“You’re the ones calling us to the table!” Donny shot back. “She’s been honest with you from the start, and all you did was throw her best friend in jail and put her under the microscope for the past couple of weeks. The least you could do is to have a little respect for her abilities, Agent Wallace.”
Faraday held up his hands in a time-out gesture. “Hey!” he said sternly. “Can we agree to play nice for the remainder of the interview?”
Donny and Wallace both shut up, settling for glaring hard at each other.
Faraday looked from one to the other as if to make sure there’d be no more outbursts, then he focused on me. “See, the thing of it is, Maddie, we’re pretty sure Nathan was abducted. A woman walking her dog said she thought she heard a kid yelling, and turned to see a man hurrying to get into a pickup truck and drive away at a high rate of speed. She didn’t put it together until a neighbor told her that a kid two blocks over was missing.”
I sat forward. “A pickup truck?” A cold prickle began to snake its way up my spine.
“Yeah,” Faraday said. “Why? Does that mean something to you?”
My mind flashed to all those incidents when I’d seen a dark pickup truck follow me or drive down my street.
“What is it?” Donny asked, and I realized I hadn’t spoken in a few seconds.
“A couple of weeks ago when I was out looking for Ma, a pickup truck chased me into the park, then the driver tried to cut me off at the other end, but I got away.”
Donny nearly came all the way out of his chair. “When was this?” he demanded. I could see the fear on his face, and I wished I’d told him sooner.
“About three weeks ago.”
“Did you see the driver?” Wallace asked, but my mind drifted to another incident with what I was sure was the same vehicle.
“No, but then I think I saw the truck again about a week later.”
Faraday pulled a yellow pad out of the drawer of his desk and took up a pen. “Where?”
“It drove down my street.”
“Did you get a plate number?”
I shook my head. “I was never close enough to read it.”
Faraday continued to scribble as he asked me, “What color was the truck?”
I shook my head. “I don’t really know. Every time I saw it, it was night. I think it might’ve been dark gray? But what I remember most was that it had this loud engine.”
“That fits with what the witness told us,” Wallace said.
Faraday looked up at me from his notes. “Are those the only two times you’ve seen this truck, Maddie?”
I shrugged. “Yes?”
“You don’t sound sure,” Faraday said.
I sighed. “The truth is that I don’t know, sir. I mean, this past weekend I thought I saw the same truck on my street.”
“What day and what time?”
“Saturday, around four A.M.”
“Jesus!” Donny hissed, running a hand through his hair and shaking his head. I had a feeling I was going to get another lecture later.
Faraday tapped the pen against the pad of paper. “You know what I don’t like?” he said to me.
I squirmed. Did he think I was lying?
“I don’t like that three of these victims seem to have a sort of loose connection to you, Maddie, and now we learn there’s been a mysterious truck cruising by your house and stalking you at the park.”
Donny opened his mouth to protest, but Faraday held up his hand. “I’m not accusing her, counselor. I’m trying to tell you someone seems to have a fascination with your niece.”
I felt a chill run through me. “Maddie,” Faraday continued, “do you think you might know this guy?”
I shook my head, thinking he believed I knew who was abducting and killing these kids. “No, sir!”
“When did you say you babysat for Nathan’s younger brother?” Faraday asked next, and I could tell he hadn’t given up chasing the lead.
“Last summer. But it was only a couple of times, and then I went to Florida with Uncle Donny, and school started after that so I didn’t have time to sit for them anymore.”
“Did you know Rob Carter? Or anyone related to him?”
Again I shook my head. “No. I swear.”
Wallace scooted his chair forward. “Have you met anyone recently who’s given you the creeps?” he asked. “Or anybody who might be upset with you? Like a client who didn’t get the news they were hoping for?”
I opened my mouth to say no, but then I really thought about it. “Actually, there’re a couple of people.”
Faraday’s brow rose. “A couple?”
“Yeah. It’s been a rough few weeks with this investigation and stuff.”
Faraday hovered his pen over his pad of paper. “Can you give me their names, Maddie?”
A sideways glance at Donny told me it was okay. “Well, for one, there’s this really creepy teacher at school. He drives a pickup truck, too.”
“Who?” Faraday pressed.
“Mr. Chavez. He’s my math teacher and he walks me to fifth period every day, but he’s always right on my heels when we walk down the halls, like he wants to make me feel uncomfortable. And sometimes I hear him mutter mean things about me under his breath.”
“Hold on,” Wallace said, leaning forward himself. “He walks you to fifth period? Why would a teacher escort you to class?”
Donny cleared his throat. “Maddie had some trouble at school from both the students and the administration ever since word got out that you guys searched her home in connection with the murders of Payton and Tevon.”
“Ah,” said Faraday, and I could tell that made him feel a little bit bad. “You say his name is Chavez?”
I nodded. “Last week I heard him mutter something about being ticked off at me for getting Principal Harris fired.”
“You got the principal fired?” Wallace repeated again.
Donny held up his hand. “For the record, she didn’t get the principal fired. The superintendent looked into the matter of Maddie being bullied, and found Principal Harris culpable. He may have even encouraged the abuse.”
Faraday’s eyes darkened and he turned to me. “He did?”