“I . . . I was looking for an old trunk. It doesn’t have to be in perfect shape.”
Her smile widened. “We have one over here,” she said, waving her hand to her right.
He followed behind her. As he watched her walk, his heart beat loudly in his chest. Could she hear it? He had to be careful. If he did or said anything out of the norm, it could cause her to remember him.
“This trunk is from the 1920s,” she said. “It’s solid wood with a liner, a leather handle, and brass accessories. We also have a key for the lock. There’s some water damage, but all in all it’s in very good shape.”
“How much?” he asked.
“We’re asking two hundred.”
He knew it was exactly what he wanted, but if he didn’t haggle a bit, it might seem unusual.
“Would you take one-seventy-five for it?”
“I’m not sure,” the girl said, although he was absolutely certain they had a deal. “Let me ask the owner.”
He tried not to watch her as she walked away, but he couldn’t help it. A couple of minutes later, she came back.
“The owner says you can have it for one-seventy-five,” she said, as if this news was the best thing she’d ever heard.
“That’s wonderful.” He took a deep breath and looked into her eyes, so much like his mother’s. “I don’t suppose you have any others?”
Her eyebrows lifted, showing her surprise, and he thought he’d made a mistake. But thankfully, her expression wasn’t shock, it was pleasure. She was obviously making a commission on her sales.
“There is one in the back,” she said, “but it just came in a couple of days ago. We haven’t had time to clean it up.”
“Would you mind if I looked at it? I repurpose these and sell them. People love to use them to decorate their homes.”
“Yes, they do,” she said. “If you don’t mind coming with me, I’ll be happy to show it to you. As I said, it’s still rather dirty—but I guess you don’t care.”
“No, I don’t.” He smiled at her. “Just part of the job.”
When they got to the back room, he saw the other trunk. As the salesgirl, whose name turned out to be Megan, described the features of the old trunk, his only interest was in figuring out whether or not she would fit inside.
Ten minutes later, he had two old trunks in his van and Megan’s business card with her personal cellphone number in his pocket.
“I’M SORRY,” RIVER SAID. “You think Nathan had something to do with April’s disappearance?”
“Of course. Everything was fine until he came into her life. From the moment I met him, I didn’t trust him. I tried to get April to listen to me, but the more I warned her, the more she gravitated toward him.”
“It generally works that way,” River said, keeping her voice calm. “If you tell a child to stay away from someone, they usually find them more appealing.” She was trying to connect with him. Get him to relax and not see them as the enemy. She wanted to know why he was here. And how he found out Nathan had come to see them. She knew Tony was upset about the vibe April’s father projected, but she needed to stay focused on him and not allow Tony to distract her.
“You said Nathan had something to do with April’s disappearance,” Tony said. “What makes you think that?”
“Do you mind if I sit?”
River motioned toward the chair in front of her desk. April’s father sat down and let out a deep sigh. It was as if he’d exhaled all the tension in his body.
“I’m sorry if I was rude. This isn’t your fault. I’ve just been so worried. We lost her mother when April was young. It was a terrible, terrible time. And now April’s gone. I don’t know what to do.” He shook his head. “I’m Jeffrey Bailey.”
Jeffrey, not Jeff. That told them something about him. “Jeffrey, how do you know about us?” River asked.
“Nathan called and left me a message the day before he visited you. I didn’t find it until this morning. I don’t check my phone very often.” He frowned at her. “I think he’s trying to prove to me that he’s genuinely looking for my daughter.”
“He didn’t tell us that you knew he was coming here,” Tony said.
Jeffrey shrugged. “You can ask him. And you might want to ask yourselves why he didn’t let you know that. Maybe you can’t trust him.”
River looked over Jeffrey’s body language. She couldn’t see anything that made her feel as though he wasn’t telling the truth. He seemed genuinely upset.
“Coffee?” River asked.
“Not this late, thanks.”
“I’m not sure what you want us to do, Jeffrey,” Tony said.
“I want to know what’s going on,” he said, his tone a little menacing.
River cast a quick look at Tony before saying, “Nathan is our client. I’m afraid there’s not much we can tell you.”
“I’ve tried to call him, but he doesn’t answer his phone. I really need to talk to him. He only told me he was coming to see you, but he didn’t tell me why he decided to seek your help after all this time. I’d like to know more.”
“We certainly can’t force him to respond to your phone calls,” Tony said. River knew he was trying to match Jeffrey’s forcefulness, but that didn’t seem to impress the man. River was grateful all of April’s things were in the tote bag behind Tony’s desk, out of sight. If Jeffrey had noticed and recognized the bag, she felt strongly he would have asked for his daughter’s property. Since Arnie wanted the items, they could say no, but she had a feeling this man could become even more unpleasant than he’d already been.
On a whim, River reached into her drawer and took out a copy of the picture someone had left for them. She got up from her desk and put it in front of him.
“Did you take this picture?” she asked.
