Tommy had mentioned in his story what time of day Brianna disappeared. She opened the newspaper to the jump page. There in black and white it said, “It was 2:00 P.M. when the family said they first noticed Brianna was missing.” Lucy felt a surge of vindication. She said, “Gotcha,” to no one.
The light from Nathan’s house flashed off, and the street was in the dark once more. She tucked the newspaper under her arm, along with the bank document, as Nathan came out of the house. Turning off her flashlight, she made her way over to him in the dark.
“We’re going to the police station,” she said to him as they met at the truck door.
Gil was still in front of his computer, looking over the adoption paperwork he’d gotten from Donna Henshaw, when three people walked in the side door with a patrol officer, who said, “I met these guys in the parking lot looking for you.”
The tallest one, an Anglo man, had on a spiked collar and was dressed in black; the only skin visible that was not covered in tattoos was his face. A smaller man who was darker and looked Latino had a mustache and was wearing a dirty gray T-shirt and jeans. It was Lucy who stood out. She sparkled in a sequined top and tight jeans. Her hair and face were done up as Gil had never seen them.
“Hey, Montoya,” Lucy said, coming over to his desk. “This is Manny. He sometimes works for Alex Stevens as a tow truck driver. I got a ride with him tonight and found this in Alex’s truck.” She slapped a piece of paper down on the desk in front of Gil. “This is solid proof that Alex Stevens is a liar. Now, as a bonus prize, Manny here will tell you all about another crime involving Ultimate Towing. Just give him a ride home when you’re done.”
With an angry look at Gil, she started to walk out, but turned back to them and said, “Oh, and one more thing . . . I fucking told you so.” She smiled smugly and left with the man in the studs following her, while Manny stared fearfully at Gil and Joe.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Sunday Morning
Gil, his shirtsleeves rolled up, was at his desk early. He had already checked in with everyone. Ashley was still in labor. David Geisler still hadn’t had his medical evaluation. Liz and Adam had no new information. Liz asked, “When are you going to give me DNA from Brianna’s dad?” Gil had no answer for her. He then called his mom, who immediately started talking about Aunt Yolanda’s party yesterday.
He had stayed at the office until 11:00 P.M. last night interviewing Manny, whose full name was Manny Luis Reyes. It had taken a while for Manny to open up, mainly because it appeared that Lucy hadn’t asked him if he wanted to talk to the police. Instead, she had technically kidnapped him and brought him to the station. He finally got Manny to talk about Ultimate Towing, but quickly realized it was a case for the major crimes division. Gil turned the investigation and Manny over to the detective in charge of that unit.
Gil had called Alex Stevens last night, politely asking him to come to the station, without telling him what it was about. At first, Stevens protested, saying that Ashley was still in labor, but Gil insisted. Finally, Stevens said he would meet them at the office at 8:45 A.M. the next morning. Not that night. Gil relented. Stevens would be easier to interview if he came in on his own terms.
Gil was using the last few minutes before Stevens arrived to take a look over the paper in his hand. It was the one Lucy had slammed down on his desk. He had a call in to the New Mexico Savings Bank to see if they had any more information about the situation surrounding the car Stevens had repossessed. Gil had already talked to the car’s former owner, waking him up. The man confirmed that a tow truck driver who matched Alex Stevens’s general description had been at his house about noon on July 18 of last year and taken his Chevy Tahoe.
Now they were just waiting for Stevens. Joe sat across from Gil, texting away on his phone.
Gil pulled down his shirtsleeves and put his suit jacket back on. He took a bolo tie out of his desk drawer. It had been his