heavily into the chair across from his father.
Jackson began speaking again. “Even if Angela knew Wayde, that doesn’t mean she was involved, Nick, but it’s something we need to check out. I’m going to head down to the café Kinsley frequents tomorrow morning. My niece told me she met the owner, Jim. Said he’s a nice guy. I’m hoping he can give me some information. I’m also going out tonight to the other two taverns.”
Jonathan shuffled in and leaned over Xavier’s desk with a leather bound planner, pointing to an entry.
“Let me take a minute and see what Jonathan’s got for us.” Xavier leaned in and mulled over the entry he’d been shown. He’d taken a two-month trip to Amsterdam. Angela and Carolyn spent that summer with her parents in South Carolina. “I remember that trip.” He seemed lost in thought, making for a long pause.
Olivia’s voice filled the room. “Xavier?”
Xavier gave his head a brisk shake and loosened his tie. “Yes, I’m here. Angela was in South Carolina thirty-two years ago, during the summer. She went with Carolyn Ericson, a friend of hers, the woman she was talking to on the phone when she had the stroke. I’m not sure how they would know Wayde. It’s worth questioning Carolyn, though. Is there a way we can get her in on this call? I think we should all hear what she has to say first hand just in case there’s any new information.”
Nick jumped up, slamming his fist on his father’s desk. With a loud grunt, he grimaced in pain from his earlier run-in with the angry, walnut-paneled wall. “I can’t believe you’re pursuing this nonsense when Kinsley’s out there somewhere. Mother would never have anything to do with her disappearance, nor would she have anything to do with a man like Wayde.”
Xavier no longer casually sat against his desk, but stood and took a step toward Nick. He stopped himself, took a breath, and gave Nick a hard glare. “You have no idea what your mother is capable of. If you can’t handle what we’re talking about then you need to leave the room.” The line remained silent until Xavier spoke again. “Detective Mills, can you get Angela’s friend, Carolyn Erickson, on the line? I’m not sure of the number.”
Nick gave his father a look of reproach and went to pour himself another drink.
After a couple minutes, Detective Mill’s voice filled the room. “I have Mrs. Ericson on the line. Mrs. Ericson, this is detective Mills from the Le Grand Police Department. I need to ask you some questions regarding Angela Wentworth and a visit you took with her to her parents’ house thirty-two years ago. It was a long time ago, but we’re hoping you can give us some information. Xavier and Nick are on the line, along with a couple of others that are working on the case.”
“Well, I’ll do whatever I can to help. Thirty-two years is a long time.”
“Do you remember meeting a man named Wayde Mather?”
After an audible, deeply drawn breath, Carolyn was oddly silent.
Detective Mills spoke over the phone. “Mrs. Ericson?”
“Yes, I’m here. I do remember him. Wayde was her parents’ chauffeur. Angela had known him a couple years by the time I met him. He wasn’t a nice man. Well, she said he seemed very charming at first. As time went on, his behavior became calculated and obsessive. She never told her parents about us spending time with him. Angela felt they would be upset that she’d gotten to know him at all, considering he was the chauffeur. Angela’s always confided in me about the pain she’s suffered over Wayde’s obsession with her.”
“Do you know if he and Angela maintained contact? Was there any mention of him when you spoke to her this morning?” Mills asked.
“I don’t know if they did. But I haven’t talked to Angela in days. She told me he tried to reach her a few times. That was years ago. She also told me that she tried to discourage him from doing that. I’m not sure if she ever spoke to him again. I just know he liked her. She always tried to discourage him,” she reiterated. As she finished speaking, a phone rang in the background.
Xavier turned in the direction of the ringing phone and spoke up quickly. “It’s Angela’s cell.”
Nick had already left in a foul mood after hearing what Carolyn had to say.
“Okay, Xavier. This may be the call. Put the phone on speaker, and