“What happened last night? Any arguments?”
“Well, yeah, actually. My sister and father were going at it. I overheard her say that he was lying about something. It had to be something big; she doesn't get upset like that often. She's usually pretty quiet. Then when I went to talk to her about it just before bed, she was annoyed and said she didn't want to talk about it, which is really unlike her.”
DiNolfo scribbled in her notepad as Blake spoke, capturing key testimony from the youngest Morrow boy. She flipped back in her notepad to review the notes she wrote after interviewing Adam for the name of the man they had seen in the barn.
“What can you tell me about Bernard Kendricks?”
“He's our English teacher.”
“Who's English teacher?”
“Mine, Tristan’s, Tommy’s, our cousin’s, too. We all had him.”
“What do you think of him?”
“I don't like him.”
“Why is that?”
“He's annoying and overbearing.”
“What else?”
“He was constantly keeping Tristan after class for study sessions.”
“Did she struggle in class?”
“No, she is very smart. Has an A+ average.”
“Why would he keep her then?”
Blake shrugged and told her, “You should ask Tommy his take on that.”
“I'm asking you.”
“She is pretty. He always seemed to stare at her while she was working. Not just glancing. Staring hard, eyeing her up. It made us uncomfortable.”
“Did it make her uncomfortable?”
“We never mentioned it to her. He would only stare when she was preoccupied with her work, and he thought everyone else was busy. It’s something worth looking into. He seemed overly interested in her.”
“Was he interested in other girls at school?”
“No, just her.”
“Thank you. That is worth looking into. Did you hear any sounds from Tristan's room last night?”
“No. It was very quiet, but with the thunderstorm last night, who knows?”
“I understand you were very close with Tristan. Where do you think she is?”
“She didn't run away if that's what you're asking. She might have been mad at Dad, but she would never leave this place. I think he took her.”
DiNolfo raised an eyebrow as she wrote her notes. “That's enough for now. Thank you.”
Blake watched as Sergeant DiNolfo retreated down the long hallway, heavy-footed and determined. She walked into the living room where Rutledge was still talking with family members. Bridgette stood next to Rutledge looking beside herself while Jack continued to speak with the officer. Tommy, Liam, and Shane had left earlier in the day to search for Tristan in all different directions. In the corner Angus and Moira stood amongst their luggage, home from their trip and to a family crisis. “Rutledge! Let's go!” DiNolfo barked, as she tapped on her watch.
“Jack, what I want you to do is continue reaching out to various people in town, friends, asking if they have seen her. We are going to try tracking down Mr. Kendricks, as well as survey the school to see if anyone knows anything. Her room has been partitioned off and is considered a crime scene. No one is allowed to enter. We will be back tomorrow with a team to continue. Meanwhile, if you can gather up a search party...”
Jack nodded in understanding. “We actually started hours ago. Frank, and the boys split up in town, but they haven't found anything yet.”
“We will, Jack,” DiNolfo assured him. “We just have to get the facts first.”
With that, Rutledge and DiNolfo left, slamming the heavy oak door behind them.
*
Jenna settled onto her couch with a glass of brandy and Catherine Morrow’s case file, exhausted from the day’s activities. She wanted nothing more than to nod off for a solid eight hours, but she didn’t want to show up in Fox Hollow tomorrow without all of her information sorted out. There was much that had to be done in the morning. There was the matter of the Trafford’s shirt found in the barn. She would send Rutledge over to Trafford’s in the morning. Surely he could handle questioning those guys over there. Somehow, she thought a male officer would be able to get more out of that lot than she ever would. Forensics would need to be called in, too. It would be an early morning. While the statute of limitations had expired on Catherine’s case, she wanted to find out the truth. For one, it could provide closure to her family, and secondly, it could provide clues to Tristan’s own disappearance.