“Yeah?” Frank smiled. Three beers, half a large sausage pizza and having two kids interested in his life’s work was making him happy. He picked up his cell phone and tapped in a number. “Hey, Billy!” he said into the phone. “I gotta guy here that wants to talk to you.” He held out the cell phone.
Nate took it and put it on speaker. “You’re the yo-yo kid?”
There was a chuckle on the other end of the line. “I guess so. I hadn’t thought of it that way.”
“So how come you left behind a mess for Terri to take the blame for?”
“Terri?”
“Yeah, Terri! Ever hear of her?” Nate didn’t wait for an answer. “That whole town blames her for your family leaving. They think she did something to make the Great and Wondrous Billy Thorndyke run away with his tail between his legs. She still can’t go into that damned town without someone making a crack about it.” Nate stopped ranting but there was no sound. “Are you listening to me?”
“I didn’t know,” came a whisper. “No one told me. Oh, poor, poor Terri.”
Nate’s body stiffened and he handed the phone back to Frank. “I think he’s crying.”
“Billy?” Frank said as he took the phone off speaker. “Are you okay?” He listened. “I understand. Yeah, sure. Sorry about that. We’ll be there soon.” He looked at Nate in question and he nodded. “Okay, see you then.” He clicked off the phone. “Billy is leaving as soon as he can and he’ll meet us in Summer Hill.”
Nate sat back down. “Great,” he said in sarcasm. “The love of my girl’s life is coming back to town. Me and my big mouth.”
“What did he say?” Rowan asked.
“Billy’s parents have kept in contact with a few people in Summer Hill, so he figures they knew that Terri was being blamed. They just didn’t tell their son. He said he wanted to call her, call some of his old friends, but his parents kept saying that he should make a clean break,” Frank said.
“How old is this boy that he still lets his parents make his decisions?” Nate’s voice was disgusted.
“He should be like you and defy his elders like you did Kit?” Frank shot back. “Look how that’s worked out.”
Rowan waited for a reply but the two big men just glared at each other. “If you two bulls want to fight, let me know so I can leave. Otherwise, I need to visit some people to make arrangements to search the bottom of a lake. Anyone want to go with me?”
Frank and Nate didn’t move.
Rowan rolled his eyes. “We’re out of beer and I will not buy any while I’m out. If you want some, you have to come with me. Both of you.”
Chapter 19
Rowan arranged everything. Nate wasn’t sure, but he thought maybe Rowan stretched the truth so he could use his FBI resources. “They’ll meet us at the dock in Summer Hill at 8:00 a.m. the day after tomorrow.”
“Divers?” Frank asked.
“And a truck with a crane. Whatever is down there, we’re going to take it out.”
“What about Brody?” Nate looked at Frank.
“And what about permission to excavate?” Rowan asked. “I can’t get a court order based on no evidence.”
Frank said, “Brody is in charge of the trust that owns the place. He’ll probably go into a rage but I’ll take care of him.”
The two younger men nodded.
The next morning they removed everything from the walls and tables, put it back in the boxes and packed the car. They rode together in Rowan’s car, leaving Frank’s truck and Nate’s car behind in DC. Frank protested until Rowan reassured him that he’d get someone to drive it to Summer Hill.
“If you say so,” Frank said, making Nate roll his eyes.
Rowan was the first driver, Frank beside him, Nate in the back.
“I have no reason to think there’s a connection,” Nate began, “but Thorndyke and Kris Lennon left town at the same time.”
“Kris’s mother, Abby, was Leslie’s friend,” Frank said.
“Yeah, at Widiwick, she told me—”
“Who won the prize this year?” Rowan asked.
“Cresnor gave it to some kid who plays the piano. He gets her a Juilliard audition and if she gets in, he pays for a year. If she makes good grades, he forks over for four years. Now tell me what Abby said.”
After Nate finished, Frank told of an interview he’d had with the woman who’d hired Leslie when she first showed up in Summer Hill. The facts of it had been