Chapter 12
CINDY THOMAS MADE good use of her weekend.
At least as far as the Eric Snaff situation was concerned.
She found a mountain of information about him and his missing daughter, Nicole, but so far everything was academic.
She hadn’t interviewed anyone other than Eric.
She hadn’t visited anyone who knew Nicole.
It wasn’t hard to find the police department. It was on the main road, connected to the city hall, and shared a parking lot with the fire station as well.
Cindy had already called ahead and spoken to a detective named Stephanie Davis. Sergeant Davis had agreed to meet with Cindy at her office midmorning, though she hadn’t sounded particularly interested in spending much time with the reporter.
Cindy waited in the lobby longer than she wanted and was caught by surprise when Sergeant Davis walked through the inner door and directly toward her. By the time Cindy realized who she must be, the sergeant had already called her by name.
Cindy said, “I’m sorry. You weren’t what I was expecting after we spoke on the phone.”
The petite and attractive sergeant had short brown hair and was dressed in casual clothes. She grinned. “You thought I’d be six feet tall with broad shoulders and a sour attitude?”
Cindy laughed and said, “Pretty much.”
Sergeant Davis said, “So I guess you won’t be upset if I admit I thought you’d be an older woman with a pack of cigarettes in your front pocket.
That’s the sole kind of reporter we have around here.
Her name is Susan Pierce and she’s pretty much the only reporter left at our local newspaper.
She’s been there forty-something years.”
“I’d like to meet her.”
“I’m sure, if you hang around San Julio long enough, you will.” She led Cindy down several hallways through the small bureau to her private office.
Cindy had been in a lot of detectives’ offices, and this looked like most of them.
Old case files were stacked on top of old file cabinets, leaving only a tiny space for a desk, crowded with a computer monitor and a phone.
There were the usual photographs of her receiving commendations.
One was with the governor of California. Impressive.
The two women got through the initial small talk quickly and jumped to the reason for the visit: Nicole Snaff. Cindy explained to Sergeant Davis exactly how she’d become interested in the case, and the contact she’d had with Eric Snaff.
The sergeant listened patiently. She made a note now and then.
Finally, when Cindy was done with her story, Davis looked up and said, “It sounds like you’ve done a lot of research.
Of course we’ve been working on Nicole’s disappearance for months now.
We even have a suspect. The problem is, we’ve hit a wall.
We have no usable evidence. We can’t find the girl. But we’re not giving up.”
Cindy leaned in closer. “I had no idea. Can you tell me who your suspect is? Off the record?”
Sergeant Davis gave her a dead stare and said, “It’s Eric Snaff.”