Paul Williams listened and visibly relaxed.
‘I got a call from Denise,’ he explained. ‘I was viewing a property nearby, so I ran over. She's on her way in the car. The way she was talking, it sounded like an emergency.’
‘Bianca just had a fall—she'd gone off into the woods on her own and was startled. I thought we'd better get her checked out just to be safe. She's had to get a couple of stitches in her forehead, but my little boy Zach did a similar thing earlier in the week. It was just an accident, honestly.’
‘Okay, I know how much she's enjoying working with you. I think Denise might give you a hard time, though. I'll do my best to smooth things over, but don't hold your breath.’
There was a brief moment of collusion between the two men, an unspoken agreement that they'd tackle Denise as a team when she arrived and started demanding answers.
‘So, what happened?’ Paul asked. ‘Why were you out in the woods?’
‘Can I speak in confidence?’ Cory asked, sensing an opportunity to pump Bianca's father for more information.
Paul Williams nodded. ‘Of course. As a realtor, I hear all sorts of information as I'm traveling about town. I learned a long time ago that if you keep your ears open and your mouth shut, that information tends to flow a little more freely. I'm all ears.’
‘This will be of interest to you,’ Cory began, building up the story. ‘There's been an alleged suicide at Shallow Falls, a councilor, apparently. This is all unconfirmed, so you must be discreet.’
‘No problem—I understand how important this is to Bianca. I wouldn't jeopardize her position at the newspaper. Carry on, I'm intrigued. Do you have a name?’
‘Not yet,’ Cory answered, as his phone buzzed. He looked down at the screen and read the text from Oliver.
‘Turns out I do have a name,’ he continued, ‘But this is unconfirmed. We've just put the pieces together, so this information is not from official sources. One of our freelancers says it's Councilor David Ingram. Do you know him?’
Paul Williams' face looked as white as his daughter's had been half an hour ago.
‘Oh my God…’ he began, visibly choked up. ‘Suicide? Are you certain?’
‘No, none of this information has been confirmed at the moment. What do you know about David Ingram? From the newspaper's point of view, he was just your average councilor: a family man, with long-term service to the town. Nothing unusual about any of that.’
‘Where is she? Where’s Bianca?’
Denise Williams had arrived and was blowing along the corridor like a tornado in a temper.
Paul stood up in an attempt to intercept her, but she was in no mood to be placated.
‘Get out of my way, Paul. I want to see Bianca. Now.’
She brushed past the two men and rushed into the treatment room, pulling back the curtain in the first cubicle. A farmer was bent over the examining table, his trousers down by his ankles, with a nurse trying to remove a splinter from his behind.
‘Do you mind?’ the nurse said, annoyed at the intrusion.
‘Oh, I'm so sorry.’
Denise stopped dead in her tracks, allowing Paul to swoop in and take her to one side. He guided her back out to the waiting area, where she took a seat, chastened and embarrassed by what she'd just done.
‘Got it,’ came the nurse's voice from beyond the curtain.
Cory chanced some humor. ‘At least there's some good news—that farmer will be able to get his plowing finished this afternoon.’
There was a moment of quivering silence, then Denise laughed, more out of a sense of release than the quality of the joke.
‘Bianca is fine,’ Cory reassured her. ‘She'll be out in a minute, you'll see for yourself.’
The farmer emerged from the cubicle, a broad smile across his face.
‘I'm so sorry for intruding,’ Denise said, standing up.
‘It's no problem,’ the farmer replied. ‘When you work with animals like I do, you spend your day looking at rear ends. I hope it doesn't spoil your dinner.’
He smiled and walked off. Moments later, Bianca emerged, a neat bandage now covering her stitches. The nurse had done a tidy job. Cory was relieved Denise hadn’t seen the wound before it was dressed. He imagined it would have taken more than a farmer with a splinter in his butt to defuse that situation.
Bianca made light of her injuries as best she could, and it played well with her parents.
‘You should keep an eye on her for the next 24-48 hours,’ the nurse said, and then reeled off the same list of things to look out for in case of concussion that Cory had been given after his own incident.
Denise examined the wound carefully and satisfied herself that all was well.
‘Right, let's get you home, Bianca,’ she announced. ‘It's an afternoon in front of the TV for you—you need to rest and recover, just like the nurse said.’
‘Will Bianca be able to continue working at the paper?’ Cory asked. She seemed more level-headed now that she'd seen her daughter with her own eyes, so he felt it was a good time to ask.
Denise looked at Paul, who made a noncommittal face at her.
‘We'll have to discuss it as a family when we're all back at home this evening, Mr. Miles. I'm so angry about what has happened. We'll talk about it when we've all had time to calm down. I have to be honest with you: my vote at this time is to end it now and find something a little less dangerous for Bianca to get involved in.’
Bianca drew breath with what looked like an incoming protest, but Cory raised his eyebrows.
‘If you allow her to stay on,’ Cory said, ‘I promise there’ll be no more drama, just good, old-fashioned, small town newspaper reporting. See you later, Bianca. I'll check in and see how you are.’
Denise gave her husband a terse kiss on the cheek, and he and Cory watched as she led Bianca through the double swinging doors at the end of the long corridor.
‘Are you in a rush?’ Cory asked.
‘No, why?’ Paul replied. ‘I've got half an hour until my next appointment.’
‘How about grabbing a coffee in the cafeteria? I'd like to speak a little more about Councilor Ingram, if that's okay?’
‘Sure, I'd like to find out more myself. I can't believe he's dead.’
The two men followed the signs to the cafeteria, Cory bought the coffees, and they took a seat.
‘So, suicide,’ Paul began. ‘Do they know why?’
‘It's not confirmed as a suicide,’ Cory reminded him, ‘but I don't have any more details than that. You know you mentioned the other day about some big plans for the town? He wasn't involved in that work, was he?’
‘Funny you should ask,’ Paul replied, his brain clearly working overtime. ‘This all feels very close to me now. I'm shaken by what you've told me, if I'm being completely honest with you. Councilor Ingram was my liaison with the town council; I dealt directly with him. I had no idea he was struggling with his mental health. It's almost impossible to believe that he'd kill himself like that.’
‘What work were you doing with Councilor Ingram? I assume it was planning related?’
‘Yes, it was all fairly routine stuff. He'd asked me to go through a process of finding suitable locations for a massive new supermarket in the town. He was sure it was going to bring lots of new jobs and a considerable investment. I was commissioned to do a study of potential sites.’
‘Did you come up with any?’ Cory asked.
‘No, I failed, as it happens. His clients—the grocery chain—had some very exacting requirements. I looked at existing industrial locations and disused sites, but none of them matched the criteria. So my report said that there was no suitable location within existing commercial zoning areas. I think he took it back to the council to discuss, but I lost track of it after that. I can tell you, though, somebody is going to make a lot of money out of this deal when it goes through. We're talking millions of dollars in investment.’
Cory's phone buzzed, but he ignored it,
keen to find out if Paul Williams knew any more.
‘Are the plans going ahead?’ Cory asked. ‘Did they find a solution?’
‘I think they found their ideal plot, but it comes with some issues. I can't tell you where it is, but I do know that certain people in this town very much want that grocery store built and open by this time next year.’
Cory had a good idea where that land might be, but he kept it to himself. His phone buzzed a second time. He checked the number calling in. It was Nadia, and it was highly unusual for her to be calling at that time of day.
‘Please excuse me,’ he said to Paul, ‘I need to check this.’
He answered.
‘Nadia, it's Cory, what's up?’
‘I need you over here right away, Cory. There's been an incident at school with Zach. It's urgent. You have to come right now.’
Chapter Thirty-Four
‘I've got to go,’ Cory said to Paul Williams. ‘Thanks for the chat; I'll check in on Bianca later.’
He navigated his way out of the hospital, following the exit signs as if finding his way out of a maze.
His phone buzzed as he rushed across the parking lot and back to his car. He answered as he walked. It was Louise.
‘There was no dress.’
‘What?’ Cory replied. ‘I saw it with my own eyes, Louise.’
‘The officers searched the entire area, there was nothing there. Are you sure you didn't imagine it?’
‘Louise, I'm telling you, I saw it.’
‘Bianca was pretty shaken when she came out of the woods. Might she have imagined it?’
‘Officer Po-- Louise… I can't believe we're even having this conversation. I saw it. It was there.’
‘I just got my head torn off by Cabera, Cory. I had to sit through a dressing down about sending valuable officers on a wild goose chase and putting the investigation in jeopardy.’
Cory juggled the phone as he reached the car, got in, and started the engine. Under normal circumstances, he'd have wound up the call, but he was in a rush and he decided to chance it. He moved the car out of the parking lot, with one hand on the wheel and the other on his phone.
‘I'm sorry if it put you in a difficult position, Louise, but I swear to God it was there.’
‘But you didn't take a photo?’
‘No, I told you, it didn't seem right.’
‘Did Bianca?’
‘No, not that I know of.’
Cory was getting wound up. Louise Powell was supposed to be an ally; this was not playing out well.
‘Look, I'm sorry, Cory, but they called off the dog search because of it. I'm not in Cabera's good books—I need to keep my head down for a while.’
‘The officers found the campfire, right? They must have seen where Bianca fell.’
Cory was nearing the end of the town now. As he passed Reece's trailer, he felt relief that the body wasn't Poppy's. But he'd seen the discarded dress for himself, whatever Louise was telling him. It was possible that Poppy might be better off dead.
‘Yeah, they found the fire. So what? There are lots of fires in those woods. It'll just be some vagrant passing through, minding his own business. It doesn't warrant calling out the SWAT squad.’
Cory hadn't heard her like this before. He could sense she was angry with him; fair enough, when she'd taken a hit for it. So where was the dress?
‘Could an animal have taken the dress?’
‘Cory, listen to yourself! You're just reaching--’
‘Oh, shit.’
‘Are you okay, Cory?’
He'd just come to the curved road at the falls and with only one hand available for steering, the car had veered wide and he'd almost gone careening through the parking lot where several police vehicles were still parked. Cory dropped the phone onto the floor, put both hands on the wheel and pulled the car over. He’d narrowly avoided shooting straight over the edge where Xander's parents had met their end. He slammed on the brakes and screeched to a halt in the middle of the parking lot.
The officers who were gathered on the other side of the crime scene tape looked up. Cabera was still there; recognizing Cory, he began to walk over. Cory wound down the window. He'd have to suck this up.
‘Mr. Miles,’ he said, positioning his head directly at Cory's level. ‘I seem to be very aware of you today,’ he said. ‘And not in a good way. How the hell did you manage to do that? Driving too fast to find a dress that isn't there?’
That stung, but Cory kept his mouth shut.
‘Just distracted by all the activity,’ Cory began.
‘Cory? Cory? Are you okay?’
Louise’s voice could be heard clearly coming from the phone in the foot well.
‘Louise, end the call,’ Cabera shouted. Cory almost jumped out of his skin. He saw Louise just across the parking lot. Her back had been to them, but she turned around with a look of horror on her face. Cory imagined she'd just figured out what happened.
‘Last warning, Cory. You're seriously beginning to piss me off. Chief Tarrant has also had words with me about you. Now I'm going to suggest very politely that you stick to reporting the news and stop trying to make the headlines. And I'm watching you and Louise; if I get a whiff of her leaking information to you--’
‘She hasn't,’ Cory insisted. ‘Louise has been completely professional.’
‘Did she know you were driving when you were speaking on the phone to her just then?’
Cory didn't know what to say. He dropped his head in submission and waited for Cabera to dismiss him.
‘Get on your way, Cory. Take my advice, leave the detective work to the police.’
‘I will.’
Once Cabera had moved away from the car, Cory retrieved the cell phone. He'd gotten a text from Nadia telling him to meet her at the house. She'd be getting angry with him.
Carefully and cautiously, Cory pulled out of the parking lot and re-joined the road. He saw a couple of the officers laughing at him; they of all people would know what it was like to be on the receiving end of a thrashing from Cabera.
Cory didn't tempt fate a second time; he drove as swiftly as he could to Nadia's without breaking any speed limits and with both hands firmly on the wheel. As he turned into Nadia's road, he saw a Westview police car parked on the street outside the house. He swung the car over to the curb and got out as fast as he could, without switching off the engine. Cory ran up the driveway and burst into the house, not bothering to announce himself or ring the doorbell.
‘Where's Zach?’ he asked. ‘What happened?’
Nadia was sitting on the sofa with two police officers, one of them female. They always use women to deliver the bad news, Cory thought.
Nadia had been crying and her hair was a mess. The body language from the police officers screamed delicate situation.
Nadia wasted no time tearing into him.
‘Is this your doing?’ she shouted at him. ‘It's not enough that you can't even look after your own son properly—now you're actually putting him in harm's way.’
‘I think it would be helpful if we all calmed down, Mrs. Miles.’
‘It's Ms. Hadfield, if you must know,’ she seethed at the female officer. ‘We were husband and wife, but not for much longer after this. It's the final straw, Cory. I really can’t take any more of your bullshit.’
Cory was stunned by the ferocity of her attack, but he was also desperate to know about Zach.
‘Look, just tell me what happened to Zach,’ he pleaded. ‘Is he okay?’
‘Yes, he's okay, but no thanks to you,’ Nadia yelled at him. ‘He was accosted by a man on the school playground today. It frightened the life out of him.’
‘Was he hurt?’ What happened?’
‘He's fine,’ the female police officer said calmly. She wasn't the only one who wanted to take the heat out of the situation. ‘He's upstairs in his bedroom, resting. He was just a bit upset at the time. The man wasn't very pleasant, and he was scared, that's all.’
‘Where were the teachers when this happened?’ Cory asked, indignant now. ‘Did they get a look at this man? Who was he?’
‘It was over in a couple of minutes, Mr. Miles,’ the male officer said, speaking for the first time. ‘The man moved away quickly as soon as the duty teacher saw him and came to check on Zach.’
‘Did the teacher get a look at him?’ Cory persisted. ‘Will you be able to make an arrest?’
‘Unfortunately, Mr. Miles, we only got a basic description. It won't be enough to get an identification. All we got from Zach was that he was an old man who wasn't very nice. Oh, and the teacher thought he looked drunk.’
Chapter Thirty-Five
The conversation with Nadia had gone from bad to worse. She was tense and angry with him, blaming his work on the newspaper for what had happened at school.
‘All this business with the missing child and you being in the public eye brings unwelcome attention to our family,’ she'd told him, as the two officers squirmed uncomfortably in their seats. ‘Who knows what this man might have done to Zach? He could have ended up as the next Poppy Norman. It might well have been our child's face on those missing posters, Cory.’
‘My work is no worse than yours,’ he tried to explain in as non-confrontational a tone as he could manage. ‘You deal with suspects and guilty parties in court all day. That also exposes him in a way that a job at the grocery store wouldn’t…’
He should have known better.
‘Are you really suggesting I work at the grocery store to keep our son safe?’ she asked. ‘Besides, your name and photo are plastered all over the newspaper, in every edition. It's like advertising who our child is. It would be better if he took my maiden name.’
‘Well, if it really concerns you--’
‘I don't mean as a temporary measure, I mean permanently.’
Cory looked at her. She was dead serious. She was really suggesting divorce.
The male police officer swallowed hard and stood up like somebody had just lit a fire underneath him.
‘I think that now Zach is back home safely, we'd better get going.’
Now You See Her Page 18