“I’ll go back out and find her in a minute,” Harriet said. “But now that we have phone service again, I want to try some of these numbers I copied off of Duane’s phone. They looked like phone numbers, let’s see if they are.”
She plugged her cell phone into the outlet by the kitchen table then dialed the first set of numbers. An answering machine picked up, but it only identified that she’d reached the number she’d dialed.
“It’s a telephone number, anyway,” she said and began dialing the next one. She pressed the speaker button on her phone.
“You have some nerve calling here,” shouted a man’s voice when the signal connected. “If I find you before the police do, you’re a dead man.”
Harriet tried to interrupt, but the connection went dead.
“You need to tell Detective Morse,” Tom said.
“I gave her the phone almost as soon as I found it. They’ve probably already called all these numbers and his contacts with their sat-phone.”
“Try the next one,” Lauren said. “Someone semi-normal is bound to answer one of these.”
The next number had a “no longer in service” message.
“Okay, one more, and then I’m going to go look for Brandy.”
She dialed, and the sound of the ring was echoed from somewhere in the kitchen. She flipped off the speakerphone, and there was no doubt-a phone was ringing in the kitchen.
Tom and Lauren went for Ronald’s coat at the same time. Lauren got there first, pulling a ringing cell phone from the side pocket. She looked at the screen and confirmed that, indeed, it was Harriet’s phone that was calling Ronald.
“So much for Ronald’s claim that he’d never met Duane before.” Harriet said. “I don’t know what this list is, but Ronald’s on it, which has to mean they knew each other before they started living in the homeless camp.”
“Or maybe they charged their phones when they went to town and exchanged contact information,” Lauren said.
“I’m with Harriet,” Tom said. “Why would they pay a cell phone bill if they couldn’t afford a roof over their head?”
“Yeah, I always thought that whole fancy-tent routine was a little suspicious, too.” Lauren said.
“Let’s go find Ronald and ask him,” Harriet suggested.
She got up and went into the dining room, followed by Tom and Lauren. Ronald was nowhere in evidence. Tom checked the living room while Lauren went to the studio.
“I didn’t see him anywhere,” Lauren said. “And ditto for Brandy.”
Tom approached them and spoke quietly.
“Neither one of them is in the living room, but Connie’s husband said he heard Ronald asking Joyce about Brandy’s insistence that Duane had money hidden in the forest. He said Ronald left the room shortly after that.”
“You don’t suppose Ronald took Brandy to look for the money, do you?” Harriet asked.
“Considering how long a walk it would be, I’d say that’s a no,” Lauren said.
“We need to tell Morse,” Harriet said.
“Tell me what?” Morse said. “Do you have more information you’ve failed to report?”
“No, we just noticed that Brandy and Ronald are both missing,” Harriet told her.
“Yeah, right after someone heard Ronald asking Joyce about the hidden money Brandy keeps saying Duane had,” Lauren added.
“Hidden money? What hidden money?”
“We don’t know if there is any hidden money, but Brandy insisted Duane gave her money from a stash he had hidden,” Harriet explained. “And Joyce did say Brandy tends to wander in the woods.”
“They don’t have a car,” Tom said.
“But they are both missing,” Harriet countered.
“I can go check in the park, but it’s a big place,” Morse said and pulled out her phone. “I’ll see if any other officers can help.”
She dialed, spoke briefly then dialed another number, repeating the story.
“The patrol officers are dealing with an injury accident downtown,” she said.
“Do you want us to go with you?” Harriet asked.
“No, you stay here with your guests. If Brandy and Ronald are on foot, I should catch up to them pretty quickly.”
“Okay,” Harriet said. “You have my number, and our cell phones are working again, so let us know when you find out anything.”
Detective Morse put on her all-weather coat, grabbed her purse and went out into the night. She came storming back in, moments later. She was talking on her cell phone as she entered the kitchen.
“They took my car!” she shouted. “My lousy fire station Jeep. Gone.” She threw her purse onto a kitchen chair, punched a button on her phone and shoved it into her pants pocket.
“I could drive you,” Harriet offered.
Morse raked her fingers through her hair as she paced across the kitchen. She stopped and stared at the ceiling, taking a deep breath then letting it out in a rush.
“Okay, but you don’t get out of the car,” she ordered. “This complicates things,” she said, more to herself than to Harriet. “They’ll make it to the park ahead of us. After that, it’s anyone’s guess where they go.”
“I got the impression Brandy usually went farther down the trail from the homeless camp.” Harriet said.
“Do you have any idea how many hundreds of acres of forest that park has?” Morse shot back.
“I guess not.” Harriet got her purse and keys and put on her jacket.
“I call shotgun,” Lauren said.
Morse rolled her eyes.
“I suppose you’re coming along, too,” she said and looked at Tom.
“Only if you want me to,” he replied.
“Good, you’re staying here,” Morse said. “Let’s go.”
Lauren grabbed her jacket and wallet.
“Take care of Carter,” she yelled back to Tom as she went into the garage.
“I might be able to narrow down our search area,” Harriet said as she backed out. She handed her phone to Lauren. “Call Aiden.”
Lauren keyed her way to Harriet’s favorites list and touched Aiden’s name on the screen. She handed the phone back.
“I need your help,” Harriet said when he answered. “You said you ran on every trail in Foggy Point when you were on the cross-country team in high school…Can you think of a particular trail in Fogg Park, near the homeless camp, that would lend itself to hiding cash?…I realize it’s not much to go on…Okay, we’ll see you there.”
“Please tell me he’s not joining us,” Detective Morse said.
“He said there’s a place that isn’t too far beyond the homeless camp. There was a student-run drug operation when he was in high school. They hid their inventory in a small cave off one of the trails. He said the group was broken up and the kids sent off to jail. He said it was easier to show us then to try to describe it.”
“Oh, great.” Morse sank lower into her seat.
“There’s the jeep,” Harriet said as she turned her car into Fogg Park. Aiden guided his vintage Bronco in right behind her.
“That was quick,” Lauren said.
“You two stay here,” Detective Morse said as Harriet and Lauren got out of the car.
“What’s going on?” Aiden said.
“Two of the homeless people disappeared, and we think the guy was forcing the girl to lead him to a stash of money that may or may not exist and was or wasn’t stashed in the woods by the homeless man who was killed during the storm,” Harriet said in a rush.
“What?”
“Let’s just go look for the people,” Detective Morse said.
Aiden started down the trail at a ground-eating pace; Morse struggled to keep up. Harriet and Lauren went to the common area of the camp.
“Do you think Ronald killed Duane?” Lauren asked her.
“I don’t know. It could just be that he wants Duane’s money-if there is money.”
“But they had some sort of connection,” Lauren argued.
“You’d think if they knew each other, Ronald would have known about the money.”
“I suppose Brandy could be messed up enough to have imagined it all,” Lauren mused.