Cold Pursuit - Carla Neggers [85]
“She told you this?” Jo asked.
“Not in as many words.”
“What did she say, then? Can you remember her exact words?”
Lowell reached for a white plate of an array of cookies obviously from Three Sisters Café and pushed it more toward Jo’s side of the table. “We’re not trying to get anyone into trouble,” he said. “We certainly don’t believe Devin is stalking Nora.”
“He’s changed,” Vivian said, briskly setting out cups and saucers. “We knew him before Drew Cameron’s death—not well, but enough to see that finding Drew, losing him, affected Devin deeply. Before that he struck us as a happy-go-lucky teenager who didn’t have a clue what he’d do after graduation.” She picked up the teapot and filled Jo’s cup, her expression pained, regretful. “You’re from here, Jo. You must have heard that Devin’s had his struggles.”
Jo helped herself to a chocolate-chip cookie. “He hasn’t been arrested for anything, has he?”
“Oh, heavens, no.” Vivian poured her husband tea, not even the slightest tremble to her hands. She filled her cup next, then sat down. “I shouldn’t have said anything. We like Devin very much, and Nora’s a delight. I remember being very confused at that age myself.”
“What about Kyle Rigby?” Jo asked, taking a bite of her cookie. “Do you know anything about him?”
“No, nothing,” Lowell said. “We only met him this morning.”
Vivian picked up her teacup. “He seems quite competent.” She sipped some of her tea. “He’ll be discreet, too. It’d be best for everyone if he finds Nora quietly, without any fanfare, or she comes back on her own. It’s good that Thomas and Melanie are on their way here.” She held her cup in both hands and stared out the window. “We love this place, but I don’t know. Some days…”
“We’re all worried,” Lowell said, addressing Jo. “And we’re grieving for Alex. He and Nora had their problems, but he cared about her. I think she was coming to see that in recent weeks. He started out with a deficit with her because of his friendship with her father. He was aware that she had to feel betrayed—torn by her love for both parents.”
Vivian set her cup down and reached for an oatmeal cookie. “We thought it would help that Thomas and Melanie found each other and fell in love. Nora just wants both her parents to be happy. Now…I have a hard time believing Alex is dead.” Her eyes shone with sudden tears. She broke off a piece of cookie. “It’s a difficult situation, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is,” Jo said. “Were you here in April when Drew Cameron went missing? I understand that Thomas and Nora stayed at the guesthouse then.”
“We came up for the weekend,” Lowell said. “Drew had just disappeared. The state police had launched a search. We weren’t actually in Black Falls when he was found.”
“It was our first time here in April,” Vivian said. “I couldn’t believe it snowed. Our daffodils got covered. They were just coming up. They bounced right back once the snow melted, but I don’t think Vermont’s where I want to be in April.”
Lowell set his teacup down with a clatter and smiled awkwardly, obviously embarrassed by his wife’s callous remark. “We didn’t care about the daffodils, of course, but the snow caught us by surprise. We weren’t involved in the search for Drew. There was nothing we could do except stay out of the way.” Lowell got abruptly to his feet. “It’s a tragedy Drew and Alex are both gone now. Jo, we don’t want to keep you, but if you’d care to sit here a while, please feel free to stay as long as you wish. I have some work to do in the yard before dark.”
Jo seized the opening and left, noting when she got outside that it already was dark. All her trekking up and down Cameron Mountain had consumed what little daylight a mid-November Vermont day offered.
When she got back to her cabin, she found Elijah in the doorway with a screwdriver in hand, a Red Sox cap tipped back on his head. He stood back and pointed the end of his screwdriver toward a shiny new dead-bolt lock. “Took two seconds and half the cash in my pocket.” He tucked the screwdriver into