She could hear Russ take a breath, as if he were going to say more. Instead, he nodded, as Lyle had done, and trudged out of the room. Clare stepped into the space he had vacated. “Hi.” She put on a cheery smile. “I thought I’d stop by and see how everybody was doing.”
What do you think?” Lyle was leaning against the wall opposite the elevator bank.
“I think she’s either telling the truth, and it was Schoof, or she’s afraid to say anything in front of her parents, and Reid is somehow involved.” Russ removed his glasses and polished them on the sleeve of his thermal shirt.
“You want me to clear the room? Question her again?”
“No. We’ve pissed off the family more than enough for now. Schoof is our main target. Shaun’s probably a dead end. Consider the source of the information. If we uncover anything to change that, then we’ll come in with the full court press.”
“We’ve got an APB out on Schoof, and Noble’s cruising the town, checking out places he’s been associated with. Relatives’ houses, places of employment, the works.” Lyle’s radio squawked for attention. He unhooked it from his belt and keyed the mike. “MacAuley here.”
“Lyle, it’s Noble.”
Lyle looked at Russ. “Go ahead.”
“I’ve found the Castle girl’s missing car.”
“Good work. Where is it?”
“In the office parking lot at the Reid-Gruyn mill.”
Russ rehooked his glasses over his ears and reached for the mike. “Noble? It’s Russ. I’ll be there in ten minutes. Hold down the fort.”
“Will do, Chief.”
Lyle turned off the radio and stowed it. “So. Maybe there is something to the Reid angle after all.”
“We’ll see. I want you to follow up with Schoof’s buddies. Lean on the guy he said he was hunting with. See if you can shake anything else loose.”
“Okay. Anything new on the van der Hoevens?”
“Eric and the state lab guys were on site when I left.” Russ glanced at his watch. “If Judge Ryswick has come through with a warrant, Eric should be searching the house right now. Mark’s running the black Mercedes angle with the DMV. Washington County first, then surrounding counties.”
“That’s going to be the proverbial needle in the haystack.”
“I know. I’d pay good money for a single other lead as to where Millie van der Hoeven has gone, but the Mercedes, right now, is our best bet. You wouldn’t believe how many Mercedes have been registered in the tri-county area in the past two years.”
“And you didn’t believe ’em when they said the economy was recovering.”
Russ snorted. “Wanna guess the most popular color for Mercedes sedans?”
Lyle rolled his eyes. “Black?”
“There you go. That’s why you get to be the deputy.”
Lyle shoved away from the wall and punched the elevator button. “Coming?”
Russ jerked his head toward the other end of the hall. “I want a word with Clare before I go.”
“We should have her pry the truth out of the Castle girl.”
“No lie.” The elevator dinged, and the doors whooshed open. Russ slapped his hand against the edge of the door. “You know, she told me something earlier. Thinking about Shaun Reid.”
“What?”
“Have you heard anything about this GWP buying the mill out from under him?”
Lyle shook his head. The door dinged impatiently.
“According to the new Mrs. Reid, it’s on the table-if the Haudenosaunee land sale goes through. The question is, does Reid want to sell the place? Or would he be willing to try to throw a spanner in the works?” He let go of the door and was rewarded by the sight of Lyle’s thoughtful expression as the doors slid closed.
Russ had always liked the Reid-Gruyn mill. When he had been a high school student, he had occasionally met up with Shaun at his father’s office, which even back in the late sixties had the ossified feel of a memorial to an industrial age long passed. He swung by regularly on patrol, but he hadn’t been past the twin stone pillars in decades. Driving through the remains of the gates-the actual iron grills had been taken down before Russ was born-he was pleased to see nothing had changed.
The old mill, moldering into the river, was a half-hidden shadow, tucked behind the new mill and far removed from the parking lot’s faded white lights. The new mill, which hadn’t been new since Calvin Coolidge was president, loomed beside the black, glittering rush of water. Even from the edge of the gate, Russ could see the phosphorescent white of the dam spill and, fronting the mill, long and low, the offices. Russ wondered how many of them were still occupied in an age of downsizing and outsourcing.
Noble was parked in the row of reserved spaces in front of the offices. His squad car was angled so its headlights bounced off an apple green Prius. Russ pulled in alongside him and got out.
Noble got out of his car. “Hey, Chief.”
“You got a flashlight?”
Noble handed over his Maglite. Russ shone it through the windows. The light picked out an overnight bag, a pair of sneakers, and the usual junk that collects in busy people’s cars: CD cases, crumpled fast food wrappers, an empty soda bottle.
“No dress.” Russ looked up at Noble. “She was supposed to be going to the big shindig at the new resort. Where’s her dress?”
“In the bag?” Noble was a bachelor, which led him to misinterpret women once in a while. Like now.
Russ shook his head. “Women don’t roll long dresses up in little bags. It’s like a guy’s suit. It has to be on a hanger.”
He fished his cell phone out of his jacket pocket and dialed 411 while handing the flashlight back to Noble.
“Millers Kill. New York,” he said. “Shaun Reid. Please connect me.”
His phone rang once. Twice. Three times. Then a female voice: “Hello, Reid residence.”
“Hi. Could I speak to Shaun, please?”
“May I ask who’s calling?”
“Russ Van Alstyne. From the Millers Kill police.”
There was a beat. “Has something happened to Jeremy?”
Jeremy? Was that Shaun’s kid’s name? “No, ma’am. Nothing like that.”
“Are you fund-raising?”
Russ felt his temper turn over, like a lazy engine on a cold morning. “Ma’am, it’s illegal for police to solicit funds. I need to speak to Shaun Reid on official business.”
“Well.” He could almost hear her unspoken rejoinder. There’s no need to get huffy about it. “I’ll get him for you.”
He stared at the finish of the gas-electric hybrid while waiting for Shaun to get to the phone. It was fresh and pretty and young. Like its owner. He was 95 percent sure that she had told them the truth, and Randy Schoof was their man. But Lyle had this story about Shaun’s involvement, and now here was the Castle girl’s car sitting smack-dab in front of his office. Two points of contact. Could be coincidental, but Russ didn’t like coincidences.
“Russ? Hey, long time no see. When was it, the Rotary Club meeting last year?” Shaun sounded upbeat, as if hearing from his old high school buddy were the highlight of his Saturday evening.
“Has it been that long? Time flies.”
“It sure does. How are you doing? How’s that beautiful wife of yours?”
“Linda’s great. Look, I have a little situation here at your mill, and I wonder if you could come over and take a look at it with me.”
The pause over the line was so long, Russ held the cell phone away from his ear to make sure he still had a signal. “Shaun?” he said.
“Sorry. A situation at the mill? What is it?”
“I’d rather explain it when you get here.”
“I’m, uh, due to be at the Algonquin Waters resort by seven-thirty tonight. Courtney and I are going to a dinner dance there. Business with some overseas guys. I really can’t miss it.”