would do such a thing. The family has never been contacted for a ransom. She’s afraid it was random and fears the worst.”
Mattie nodded as she turned over the whole picture. “Kidnapping, yes … but maybe not so random. How would Carla or Deidra know the baby had been born?”
“Could’ve been a birth announcement, either in the news or Kaylee kept in touch.” Stella tapped her chin with her pen and looked thoughtful. “I’ve got to do some tracing out in California, contact the clinic Deidra worked at before. Run some background checks on both Carla and Deidra. And the Thompsons will be here soon for their interview.”
Mattie knew she couldn’t blame Robo this time. She was the one who needed to be on the move. “Can you conduct the Thompson interview by yourself?”
“Sure.”
“I want to go find out if Skylar checked into the Big Sky and try to determine if his sister is here in town or not. I want to know if they have Tonya’s baby.”
“Okay. We’ll touch base when you get back.”
As Mattie left the station with Robo, she hoped her inquiry would lead her to the baby. Finding the little one would be the best thing she could do for Tonya right now, and she was still convinced that when she found the newborn, she would also find Tonya’s killer.
TWENTY-FOUR
Mattie parked about a block away from the Big Sky Motel, opened the front door of Robo’s cage, and let him bail out behind her as she exited her vehicle. She told him to heel and strode quickly toward the motel, approaching from a direction where the office would block her from view from the courtyard or rooms.
The owner of the Big Sky, Dale Gray, happened to be one of Robo’s biggest fans, so she let her dog follow along as she entered. A bell above the door tinkled, announcing her presence. She scanned the lobby, where a short, plastic-covered sofa and a few matching chairs surrounded a coffee table cluttered with magazines, but fortunately there were no people.
Voices from a television murmured from a room just past the check-in counter. Dale’s head, thinly covered with wispy white hair, appeared first as he peeked around the open doorway, his face breaking into a grin when he spotted her. It felt good to be greeted with such enthusiasm, and Mattie automatically matched his grin as she raised her hand in greeting.
“Hey, Mattie.” With a slight hitch in his step, Dale walked around the counter. “And there’s our boy Robo!”
Robo greeted Dale with a wagging tail and lifted his face to be petted. Mattie enjoyed the results of Robo’s community prestige as she watched the two of them. She and Robo had responded several times to Dale’s calls for help this past year when he’d had customers who created disturbances that he couldn’t settle himself.
A tall, thin man in his seventies, Dale spent much of his day in the room behind the counter watching TV while also keeping a steady eye on his property through a window that looked out into the courtyard. During one of Mattie’s visits, he’d shown her how he kept his draperies adjusted a certain way so he could watch unobserved for pranksters and rowdies, a system he’d created since he had yet to invest in CCTV.
She hoped to capitalize on his surveillance today. “How are you doing, Dale?”
“Couldn’t be better.” Always a sporty dresser, he straightened his bow tie, which was lime green with yellow polka dots, a cheerful addition that conflicted with the lines of fatigue on his face. Last night, he’d probably stayed up late taking care of stranded customers. “What a gorgeous day it’s turned out to be, after the worst ice storm we’ve had in years.”
“I heard business was brisk for you here last night.”
He smiled. “At least that was one good thing about the storm.”
Mattie looked out the office window into the courtyard and spotted Skylar’s black SUV parked there pretty as you please, though still covered with highway grime. Several doors down at the bottom of the U, she could see Detective Hauck’s dark sedan, also dirty and spattered. Although Hauck had told her he planned to drive back to Denver later this afternoon, he’d evidently left his car parked here for the day.
She gestured toward Skylar’s car with a tilt of her head. “I’m interested in the owner of that black Jeep.”
Dale’s unruly white brows shot upward. “Oh? What do you need to know?”
This was her payoff for having a good relationship with the town’s merchants—apparently Dale had no reservations about sharing information with her. “Is he here by himself, or does he have someone with him?”
“He checked in by himself, but he told me he expects his sister to arrive sometime today. Said they’d share the room.” He shook his head and quirked one corner of his mouth, looking skeptical. “I don’t know if he said that to cover up a rendezvous with his girlfriend, but it makes no nevermind to me. I couldn’t care less about my customers’ business as long as they pay their bills, obey the rules, and don’t trash the place.”
Dale bent over Robo, petting him again as he cooed. “And if they don’t behave themselves, I have you to help me, don’t I?”
“Well, for what it’s worth, I think it is his sister he’s expecting.” Mattie stared at the room beyond the Jeep, wishing she had X-ray vision. “He didn’t have a baby with him, did he?”
Dale straightened to look out the window, leaving Robo to gaze up at him, his tail waving gently as though inviting Dale to continue his petting. “Not that I know of. He didn’t mention one, and I didn’t see him carry a child or any of the paraphernalia involved with a baby into his room.”
“We’re looking for a missing infant,” Mattie told him.
“Huh … I’m sure it’s not the one you’re looking for, but there’s a woman with a baby in that detective fella’s room right now.”
Mattie stared at him for a few beats, not sure she’d understood right. “Are you talking about Detective Hauck?”
“Yup.”
She hadn’t known Hauck knew anyone in Timber Creek. Could someone have come from out of town to visit him here? “Did Detective Hauck register with two people?”
“Nope, just himself.”
“I thought he was leaving today.”
Dale shook his head. “I don’t know what he’s doing. He paid for an extra day but said he’s leaving sometime this evening. I offered him a late checkout on the house, but he said his department would spring for it. Seems like a nice fella.”
Hauck did have a certain charm about him. But before she could construct her next question, Dale continued.
“He seems to be friends with this gal. I think it was her that came last night, driving a silver Honda Civic that had some back bumper damage. Here, I’ve got her license plate number right in the next room. Thought she was going to squat and share a room with him, but then they both left.”
Oh my God, he just described Tonya’s car, Mattie thought as she watched Dale limp toward his inner office. Though her heart rate kicked up a notch, she had regained a semblance of composure by the time Dale called out the license plate number from the other room.
It was Tonya’s car. She struggled to take this in and make sens
e of everything. “So Detective Hauck and this woman left together last night? In one car, or did they take two?”
Dale came back into the room, stopping behind the counter. “Oh, they took both cars. Like I said, I thought she was gonna stay, so I kinda kept an eye out for them to return. The detective came back by himself in his own car around two in the morning.”
Mattie was still suffering shock waves. “You say this woman is in his room now? Where’s her car?”
“That’s part of why I noticed her.” He pointed to an opening between the buildings at the end of the courtyard. “She came in right through there. She must’ve parked her car in the back.” He shrugged one shoulder. “We’ve had a lot of congestion in the lot here today. It just cleared out about an hour ago.”
“What does she look like?”
“Blond hair, tall, real pretty.”
Deidra Latimer? With Detective Hauck? “Are you certain she has a baby with her?”
“Absolutely. Carried it wrapped up in a fuzzy yellow blanket. Had one of them diaper bag thingies over her shoulder and a handbag over the other. Had to juggle everything while she let herself into the room. I guess the detective gave her a key to his room last night.”
Her mind reeling, Mattie held up a finger as she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. “Stand by a minute, Dale. I’m going to need your help.”
She dialed Stella.
* * *
While they waited for Stella, Mattie explained to Dale that she suspected this woman might have the missing baby, though she had no explanation for why the two were now in Detective Hauck’s room. She had her own theory, but it wasn’t anything she could share with the motel owner.
With Robo at heel, she skirted around the backside of the motel to do some surveillance, noticing the windows at the end of each unit. Dale had told her to expect a small frosted one placed high on the wall, indicating a bathroom, and a much larger one placed lower that corresponded to a second bedroom at the end of a short hallway. A gravel road ran along the back of the courtyard, where she found a maroon Mazda CX-5 parked on the shoulder. Deidra’s car.
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