Chapter 10
"According to her cell phone records, she was abducted on Trinity Street, near Ridgeway," I said.
Elizabeth’s eyes rounded. "That's just around the corner. Where did you get that information?"
"We tracked her phone records.”
"That's more than Sheriff Rollins has done.”
"We have resources he might not have access to. Have you spoken with the FBI?"
"They came out and asked a few questions. Sheriff Rollins called them in to assist. I kept calling Dusty, but he kept telling me the same thing. I figured he was getting annoyed with me. But I don't really care how annoyed he gets. I want my daughter back.”
"We’ll do everything we can," I said.
"I know it's not your responsibility. But I appreciate any assistance you’re willing to offer."
“Do you know if she wore headphones when she jogged?”
“Yes, I think so. Why?”
“Less situational awareness.”
Elizabeth frowned.
"How long had Michelle been living in Stillwater?" I asked.
"We've been here a little over a year now. We were both living in Los Angeles when she got the job offer. The money was good, and things had changed out there. She wanted to get out of LA. I didn't want to be that far away from my daughter, so she brought me with her."
Elizabeth's eyes misted. She grabbed a tissue from the coffee table and blotted them dry.
"Was she dating anyone at the time of the abduction?”
"Well, she started seeing this guy not too long after we moved out here," she said in a disapproving tone. “They’d been on again, off again over the last year. I think she had broken up with him for good."
"How did he take the break-up?"
"Not good. Their relationship was always tumultuous.
I think she was a little afraid of him, to tell you the truth.
I mentioned that to Dusty. I don't know what he did with that information.
I think he talked to Kyle, but I can't be sure about that.
Kyle called me a few times, expressing his concern about Michelle. But I didn't much care for the guy.”
"Why is that?”
"I just didn't think he was right for her. He had a temper. Would get verbally abusive. He drank."
"Did he ever hit her?" I asked.
"Michelle is not the type of woman to put up with that kind of thing.
At least I don't think she would. But Kyle could get a little rough.
There were some shoving incidents. But Michelle is a strong personality.
She will get up in someone's face and make her opinion known. Neither one of them have the type of personality to back down. At times, I think that created problems.”
“Had she met someone else?”
“Yeah, there was this guy she was interested in. Tommy. She was supposed to go on a date with him but...” Her face tightened, and her eyes slicked again.
"You know what she was working on at QRG?”
"She signed a nondisclosure agreement. To tell you the truth, I didn't care what she was working on as long as she was happy and it paid the bills.
And from what she told me, it was more money than she'd ever made in her life.
Of course, now I'm in this house with no way to pay for it. I've got a little cash, but it looks like I’ll have to sell this place and find another job.”
JD and I gave sympathetic frowns.
I handed her a card and said, "I’ll need contact information for Kyle.”
"Certainly."
"Did Michelle express any concerns or fears before her abduction?"
"I think she was a little stressed from the job. There was always some kind of deadline, and she couldn’t really talk about it.
I'm her mother, and she can tell me anything, but Michelle is very by the book. If she told someone she was going to keep something in confidence, she would. I really don’t know the first thing about what she was doing.
But in this town, it usually involves defense research, aerospace, or something of that nature. ”
"What about friends or anybody she might have been close to? People she may have confided in."
"Michelle can make friends at the drop of a dime. She met Emily in yoga class, and those girls have been thick as thieves ever since. They go out all the time. I think that's part of the problem she had with Kyle. He was looking to lock her down. She was still looking to have a good time.”
"Was she seeing anyone else besides Kyle and Tommy?”
"In the off phases, she would date a little. Michelle is young. She’s got her whole life ahead of her," Elizabeth said, her eyes misting.
"I told her she should live a little, experience life before settling down.
But then again, time gets away from you before you know it.
I think someday she wants a family. I just hope that dream can still come true for her. "
Elizabeth blotted her eyes again.
It was heartbreaking.
We talked a bit more, and I asked her for Kyle’s and Tommy’s contact information. I told her we’d keep in touch and would let her know what we found.
"I sure do appreciate you stopping by. I hope you find something. I can't tell you how awful this is. I keep thinking she's gonna walk through that front door, but there's a part of me…” her throat swelled, and the words came hard. "There's a part of me that thinks she's not coming back."
"The only thing you can do in this situation is stay positive.”
She nodded and escorted us to the door. We said our goodbyes, stepped outside, and returned to the town car.
JD and I hopped in and told Marcus to take us to the scene of the abduction. Since it happened in a residential area, I hoped the incident had been captured on a video doorbell or other surveillance cameras.
Surely Sheriff Rollins and the FBI would have checked by now?