into a note on his phone, then accessed the picture of Sara. “Have you ever seen this woman before?”
Mary looked at the picture for a second, then glanced around until she spotted a pair of glasses on the coffee table. “Can you hand me those?” she asked Dev.
Dev passed them to her. “Here you go.”
“Thank you. My close-up vision is shot. Growing old sucks sometimes.”
“Tell me about it,” Dev agreed.
She gave him a smile, and looked back at the picture.
“You might have seen her with Diana about two years ago or so,” Logan suggested.
“She is familiar.” She continued to examine the photo. “Wait, wait. There was this…friend who visited her from out of town. What was her name?” She stared at the floor for a moment. “Sandy? Sally. I don’t know. Something like that.”
“Sara?” Logan suggested.
“Maybe.” She pointed at the picture. “That could be her, but I’m not a hundred percent.”
“And you haven’t seen her since then?”
“No. Don’t think so.”
“You see anyone else with them at the time?”
She thought for a moment. “If I did, I don’t remember.”
“Is there anything else about Diana that might help us find her? Something she might have said? Family she might go to?”
“No family that I know of. Certainly none in Braden. She said her mom died a few years ago, but otherwise…” She shrugged. “She’s a pretty private person. Never really talked much about herself.”
Logan hesitated, then said, “If you don’t mind me saying, you don’t seem as mad as I expected, given she just quit on you.”
“Annoyed that I’ll probably have to cover a few shifts myself, yeah, but I can’t be mad at her. Diana’s a good person, but I always felt like there was something missing, you know, like she was looking for something that she would probably never find.”
__________
A S THEY WALKED to the car, Dev tossed Logan the keys. “You drive.”
Logan gave him an odd look, but said, “Okay,” thinking that maybe Dev was just tired of being behind the wheel.
But as they exited the mobile home park, Dev swiveled in his seat and stared out the rear window.
“What is it?” Logan asked.
Turning back around, Dev seemed to contemplate something. Finally he said, “I think someone might be following us.”
Logan’s gaze flicked to the rearview mirror. “Who?”
“There’s a gray sedan about a block back.”
Logan searched the street behind them. “Okay, I see it. You sure?” The car was too far back for him to see the people inside.
“No, I’m not. Have you seen how many gray sedans there are in this town?”
“Then what makes you think we’re being followed?”
“It looks like the same one I saw when we visited the real estate place, and before that, not long after we left the woman’s house. But I don’t know.”
Logan frowned. He considered making a few quick turns to see if the car was really tailing them, but decided doing that might scare the person off. If they pretended like they hadn’t noticed, and just kept tabs on the other car, there was a better chance they might learn something useful. He told Dev what he wanted to do, and the former Marine nodded as if he’d been thinking the same thing.
Mary Ralston had told them Tessie Carter was working at the Wallace Wash Mini Market out near the interstate. As Logan pulled into the store’s small lot and parked, Dev positioned himself so he could see out the back without seeming too obvious.
“There they go.”
“They?”
“There’re two people inside.”
“Did either of them look this way?” Logan asked.
“No. Kept facing straight.”
“Recognize them?”
Dev shook his head. “Never seen them before. A man and a woman, both white. Her hair’s cut short.” Dev touched his neck about halfway between his head and shoulder. “About to here. Think it’s brown. But she was driving, so harder to see. The guy’s hair was close-cropped, lighter, almost
Mary looked at the picture for a second, then glanced around until she spotted a pair of glasses on the coffee table. “Can you hand me those?” she asked Dev.
Dev passed them to her. “Here you go.”
“Thank you. My close-up vision is shot. Growing old sucks sometimes.”
“Tell me about it,” Dev agreed.
She gave him a smile, and looked back at the picture.
“You might have seen her with Diana about two years ago or so,” Logan suggested.
“She is familiar.” She continued to examine the photo. “Wait, wait. There was this…friend who visited her from out of town. What was her name?” She stared at the floor for a moment. “Sandy? Sally. I don’t know. Something like that.”
“Sara?” Logan suggested.
“Maybe.” She pointed at the picture. “That could be her, but I’m not a hundred percent.”
“And you haven’t seen her since then?”
“No. Don’t think so.”
“You see anyone else with them at the time?”
She thought for a moment. “If I did, I don’t remember.”
“Is there anything else about Diana that might help us find her? Something she might have said? Family she might go to?”
“No family that I know of. Certainly none in Braden. She said her mom died a few years ago, but otherwise…” She shrugged. “She’s a pretty private person. Never really talked much about herself.”
Logan hesitated, then said, “If you don’t mind me saying, you don’t seem as mad as I expected, given she just quit on you.”
“Annoyed that I’ll probably have to cover a few shifts myself, yeah, but I can’t be mad at her. Diana’s a good person, but I always felt like there was something missing, you know, like she was looking for something that she would probably never find.”
__________
A S THEY WALKED to the car, Dev tossed Logan the keys. “You drive.”
Logan gave him an odd look, but said, “Okay,” thinking that maybe Dev was just tired of being behind the wheel.
But as they exited the mobile home park, Dev swiveled in his seat and stared out the rear window.
“What is it?” Logan asked.
Turning back around, Dev seemed to contemplate something. Finally he said, “I think someone might be following us.”
Logan’s gaze flicked to the rearview mirror. “Who?”
“There’s a gray sedan about a block back.”
Logan searched the street behind them. “Okay, I see it. You sure?” The car was too far back for him to see the people inside.
“No, I’m not. Have you seen how many gray sedans there are in this town?”
“Then what makes you think we’re being followed?”
“It looks like the same one I saw when we visited the real estate place, and before that, not long after we left the woman’s house. But I don’t know.”
Logan frowned. He considered making a few quick turns to see if the car was really tailing them, but decided doing that might scare the person off. If they pretended like they hadn’t noticed, and just kept tabs on the other car, there was a better chance they might learn something useful. He told Dev what he wanted to do, and the former Marine nodded as if he’d been thinking the same thing.
Mary Ralston had told them Tessie Carter was working at the Wallace Wash Mini Market out near the interstate. As Logan pulled into the store’s small lot and parked, Dev positioned himself so he could see out the back without seeming too obvious.
“There they go.”
“They?”
“There’re two people inside.”
“Did either of them look this way?” Logan asked.
“No. Kept facing straight.”
“Recognize them?”
Dev shook his head. “Never seen them before. A man and a woman, both white. Her hair’s cut short.” Dev touched his neck about halfway between his head and shoulder. “About to here. Think it’s brown. But she was driving, so harder to see. The guy’s hair was close-cropped, lighter, almost
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