Decker knocked on the front door—a piece of splintering board—and the woman who answered was in a brown housecoat. She appeared to be in her sixties with a tired face, damaged bleached blond hair, dark eyes rimmed with dark circles, and a frown for a mouth.
“Corrine Young?” Decker asked.
“Who else?” She stared at them as she lit a cigarette, the source of her husky voice. “Come in.”
The living room was spare and tidy. No couches, just a few mismatched chairs next to a couple of mismatched end tables. No overhead lighting but plenty of lamps, which was good because the interior was dark. She motioned them to a dinette table surrounded by four folding chairs. She looked around. “You want some coffee? I’m making a fresh pot.”
“Thanks, sure.”
“What about you?” She was looking at McAdams.
“Coffee would be great, Mrs. Young.”
There was a dazed expression on her face. “You can call me Corrine, by the way.”
“Thank you.” Decker surveyed the room after Corrine left. There was a paper bag behind the front door that held three empty bottles of vodka. To McAdams, he mimed a person drinking with his hands. Then they both sat at the dinette table and waited for Corrine to bring in the coffee. The mugs looked clean and the milk was fresh. She sat down with a steaming cup in her hand. She placed it on the tabletop and then rubbed her covered arms.
“You have news for me?”
“As I told you over the phone, we found some human bones at Bogat Trail. The three bodies have been identified and they’re not your daughter, Erin. But with the discovery, we are delving into all the reported disappearances from the area within the last ten years.”
Corrine picked up the coffee mug and let the steam run over her face. She remained silent.
Decker said, “Have you heard from your daughter at all?”
“If I did, I woulda told you over the phone.”
“I had to ask. Corrine, it would be helpful for me if you could take me back to the day when your daughter disappeared.”
“I didn’t even know she disappeared until about a week later.” Corrine put the mug down without drinking. “Erin didn’t live here with me. She moved out when she turned sixteen. Don’t blame her. My ex was a brute. He never touched her—I would have killed him if he did—but that don’t mean she never saw us fight.” She paused. “Real bad fights. He was a mean drunk.”
“What is his name?”
“His name was Richard Pellegrino. He died ten years ago. Erin didn’t go to the funeral.”
“So he was out of the picture before Erin disappeared.”
“Unless you believe in reincarnation, that would be the truth.” She said, “Drink your coffee before it gets cold.”
Decker took a sip. “Good coffee.”
“My own blend of beans. I get them at the local farmers’ market, although where they get coffee beans is beyond my ken. I thought coffee grew in the tropics.”
“It does,” McAdams said.
“So how do they get beans at farmers’ markets?”
“Beats me.” Decker knew that Corrine was skirting around the issue. So he waited for her to settle back down. “Were there any other brutes in your life after Richard died?”
“You have men in your life, you have some brutes.”
“Could they have had something to do with Erin’s disappearance?”
Corrine shook her head. “Nope.”
“You’re sure about that?”
“Yep. You can go down that road, but you’ll hit dead ends.”
“Why are you so sure?”
“Because once she left the house, she didn’t look back.”
“You were estranged from her?”
Corrine took a drag on her cigarette. “No, we’d talk on the phone mebbe once a week. That’s why I didn’t know she was gone until about a week later.”
“How often did you see her?”
“Not often. When she was in between jobs, she would stay here for a month or two to cut down on rent.”
“So she could have met your boyfriends.”
“No, she wouldn’t come here if I had someone staying with me. There wasn’t enough room for one thing.”
McAdams said, “What happened once you found out that Erin had disappeared?”
Slowly Corrine turned her eyes from Decker to the kid. “I talked to the police. Pretty much like I’m talking to you.” She sipped coffee. “When Erin didn’t call me back after a week, I knew something wasn’t right. It’s all in the report that I gave the first policeman.”
“I know. But I’d like to hear it from you.”
“Not much to hear. She wasn’t answering her phone so I went to her apartment. No one was in. I got the manager to open up. Everything looked okay, messy, but not like a burglary or anything. Her clothes were still in her closet, and her jewelry was still in her dresser drawer.”
Jewelry was pronounced with three syllables. Decker said, “Did you talk to her roommate?”
“Caroline Agassi. Yeah, I talked to her. Once you start talking to her, you can’t shut her up. She didn’t seem to know a lot about Erin.”
“Did she mention any boyfriends?” McAdams asked.
Again her eyes turned from Decker to Tyler. “If Erin had a man, I didn’t know about it. The only thing Caroline talked about was how she was freaked out, not a word about my daughter who was the one missing.” She looked down at her lap. “I don’t have anything to add from the first time.”
Decker said. “So you don’t know about boyfriends.”
“I just told you no.”
“What about girlfriends?”
“Ask Caroline. She probably knows more than I do, and she’ll love talking to you.”
“Did Erin ever disappear before?”
“For four years without contacting me? No.”
Decker said, “I’m not making myself clear. Did she ever go away from here for an extended period of time?”
“I suppose she went away from time to time. She never told me one way or the other. She was thirty when she vanished.” Her eyes watered and she looked down. “I didn’t keep tabs on her.”
“Do you think if she relocated, she would have contacted you?”
She wiped a tear away. “Probably.”
“But you haven’t had any contact with her, right?”
“You already asked that and the answer is still no! Think I would be wasting your time if she had called me? I haven’t seen her since she vanished!”
She was very vehement.
“Besides, why would she leave without her clothes and jewelry and all her things?”
Decker said, “Sometimes, if people are in trouble, they leave without a trace and try to start life over under a new identity.”
Corrine shrugged.
“You know she was fired from the College Grill for stealing.”
“I didn’t know, but it doesn’t surprise me.”
“Why not?”
“She’s had sticky fingers. I took to hiding my purse when she was around.”
“Okay. If she stole something big this time, would she take off without contacting anyone?”
“Mebbe.” Corrine looked down again.
“But usually . . . eventually . . . even if people take off, they try to contact loved ones.”
This time, Corrine didn’t protest. She said, “Detective, if she started over, I have no idea where she is.”
“If she was starting over, where do you think she might have gone?”
“Why are you asking me all these questions like she’s alive?”
“Do you believe she’s alive?”
“How would I know? It’s been years!” Her voice had gone up an octave. “You didn’t answer my question. Why do you think she’s alive?”
“Until I know differently, that’s what I assume. Where would she have gone if she wanted to start over?”
“For the last time, I don’t know.”
“Let
me phrase the question another way. Did she ever talk about a town or a place she wanted to visit?” When Corrine didn’t respond, Decker said, “No special place where she wanted to visit or live?”
Corrine said nothing at first. Then she whispered, “California.”
“She wanted to live in California?”
“She talked about it.”
“Did she say what she liked about California?”
“Sunshine . . . the beach . . . movie stars. What girl wouldn’t wanna go there?”
“So when you say California, do you mean the city of Los Angeles?”
“She talked about Hollywood.” A pause. “Is that part of Los Angeles?”
“Yes, it’s part of the city.”
“You’ve been there before, Detective?”
“I have.”
“Did you live there?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Really, now.” Corrine sat back in her chair. “So what are you doing out here in the middle of nowhere?”
“Working for Greenbury PD.”
“Obviously. Why’d you move here?”
“I wanted to live somewhere a little smaller and little quieter.”
She turned to McAdams. “Where are you from?”
“New York City.”
“I suppose you wanted something smaller and quieter, too.” Corrine’s eyes went from Decker to McAdams. “Are you guys bored? Is that why you’re digging up old cases like Erin’s?”
“It has more to do with finding the bodies on Bogat Trail,” Decker answered. “I’m wondering where your daughter fits in.”
Corrine nodded. “What makes you think she fits in anywhere?”
“She may not.” Decker was looking at her eyes. “I’m sure we’d both like to know one way or the other.”
“I do miss her.” The woman’s eyes watered again. “So what are you gonna do if you don’t find Erin’s bones?”
“I’m going to look for her, Corrine. I’m going to try to find out what happened to her.”
“Well, good luck with that.”
“Did you ever hire a private detective?”
“Yeah, with all my extra money.” Corrine laughed. Then she got serious. “I don’t mean to appear cold, but she was thirty. If she wanted to disappear, I wasn’t going to stop her.”
“Do you think she wanted to disappear?”
“I already told you. I don’t know.” She stared at Decker. “You don’t believe me. I can live with that. Cops usually don’t believe me.”
“Corrine, I believe that you’re doing the best you can, okay? I’m not here to challenge you, just to get to the truth. That’s what I’m paid for.”
“Then go out and find the truth, Mr. Detective.”
Decker smiled. “I’ll do my best.”
“No offense, but I think you’re crazy to move from L.A. to here.”
“None taken.”
She looked down. “If you think she took off and doesn’t want to be found, why are you wasting time looking for her? If she’s trying to start a new identity, why stick your nose into it? She’s an adult. She can do what she wants.”
“Once I find out that she’s alive, I’ll back off. But until I know otherwise, it’s my job to ask questions. I’m sure you can understand that.”
She shrugged. “Are you done?”
“We are for right now. I know this is difficult and I appreciate your cooperation.”
Corrine paused. “I’m sorry if I seem rude. I’m a little tired. Change of seasons and all.”
“No problem, Corrine.” Decker stood up and so did McAdams. “Thanks for the coffee and thanks for your time.”
“If you need to ask more questions, you can come back again. I won’t tell you anything different. Still, I have plenty of coffee and way too much time.”
After they left and were in the car, McAdams said, “She’s lying.”
“I think so.”
“She knows where her daughter is.”
“I hope that’s what she’s holding back. That means Erin is alive and well.”
“Do you think she knows where Erin is?”
“I don’t know. It’s possible that Erin made contact with her. If Erin calls her again, Mom will tell her that we’re reopening the case. But . . . it could be that Erin is dead.”
“Yeah, maybe we’re just engaging in wishful thinking because we have three bodies and no clues.”
“Could be. I still know plenty of people in L.A. I’ll make contact and see if they can come up with anything.”
“How do they weed out a missing person in a city of millions?”
“They’ve got a system, but it’s not going to happen overnight.”
“If she ran away, there has to be a reason.”
“Maybe she stole money again. Maybe this time she got caught by a boss who wasn’t as sympathetic as Diaz.” Decker paused. “Any police reports in her file?”
“Not that I’ve come across. We should talk to her former boss at the Circle M. Want to do that now?”
Decker checked his watch. It was a little after nine. “Sure. Give him a call.”
McAdams picked up his cell. “No signal.”
“We’ll get one soon. Let’s get out of here.”
They walked in silence to the car. Decker started the engine to let it warm up.
McAdams rubbed his hands together. “Or perhaps like Rina said, Erin escaped the clutches of a serial killer and took off to get a new identity.”
“It’s a theory.”
“If it is a serial killer, he doesn’t kill that often,” McAdams remarked. “Once every couple of years.”
“Yeah, I thought of that,” Decker said. “It could be that the urge gets overwhelming. Or it could be he’s an opportunist and the situation just presents itself.”
“Like Erin walking home alone at night.”
“Exactly. The only thing I can say is he has to be associated with Greenbury because all three victims were here when they died. And they all died when the colleges were in session.”
“So why do you want to explore the cases individually instead of looking at points of intersection?”
“I keep going back and forth.” Decker put the car in drive. “What do a thirty-year-old cashier, a transgender person who didn’t totally make the plunge, a lost girl with a fluid sexual identity, and a party girl have in common?”
“I give up. Tell me.”
“No, you tell me because I don’t know the answer.” Decker turned the car around and slowly drove over the dirt pathway. “Maybe it’s like a common social cause.”
“If it’s a common social cause, it lasted through eight years.”
“Yes, social causes do wax and wane in popularity.” Decker finally reached a paved road. “But there is always a cadre of professors to take up the mantle even if the cause changes.”
“Hank Carter and his socially conscious investing?”
“Maybe.” He stopped the car. “I don’t like him, but his charisma is interesting. Let’s learn about the most popular professors in the Five Colleges. Because where you find a charismatic leader, you find acolytes—devotees who play follow-the-leader right off the cliff.”
Chapter 20
Decker said, “I’m going to make it decaf if it’s okay with you.”
“Sure.” Rina was on the couch, making a list of what she would need for the upcoming high holy days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. “Nice of you to stop by during your workday.”
“I rushed out this morning. Thought a ten o’clock coffee break was in order. I’ll set some fruit out for us as well. Be back in a minute.”
While Decker was in the kitchen, McAdams sat next to Rina on the couch.
“What holiday are you planning for?”
“The Jewish New Year is in a couple of weeks.”
“That’s right. Is your family coming in?”
“No, they usually come up around a month later for the holiday Sukkoth. But I’m doing something fo
r Hillel. I’m having a huge buffet for the students who are stuck at the colleges during the holiday.”
“How huge is huge?”
“Around a hundred people more or less . . . or maybe just more.”
McAdams smiled. “Does the old man know about it?”
“No need to worry him about things that are a little ways off.”
“So that would be a no.”
She smiled at Tyler. “You can keep the secret, right?”
He made a zipper sign over his lips. Decker walked in with a tray of coffee. “Derek Kinny called back. He can meet with us in an hour.”
“Who’s Derek Kinny?” Rina asked.
“Erin Young’s boss at the Circle M,” McAdams said.
“Ah. Are you making any progress?”
“Nothing to be excited about,” Decker said.
“After talking to the mother, the boss thinks she might be alive,” McAdams said.
“Really?” Rina said. “Why?”
“We both think Mom is holding back. But that’s a gut feeling.”
“Follow your gut.”
“My gut is saying my blood sugar could use a jolt.” Decker handed out the coffee cups. “Can I sit next to my wife, please?”
“Sure.” McAdams scooted down until they were three in a row on the sofa.
Decker picked up a piece of apple. “Are you busy right now?”
“What do you mean?” Rina snapped back.
“I mean, are you busy right now. What is confusing about the sentence?” Decker regarded his wife. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing.”
Rather than argue the ridiculous point, Decker remained quiet. Rina looked at McAdams who said, “Don’t blame me. I’ve been here the entire time.”
She turned to Decker. “I’m planning an open house buffet for Rosh Hashanah.”
McAdams said, “I for one think it’s a great and charitable idea. Students could use a home-cooked meal. You’re doing a service for every parent who has ever sent a kid to college.”
Bone Box Page 16