What She Saw - 30
CJ Taggart 4 Days After Taggart swung by the diner to grab his morning coffee. He glanced toward the counter, half hoping to see Patty. But Buddy was behind the counter topping off coffee for a customer. His smile looked strained. Another customer asked for a refill and another for a menu. Buddy cle...
CJ Taggart
4 Days After
Taggart swung by the diner to grab his morning coffee. He glanced toward the counter, half hoping to see Patty. But Buddy was behind the counter topping off coffee for a customer. His smile looked strained. Another customer asked for a refill and another for a menu. Buddy clearly felt Patty’s absence.
Taggart spotted the mayor in a booth in the back. He wasn’t front and center or shaking hands but lying low. More complaints and questions about the festival were snowballing, and Taggart knew Briggs must be feeling the pressure. When the weekend hangover passed, folks realized the festival might have created as many problems as it had promised to solve.
Taggart crossed to the mayor’s booth. “Mind if I sit down?”
Mayor Briggs nodded. “If you’ve got good news.”
Taggart sat. Buddy caught his gaze and then set a mug in front of him. He filled the cup. “Thanks, Buddy. Any word from Patty?”
“Not a word.” His brow furrowed. “I stopped by her trailer this morning. Sara was there with the baby, but no Patty.”
“Any idea where she went?”
“None. And I’ve called everyone I can think of.”
Taggart thought about the folded blankets in the baby’s crib. “She the kind of woman to leave her baby behind?”
“No. Not Patty,” Buddy conceded. “She’s crazy about that kid.”
Taggart sipped his coffee. “Is she seeing anyone other than you?”
Buddy glanced at Briggs. “No.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
“Sheriff, tell me when you find her,” Buddy said.
“Will do.”
As Buddy moved to another table, Taggart sat in silence, not bothering a glance toward the mayor. He’d never been good at sucking up to the brass, and civilian life had not changed that.
“Maybe Patty did run off,” Mayor Briggs said.
“Along with Laurie Carr and Debra Jackson? I have three missing person reports on my desk now.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about Debra?”
“I’m doing that now.”
“I don’t know Laurie, but Debra doesn’t have the best homelife.” The mayor drummed his fingers against the side of his mug as if flipping through a card catalog of excuses.
“I hear Debra is doing well on her own. And Laurie’s aunt said she always checks in.”
“Three single women. Maybe they’re partying together.” The mayor grunted. “This isn’t a five-alarm fire.”
The mayor’s easy dismissal of the women irritated him. “It’s a pattern I don’t like.”
The mayor pushed his half-eaten plate of food away. “Don’t get over your skis, Sheriff. There were thousands of people at the event. And the fact that three are missing doesn’t mean much yet. They’ll turn up. Just you wait and see.”
“And if they don’t?”
“From what Colton told me yesterday, the festival brought in a lot of money. Dawson’s going to see a big check. And he said the music reviews in the papers were good. He said it’s a matter of time before other music festivals are looking at us. This is going to be big for Dawson.”
Colton said, “Have you seen the money?”
“Not yet. That kind of thing takes a little time.” Briggs sipped his coffee. “Don’t tarnish Dawson’s reputation.”
“I’m going to keep looking for these women.”
“Try to be discreet.”
“That’s going to be easier said than done. Sara Grayson called a local reporter. She’s trying to get interviewed.”
His face paled. “Does she know about Debra or this guitar girl?”
“Sara and Monica Carr spoke at the station.”
“Shit. This is a small town, and rumors run through Dawson like wildfire.”
“Good.”
The mayor tossed his balled-up napkin on the plate. “What’s good about it?”
“The more people who know about the three missing women, the more tips I receive. I’m considering a press conference.”
“You know that’s not how it works. Every nutjob and his brother are going to be calling the station and reporting a sighting. That happened five years ago when the Taylor boy went missing.”
The Taylor boy had been a five-year-old who’d wandered off from his parents’ campsite. “I heard about that case. One tip from a couple of hikers led to his rescue. That’s how it goes. Needle in a haystack.”
“That’s not very efficient.”
“Solving a crime isn’t an easy process.”
“Crime.” The mayor leaned forward and dropped his voice. “We’re not talking about a crime. We’re talking about three girls out of thousands who got a wild hair and took off.”
“Three young women who were known for being reliable. And now they’re gone.”
“They’ll turn up.”
Taggart wasn’t so sure. He took two more gulps of coffee. Monica had said Debra had broken up with Kevin Pascal. Time to track him down.
Taggart found Kevin Pascal working security at the local furniture plant east of town. Rumor had it the company was going out of business and everyone there would be out of a job soon. Kevin had been hired to make sure none of the exiting employees did any damage or hurt the management.
Inside Taggart found a receptionist sitting at a small brown desk. She was in her sixties, and he was willing to bet she’d worked there most of her life. Her smile was tired, as if she knew the job was going away. “I’m looking for Kevin.”
Without much fanfare, the receptionist picked up her phone and dialed. Five minutes later Kevin emerged in a security guard uniform.
“Kevin?” Taggart asked.
Kevin didn’t appear surprised to see the sheriff as he walked up to him. His hand was outstretched. “Yes, sir. What can I do for you?”
“I got a call from Marsha Sullivan. You know her?”
Kevin cleared his throat. “Yeah. I know her.”
“Marsha said her sister, Debra, is missing.”
His smile disappeared. “What do you mean, missing? I dropped Debra off at the music festival Friday night. Her car was parked in front of the dry cleaner’s this morning.”
“You drove her?”
“Yeah. You saw me. I was working the event.”
“I saw you.”
“You know traffic was going to be hellacious, and I had a parking spot. I offered to drop her off at the front gate.”
“What were you doing at the dry cleaner’s?”
“Picking up my uniform. The call to work the festival security was last minute.”
“Last minute?” Colton had said security was all lined up.
“My boss called and said he had a request for security, and he was rounding up men. I rushed to get my uniform from the dry cleaner’s. I offered Debra a ride.”
“What did you think when you and Debra arrived at the festival?”
“The event was a crush. Poor borders. A security nightmare.”
“Did you and Debra hang out together at all?”
“We grabbed a quick picture together and then I had to get to work. I saw a fight that needed to be broken up. Debra went looking for her sister.”
Many guys like Kevin wanted to be cops. Most failed some portion of the entrance exam and often saw their job as a kind of deputization. Taggart found if he treated them as equals, they were very helpful. “Can you give me a report on the event?”
He shifted his stance and hooked a thumb in his belt. “Lots of theft. Pickpockets and snatched purses. I stopped a couple of guys who were getting handsy with drunk girls. And there was a small container fire near the woods.”
“Fire.”
“Folks filled an old metal drum with wood and set it on fire near the woods. They were trying to keep warm. It wouldn’t have been an issue, but the fire was so close to the tents and the trees. We were getting rain, but, you know, it was dry as a bone for weeks. I made them put it out.”
“That wasn’t the big one?”
“No, that came later. About one a.m.”
Taggart hadn’t seen the first fire, but there was a lot he’d missed that night. “Anything else?”
“I patrolled. There were kids trying to get on the stage to see the band. Had to chase them away. Then there was the basic urinating in public or indecent exposure.”
“Good work. And you never saw Debra?”
He shook his head. “I wished her a good evening, and she vanished into the crowd.”
“Was she meeting anyone other than her sister?”
“Yeah. Her friend Bailey Briggs.”
Bailey. “Blond. Petite.”
“Yeah. She and Debra go to high school together. You know her?”
“Came across her at the event.”
“Hard to keep Bailey down for long. She’s always on the move.”
“Those two tight?”
“I don’t know if they are super friendly. But they both love music and wanted to see the bands.”
“I hear Debra works pretty hard.”
“She’s driven. You know her stepfather is a bit of a douche. She moved out last fall.”
“When did you two break up?”
“January.”
“Can I ask why?”
“I don’t see why it matters. She wants to go to college. I want to stay local and keep doing what I love to do.”
“You like the security work?”
“It’s temporary. I want to get into the police academy.”
“Have you applied?”
“Once last year. Blew the shooting exam. But I’ve been practicing.”
“Keep at it. The admissions offices always like the guys who are hard workers.”
“Well, I do work hard.” He leaned forward as if they were sharing confidential information. “Mind if I ask why you’re looking for Debra? I mean, she’s over eighteen and is independent.”
“Marsha says she missed work and school.”
“She’s done that before. I mean, Debra is steady about ninety-five percent of the time. But she gets revved up every so often.”
“You think she got a wild hair?”
“She’s been working so hard. She didn’t get into her first choice of college and had to accept her second choice. She was disappointed. I told her I was proud of her, but she was bummed about it.”
“When did you have this conversation?”
“On the way to the festival. It was nice catching up with her. We’ll always be friends.”
“You’re not worried about her?”
“No.” He angled his head as if sharing a secret. “I mean, if she doesn’t show up in a day or two, then I would worry.”
“Her boss said she hasn’t missed work before.”
“Like I said, her not getting into her first-choice college hit her hard. We used to blow off steam together. I know her. She’s with a guy. And once she gets disappointment out of her system, she’ll be back.”
Taggart never liked it when a witness had all the answers. Most were unsure or had doubts. Not Kevin. He was so sure about a girl he’d not dated in four months. A girl who’d broken up with him. A girl who’d met up with an intoxicated classmate.
“Do you know Patty?”
“From the diner? Sure.”
He kept his tone light and his stance nonconfrontational. Just two LEOs shooting the shit. “Is she friends with Debra?”
“They live almost next door to each other. I don’t know Patty that well, but Debra likes everyone.”
“Okay. Thanks, Kevin. Mind if I call you if I have more questions?”
“Yeah. Call me. I’m here to help.”
Taggart extended his hand. “Thanks. Nice to have you on my side.”
Taggart pulled up in front of Bailey’s house. She’d been one of the first people detained, and then she’d vanished from the first aid trailer. He’d hoped her case was a one-off, but she’d been the harbinger of the night to come.
He parked in front of the simple white house with a neat front lawn. Her father was the mayor and the primary engine behind the festival. It made sense the girl wouldn’t want her father knowing she’d been detained by the police.
He rang the bell and stepped to the side. A dog barked inside. The door opened to Bailey. She looked very different than she had at the festival. Her makeup was subtle, clean, and her blue eyes were clear.
“Hey, Sheriff. What’s up? Daddy’s not here right now.”
“I came to talk to you about the festival.”
Her smile faded. “Do we have to do this now? My parents are going to be home soon.”
“It’s not about you being drunk in public or that you’re underage.” He wanted her to feel the weight of the charges he could bring.
She glanced around as if she expected a parent to be listening. “Okay.”
“It’s about your friend Debra.”
“What about her?”
“You saw her at the festival?”
“Yeah. We met off to the side of the stage. We hung out for a few hours. Why do you care?”
“She’s missing.”
Bailey threaded her fingers through her hair. “What?”
“Her sister called the station. No one has seen her since the festival.”
“That doesn’t make sense. She was right in the center of the action when I saw her.”
“Who was she with?”
“A girl. Tristan, I think.”
“Tristan Fletcher.”
“How did you know?”
He countered with a question. “What time was this?”
“About eleven, I think.”
“Why did you and Debra go your separate ways at the event?”
“I wanted to get something to eat. My stomach was a little messed up. She didn’t want to leave because a new band was starting to play. When I ate my burger and returned to our spot, she was gone. I was beat and didn’t feel great, so I decided to go home.”
“Did you see Patty at the stand?”
“Yeah. She looked overwhelmed, but she was there. So was Buddy.”
“What time was this?”
“It wasn’t quite midnight. And it was pouring rain.”
“And Debra has not tried to contact you since the concert?”
“No. But we don’t talk all the time. Do you think something bad happened to her?”
“Was she drinking?” he asked.
“Sure.”
“Were you drinking more?”
“A little. Like I said, my stomach was messed up.”
“What about Kevin? Did you see him?”
Her face crumpled into a grimace. “No. I didn’t see Mr. Weird.”
“Why do you call him that?”
“Because he’s odd. He thought of Debra as a wife. He had their whole future mapped out. He even had names for their kids.”
“Kevin said he and Debra wanted different lives. That’s why they broke up in January.”
Bailey laughed. “That’s true. But there was nothing mutual about it. Debra broke it off. He wasn’t happy about the split.”
“Has he had contact with Debra?”
“Not that I know of.” Her head cocked. “Do you think he hurt her?”
“I don’t know. I’m just asking questions so I can find Debra.”
“If she calls me, I’ll let you know.”
A silver Ford Taurus pulled into the driveway alongside his car. The mayor, dressed in a charcoal-gray suit, rose out of the car. His serious gaze settled on Taggart.
“That’s my dad,” Bailey whispered. “Don’t tell him what I just told you, okay?”
Taggart didn’t make any promises as Mayor Briggs approached him. “Good afternoon, Mayor.”
His quizzical gaze turned suspicious. “Sheriff. Can I help you?”
“I’m trying to find Debra. From what I understand, she’s a friend of your daughter’s.”
Mayor Briggs frowned. “Bailey, I thought we agreed you would hang out with different people.”
Bailey’s smile straddled humor and contrition. “I am, Dad. I told you: Sheila and I were going to the festival. I just ran into Debra there.”
Mayor Briggs’s jaw tensed. “You were back at Sheila’s home by one a.m., correct?”
Logistically, there was no way she could have gotten off the mountain at midnight and made it back to Dawson in an hour unless she had wings.
“Yeah,” Bailey said. “I didn’t want to wake you and Mom.”
Taggart watched the girl. She was lying to her father. “We left way before it started raining.”
Bailey was full of secrets. But that wasn’t a shock with teenagers. “Mayor Briggs, I’m contacting all of Debra’s acquaintances. Bailey is just one of many names on my list.”
Briggs glanced at his daughter as if searching for the telltale signs of a lie. The girl’s face was unreadable. “If my daughter hears from this girl, I’ll have her contact you.”