She picked her handbag up off the passenger seat and stepped out, moving around the rear of the car to the side door. The inner door was open, and the aluminum screen door rattled as she tapped on it. A woman got up from the kitchen table, leaving her cigarette in the ashtray, and came to the door.
Mabel Shorn was scrawny, all skin and bones, her track pants barely held up by her small, bony hips. Smoke trailed from her thin mouth as she pushed the door open. She brushed back a strand of long dyed-red hair and motioned with her head for Annie to come in.
Annie stepped inside. The woman had already moved back to her spot at the table, reaching for her smoke. She took a drag as Annie pulled back a hard wooden chair and sat down, setting her handbag on a free spot on the crowded table.
She held out her hand. “I’m Annie Lincoln.”
The woman gave Annie’s hand a weak shake and blew smoke in the air. “Mabel,” she said, her voice hoarse from too many cigarettes. “Want coffee?”
“No, thanks.”
“Want a beer?”
Annie shook her head and Mabel shrugged. She picked up her coffee mug, downed the last swallow, and set it down with a clunk, pushing it back into the rest of the mess on the table.
“Police were already here yesterday,” Mabel said. “Asked me a bunch of questions about Adam. Couldn’t tell them much.” She shrugged. “Not much to tell.”
“I realize that,” Annie said. “But thanks for seeing me anyway.”
“Might as well. I’m not busy.” Mabel turned her head and gave a loud yawn, sucking her cheeks deeper into her already gaunt face. She dug around on the table, flipped a magazine aside, and found a business card. “Detective Hank Corning was here.” She waved the card. “Said I should call him if I think of anything.”
“I know Detective Corning,” Annie said. “He’s a good cop.”
“Seems like it,” Mabel said. She gave a lopsided grin and tossed the card on the table. “Nice looking, too.”
Annie smiled, paused, and cleared her throat. “As I told you on the phone, we were hired to find Adam Thorburn.”
“It’s a bit of a shame, that is,” Mabel said. “Doesn’t seem like the type to go off and do something like that.”
“You’re aware Adam is schizophrenic?” Annie asked.
“Sure, I know he’s nutty from time to time, but never have I seen him hurt nobody.” She shrugged and took a drag of her cigarette, blowing the smoke in a thin line over Annie’s head. “Course, I seen him fighting with some neighborhood punks once or twice. They started it, though. Can’t leave the kid alone, it seems.”
“How long have you known Adam?” Annie asked.
“Since he was a little kid. Going on ten years now I guess. That’s how long Ed and me been here.” She jerked a thumb. “Ed works at the steel mill.”
“Considering the amount of time you’ve known Adam, do you have any idea where he might be?”
Mabel turned her eyes upward, picking at a tooth with an extra-long, painted fingernail before speaking. “I know he takes off once in a while. By himself. Virginia tells me sometimes he’s gone all day and comes home late. Not sure where he goes, though.”
“Have you seen him in the last two days?”
Mabel butted her smoke in an overflowing ashtray. “Nope. Virginia tells me he’s gone off. She don’t know where either.”
Annie nodded thoughtfully and took a deep breath. “If you recall the night Adam took the car out, Monday evening, Virginia was here with you. Did you happen to hear Adam leave or come back?”
Mabel gave a hollow laugh. “Didn’t hear nothing. Ed was working overtime, some kind of emergency at the mill, so me and Virginia had a few beers.” She grinned. “I wasn’t feeling much pain that night.” Her face sobered. “Virginia told me the next day what happened. She was kicking herself something awful for leaving Adam alone. She said he felt down and now she feels guilty.”
“He’s an adult,” Annie said. “She can’t be responsible for everything Adam does.”
“Sure enough,” Mabel said, yawning again. She sat forward. “She ain’t like me, you know. She’s got a bit of class. More refined I guess they say. Sure we get drop-dead drunk once in a while, but she’s more of a lady if you know what I mean. No pretenses either. She is what she is and I am what I am.” She sat back and chuckled. “But we get along okay.”
Annie smiled politely. “It’s always nice to have a good friend.”
“We’re closer since her husband died. Guess she has more time on her hands now and the booze helps her cope.” She lit another cigarette and took a couple of long drags. “Her husband worked at the mill too, you know. Got killed there. Some kind of an accident with the machinery. Killed him instantly.” She shook her head. “I tell Ed he better be careful. Could happen to him.”
“How long ago was that?” Annie asked.
Mabel frowned and bit her lip thoughtfully. “Guess it’s going on a year now or thereabouts.”
“Have you noticed any changes in Adam since that time?”
“Can’t say as I did, but I wouldn’t notice. I don’t see him a lot, you know. Like I said, I hang out with Virginia but the kid don’t come around much.”
“Do you think your husband, Ed, might know where we can find Adam?”
“Nah. Him and Adam don’t talk. Ed works hard, you know. Comes home from work and wants to put his feet up, relax, have a beer.” She shrugged. “He deserves it. Works his butt off all day for crappy pay.”
Annie cleared her throat. “Do you know if Adam ever had a girlfriend?”
Mabel threw her head back and laughed, quickly covering her mouth. “I guess it’s not funny. Poor kid. I don’t think any girl would go near him. Not for long anyway. Not with his problems.” She shook her head. “Nope. Far as I know, he’s never had a girlfriend.”
Annie felt like she wasn’t making much headway in finding out where Adam could be hiding. She’d run out of questions and hoped Jake did a little better. She opened her handbag and removed a business card, handing it to Mabel. “You can get ahold of me here any time.”
Mabel took the card and set it on top of Hank’s card.
“Please let me know if you see Adam. Or let the police know. It’s important we find him right away.”
Mabel nodded. “I’ll call you if I see him. Like I said, Virginia’s a good friend and I got nothing against the kid, but if he’s going around killing, it sure ain’t a good thing.”
Annie stood and picked up her handbag. “Thanks for your time,” she said.
The woman saw her to the door and pushed it open. “Sure hope this all works out, Annie. It was good to meet you.”
Annie smiled, waved a hand, and stepped outside, making her way to the car. She sent Jake a text message to tell him she was on her way, then started the car and drove toward home.
Chapter 26
Wednesday, 1:45 p.m.
JAKE DROVE SLOWLY up and down the streets surrounding the Thorburn residence. According to Dr. Zalora, Adam Thorburn preferred to be at home whenever possible. It seemed likely Adam would never wander far from the only home he’d ever known. And though Dr. Zalora said Adam liked to be alone, there was little doubt he had to surface eventually.
With the entire city on the lookout for the fugitive, his only source of food and other necessities would be his mother’s house.
Jake turned onto Steel Road and pulled over. On the left, houses similar to the rest of the neighborhood lined the street. To his right, a vast area housed the steel mill. Set on a score of acres, the mill employed hundreds of workers, many from the immediate area.
Vast smokestacks reached into the clouds, spewing out smoke, darkening the sky. Massive cranes dotted the skyline, moving rolls, coils, and raw materials to and fro. A faint smell, like rotten eggs—sulfur—permeated the air.