Chapter Twenty-Eight CJ Taggart #2
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.”