The Girls in the Snow (Nikki Hunt #1) - Stacy Green Page 0,22

failed the girls, but Nikki had reviewed his files. He’d done everything by the book and followed every possible angle.

“Was she dating him? And if so, how were they communicating? All her social media accounts and emails have been checked. We’ve gone over her mom’s computer three times. Is he someone she’s able to see every day, like with some kind of pre-arranged meeting place?”

“Maybe,” Nikki said. “If he is older, he might work nearby or go to one of the local colleges. But I agree with you that she’d be desperate to communicate with him, because that’s how teenaged girls are. I thought she might have a secret cell phone, and this seems like another reason she’d need one.”

In the weeks when Nikki was dating John behind her parents’ backs, she’d had to call him from Annmarie’s house or the payphone at the laundromat. Going a day without talking with him was torture.

“I’m more concerned about the dynamic between Miles and his father,” Nikki said. “Something’s not right there.”

Miller nodded. “I noticed that, too. What are you thinking?”

“I think Miles agreed to cover for them because Madison asked, just like he said. But I’m not sure Drew Hanson was home.” A third vehicle had parked behind the Bankses’ SUV while they’d been at the Hansons’. “Who does that car belong to?”

“Pastor,” Miller said. “He’s from the Methodist Church a few blocks over.”

Nikki was more interested in the security camera mounted on the garage. She scanned the neighbors; most had at least a single camera on the garage and one at the front door. “Does Hanson have a security camera focused on the garage?”

“No, just the front and back door.”

“Does either camera capture the driveway at all?”

“Not that I can remember.”

Nikki found her key fob and turned the jeep on, giving the seats a few extra seconds to warm up. “Did you notice Miles’ demeanor change when I asked about his dad being there?”

“He couldn’t get his mouth full fast enough.”

“Exactly,” Nikki said. “He’s covering for his dad. No chance the security footage could have been swapped for another day?”

“Not with his setup. Connected to the internet so it pulls the date and can’t be altered. I went through it twice to make sure the girls never came into the house. Hanson didn’t leave out the front or back door. Miles said he was home. So did his wife. I didn’t pursue that angle. I guess I should have.” Miller looked down at the ground and kicked a chunk of dirty, frozen snow.

“I probably would have done the same thing,” Nikki said. “But after talking with Miles and his dad, I think Drew left sometime that day, in his car. No camera on the garage to capture it.”

“And he makes his son lie for him,” Miller said. “What kind of parent does that?”

“The kind who has a secret,” Nikki said.

Seven

During the short drive to Kaylee’s home, Nikki called the Comfort Inn and Suites and reserved a room.

Jessica Thomas’ house was less than a fifteen-minute walk from the Bankses’ home, but the area felt entirely different. Kaylee had lived in a cookie-cutter condominium that looked exactly like the other dozen on the street. The Thomas home was minimally decorated with careworn furniture, but it seemed much homier than the Bankses’.

Jessica sat at the table in her maroon work scrubs and stared vacantly at Nikki. Her long dark hair was pulled into a ponytail and streaked with grays. She had a lean look about her, with bony cheekbones and pallid skin.

“How are you holding up?” Miller asked.

Jessica’s thin arms hugged her chest. “I keep telling myself to wake up. Like it’s all a nightmare.”

Nikki had done the same thing during the nightmares that lingered for months after her parents’ murders. Her brain would desperately scream at her to wake up before she went into the house, but Nikki never managed to listen.

“This is Special Agent Nikki Hunt with the FBI,” Miller said. “She wants to ask you a few more questions, if that’s okay.”

“Did that Frost guy do this to my girl?” Jessica asked.

“We’re examining all possibilities,” Nikki said.

“If it’s not Frost, then why are you still here?” Jessica asked tiredly. “I know who you are, and I read the paper. I can’t imagine you’d want to stick around. All the new evidence…”

Nikki’s heart skidded to a stop before ramping up again. New evidence? She’d been told that Mark had asked for new evidence to be re-examined, not that there was anything