Cut and Run (Lucy Kincaid #16) - Allison Brennan Page 0,11
how financial crimes worked—and didn’t work—but she would much rather solve an old-fashioned homicide than figure out how money was laundered.
Lucy said, “We need to talk to friends, family, neighbors. The Young family that were the last known to have seen Ricky Albright. He was last seen hours after the girls and the parents. That in and of itself seems odd.”
“Because if they were planning to leave the country, they would have told Ricky to come straight home after school.”
“Exactly. Or picked him up at school, or at the Youngs’. He didn’t leave until six o’clock. I want to confirm everything they told the detectives three years ago, and ask the kids if there was anything Ricky said that made them concerned. Something out of character.”
“They would have told the original investigators.”
“If they asked the right questions. At the time, the kids were nine, going on ten. Fourth grade. Maybe the detectives didn’t even talk to the kids.”
“They might not remember three years later.”
“Maybe, maybe not. But when your best friend disappears, you tend to remember everything that happened the last day you saw them.”
That she knew from experience.
* * *
Lucy and Nate drove directly to the Youngs’ house from Bandera. It was exactly 1.3 miles from the Albright house using surface streets, but the neighborhoods were filled with ranch homes on large, unfenced properties. It would be easy to cut through open space or use dirt trails that zigzagged through the area. The trek would be closer to half a mile as the crow flies.
They knocked on the door and a very pregnant woman answered. “Hello?”
“Jill Young?”
“Yes?”
Lucy and Nate identified themselves and showed their badges. “Do you have a minute?”
“Of course. What’s this about?”
“The Albright family.”
Her face fell and she opened the door for them to enter.
She waddled over to a chair and sat down. “Sorry, my feet are swollen and I can’t wait to pop. This little gal was a surprise and trust me—it’s a lot harder to be pregnant at forty than it was when I was in my twenties.”
“When are you due?” Lucy asked.
“Christmas Day, but my doctor is thinking about inducing two weeks early. We’ll make the decision at my next appointment provided the baby is on track.”
Lucy didn’t want to distress a pregnant woman, but she couldn’t lie about the situation, either.
“Family has been notified, and it’ll be released to the media tonight, so I regret to inform you that the Albright family has been found dead. They died within weeks of their disappearance.”
“Dear Lord, I’m so sorry,” she said. “That’s awful—I just knew something bad had happened to them. People don’t just disappear like that.”
“You spoke to the police shortly after they went missing and said that Ricky had left your house at six that Friday evening. It’s very possible that you and your children were the last to see him alive. However—and this hasn’t been released, other than to the family—his is the only body we haven’t found.”
Jill put her hand to her mouth and closed her eyes. “How am I going to tell the kids?”
Lucy didn’t envy her.
“What happened?” Jill continued. “Did they have an accident? The police said they left the country. I have family in Mexico. Sure, parts are dangerous, but Glen and Denise wouldn’t go to those areas.”
“Their bodies were found locally. About ten miles from their home as the crow flies.”
“I don’t understand. What happened?” she repeated.
“They were murdered.”
She closed her eyes again, took a deep breath. Opened them. “How can I help?”
“Did Ricky say anything to you that day? Anything you remember that sounded strange at the time, or in hindsight?”
“It was three years ago, I don’t remember anything specific. If I had, I would have told the police when they first came to talk to us.”
“I’m sure you would have, and we have their notes, but anything you can tell us about Ricky and his family would help us.”
Jill said, “I want to help, but I don’t know what to say, really. Ricky was here all the time. He, Joe, and Ginny were inseparable, and he was a good kid. Very polite, smart. Joe—my son—he would much prefer to play than do homework. Ricky was a good student, he more than anyone could get Joe to focus for thirty minutes to finish whatever project they were doing, then they would play. The three of them—they’d been friends since first grade, when we moved here. They rode their bikes to school together, and he was here