Mercy Street (11 page)

“Friday morning, before school.”

“How did she seem to you?”

Linda shrugged. “Normal. Cranky because she is not a morning person. Never wants breakfast so we have that argument. Perfectly normal. If anything, she seemed like she was in a better-than-normal mood.”

“How about a boyfriend? Was she seeing anyone?”

“Not recently. Over the winter she had been dating a boy, Joe Slivinsky, but that wasn’t a serious thing, on either of their parts. They really were just friends. She wasn’t interested in him as anything more than a friend.”

“She told you that?”

“Oh, no. She wouldn’t have.” Linda smiled. “She told her sister. A most reliable source. She confided a lot in Misty.”

“Her younger sister.”

“Right.”

“So as far as you know, there was nothing bothering Courtney? Nothing upsetting her.”

“Just Penn State.”

“Sister Rosalie mentioned that Courtney had been working at Hazel’s the night of the robbery—”

“—when Chris Jackson was killed right there at the register.” Linda visibly shuddered. “Good God, that was a nightmare.”

“What did she tell you about that night?”

“Just that she was on break, in the back of the building. She had a soda and some chips or something, she’d called one of her friends on the phone and stepped out back, so she hadn’t heard anything or seen anything. She said when she went back to work out in the front of the store, she found all this commotion—the police were coming through the front door and Chris was on the floor behind the counter and there was just chaos.”

“But she hadn’t seen or heard a thing?”

“Nothing. Scary, isn’t it? That a kid could be gunned down like that? Even scarier when you think that it could have been
your
kid.”

“Sister said that Courtney had a rough time after that.” Mallory’s ears picked up the barely perceptible sound from directly overhead. That would be Misty, she guessed.

“Nightmares like you wouldn’t believe.” Linda nodded as she opened the refrigerator door. “You take milk in your coffee?”

“Yes, thank you. Linda, what else can you tell me about that time? Did Courtney’s behavior change?”

“Yeah, some. For a while, she didn’t like going out at night, and she had a hard time sleeping. Hazel had given her a few weeks off after that, but when it was time to go back, she really didn’t want to go. Of course, she did, but she didn’t want to. I told her she could quit, but she wouldn’t because the prom was coming up and she’d bought a dress that she was still paying for, so she needed the job. After a while, she seemed okay.”

“Were you present when the police questioned her?”

“Oh, sure.”

“And they asked her just what I’ve asked you?”

“Yes, and she answered just like I’ve said.”

“Did they ask her anything else?”

“No. Should they have?”

Mallory smiled. “Did she say who she was talking to on the phone while she was on break?”

Linda nodded. “Callie Henderson.”

“Do you know if the police spoke with Callie to verify that?”

“I don’t think they did. I’m pretty sure I would have heard. Callie’s mom is a good friend, and she didn’t mention it.” Linda had filled two cups and set them on the table. “What are you getting at?”

“I’m not getting at anything. I’m just asking the questions I would have asked if I’d handled the investigation in the first place.” Mallory opened her bag and took out a small pad of paper. “I think I’d like to write down her name, though. I might want to talk to her.” She continued to rummage through her bag. “Well, I would write it down, if I could find a pen. You wouldn’t happen to have one I could borrow…?”

“Sure.” Linda opened a drawer near the refrigerator, took out a ballpoint pen, and handed it to Mallory.

“Thanks,” Mallory said as she began to make a note on the paper. “You said the girl’s name was Callie…?”

“Henderson.”

“Right. Henderson. You wouldn’t happen to know where she lives?”

“Over on Crawford, I forget the number. She goes to Our Lady of Angels, though, so Father Kevin can probably help you there.”

“Thanks.” Mallory slipped the paper and the pen into her pocket.

“You used to be a detective here in town.” Linda sat opposite from Mallory and pushed the milk carton across the table. “Why’d you leave?”

“It was time to move on.” Mallory added a few drops of milk to the cup before taking a sip. “Mrs. Bauer, had there been any suggestion that Courtney testify at the killer’s trial?”

“Only in the beginning, but then she got so upset, I went to the detective who’d questioned her…I can’t think of his name, tall man, dark hair, a little extra around the middle…”

Mallory smiled at the description. “Detective Toricelli.”

“Yes, that’s the name. I spoke with him, and told him how upset she was, and since she hadn’t even been there when the shooting happened, she hadn’t seen anything or heard anything, I asked him if they had to call her to testify.”

“And he agreed not to?”

“He was so sweet about it,” Linda said. “He told me that since she couldn’t testify to anything that would help them make their case, he’d recommend to the DA that they not make her come to court.”

“That must have made her happy.”

“Made all the difference in the world.” Linda nodded. “She was better after that. I think the trauma of what had happened, and having to go into court and talk about it, had scared her half to death.”

“So the police spoke with her just that one time?”

“Twice, actually. They talked to her the night of the shooting, and they came by the house the next day. And then we heard the police had picked up a suspect and they were going to try her for the killing. A young woman, twenty-five years old, can you imagine that? Shooting a kid in cold blood like that.” Linda looked bewildered at the thought.

“Hard to believe, yes.” Mallory paused, then asked, “Do you happen to remember the name of the suspect?”

“No. She wasn’t convicted, though. The newspapers said the jury didn’t have enough evidence to convict her. So whether she did it or not…” Linda shrugged.

“Has Courtney tried to contact you over the past few weeks?”

Linda looked at her as if she were mad.

“Are you kidding? You see these bags under my eyes? You think I’ve had a night’s sleep since the night she went missing?” She began to weep softly. “I close my eyes at night and try to imagine where she is. Is she still alive? Would I know for certain if she wasn’t? I’m her mother—aren’t I supposed to know, aren’t I supposed to feel it, if something terrible happened to her?”

“Mrs. Bauer…”

“Linda. My husband, the bastard, left me long ago. If it weren’t for the kids, I’d have gone back to my maiden name. Do you know he hasn’t even called one time since Courtney disappeared? Wouldn’t you think he’d want to know what happened to his own daughter?”

“Is he still in the area?”

“I have no idea. I don’t think he is.” Linda got up from the table and took a box of tissues from the counter. “I ought to have stock in Scott Paper. I go through about five boxes of these things every week. Anyway, I haven’t heard from the kids’ father in years. But the story was all over the news, I’m sure even he heard about it, wherever he is. And I’m sure even he’s smart enough to realize there’s only one Courtney Bauer in Conroy, Pennsylvania.”

“Is there a chance he’s been in touch with the girls?”

“None. He didn’t give either of them the time of day when he lived with us, I don’t see him reaching out to them now. He never wanted either one of them, wanted me to have an abortion both times. Not that I ever told either of them that, but that’s the truth.”

“But could she have tracked him down somehow?”

“No.” Linda shook her head. “She doesn’t know him, wouldn’t know how to contact him.”

“But under the circumstances, would she have gone to him if she needed a place to go where no one would think to look for her?”

“She wouldn’t know where to start to find him, I’m telling you.”

“Give me his full name and anything you think of that could help us locate him.” Mallory smiled. “Just in case.”

“It’s Tim. Timothy J. Bauer. Last I heard he was living somewhere out near Erie.”

“Does he have family there?” Mallory took the paper and pen from her pocket and jotted down the information.

“He used to. A brother, Clark, might still live there.” She shrugged. “I really don’t know.”

“That’s okay, you’ve given me a starting place.”

“If you find him, tell him he owes me about thirteen years in back child support.”

“Will do.” Mallory returned the pen and paper to her pocket. “Is there anyplace you can think of where she might go if she was going to hide out? Somewhere she used to go as a child, maybe.”

“No, I can’t think of anyplace.” Linda appeared to think it over. “You think she’s hiding someplace? You think she’s alive and she and Ryan are hiding somewhere?”

“It’s a possibility, yes.” Mallory didn’t want to give the woman false hope, but she did think it was possible since no body had been found.

Linda covered her face with her hands. “I am scared to death for my daughter. And Ryan…I can’t bear to think about what might have happened to the two of them. Until you’ve had someone you love just disappear from your life like that, I guess it’s hard to understand. But every minute of every day, I wonder where she is. I wake up feeling sick to my stomach, and I go to bed at night, scared to death that she’s dead and scared to death that she’s still alive but having something horrible happening to her and God help me, I don’t know which is worse for her.”

Mallory nodded. She’d handled cases where both scenarios had turned out to be true. She patted Linda’s arm and said, “I’m very sorry, for you and for Courtney. I know how hard this must be for you.”

Linda nodded and wiped her eyes. “Thank you.” She glanced up at the clock. “Oh, crap, look at the time. I’m sorry, but I have to leave for work.”

“Of course you do. I’m sorry for having kept you.” Mallory stood. “Thanks for the coffee.”

“I’ll walk out with you.” Linda pulled a small stack of tissues from the box and stuffed them into her bag. “I need a few for the road.”

“Can I drop you someplace?” Mallory asked as they walked to the door.

“Thanks but no. I get the bus right there at the corner. It takes me right into town.” She hesitated at the foot of the steps that led to the second floor. “I really should check on Misty before I go.”

“You go ahead and do that. I’ll let myself out.” Mallory extended her hand to Linda. “Will you call me if you think of anything, anything at all? If you hear from her…”

“Yes, of course. I will.” Linda squeezed Mallory’s hand. “If I hear anything at all, you will be the first to know.”

Mallory left the house and crossed the street to her car, where she sat for several moments until she saw Linda come out, lock the door behind her, then walk to the corner. Within minutes, a bus arrived and Linda got on board. Mallory sat behind the wheel, just watching the house for another eighteen minutes. Sure enough, as she suspected, the front door opened and a young girl emerged. Mallory got out of the car and walked across the street even before the girl had gotten to the end of the walk.

“Hello, Misty. My name is Mallory Russo. I’m looking into your sister’s disappearance.”

Misty Bauer was fifteen, tall and rangy, all legs and long brown hair and attitude. She stopped in her tracks at Mallory’s approach and stared with suspicious eyes.

“I was here a while ago to talk with your mother about Courtney,” Mallory continued casually, “and I borrowed a pen from her, and without thinking, I stuck it in my pocket.” She held out the pen, and Misty stared at it. “I didn’t want to forget to give it back.”

The girl reached out her hand and took the pen. “Thanks. I’ll give it to her when she gets home tonight.”

She stood her ground, then surprised Mallory by saying, “I heard about you. You used to be a cop. Why aren’t you a cop anymore?”

“Long story.” Mallory shrugged off the question.

“Mrs. Mary down at the church office hired you to find Courtney and Ryan.”

“She did.”

“Will you? Find them?” Misty asked with what appeared to Mallory to be more curiosity than concern.

Strange reaction,
Mallory thought. “If I can.”

“Why did she hire you, anyway, if you’re not even a cop?”

“Because I’m a good detective.”

“I thought you weren’t one anymore.”

“Well, technically…,” Mallory began.

“Whatever.” Misty shrugged and started to walk around her.

“Misty, while I’m here, maybe you can answer some questions for me.”

“I don’t know anything.”

Too fast. Way too fast.

“How do you know? You don’t know what questions I’m going to ask.”

Misty shot Mallory the universal teen look that expressed utter exasperation, but she stopped walking.

“The night your sister and Ryan disappeared, she drove you and a few of your friends to a dance, is that right?”

“Yeah. I told the police about that.” Misty appeared to relax a bit.

“I know you did. Now I’d like you to tell me.”

“She drove us to the community center, that’s all.” Misty’s shrug added the unspoken,
No big deal.

“Was she upset about anything that night?”

“Well, yeah. Hel-lo? Penn State? Rejection?” Misty rolled her eyes. “She was really pissed off. That’s why she called the guys. That’s why they were all in the park. They were, like, her best buds, you know?”

“I know.”

“She and Ryan didn’t kill Adam and Steve.” It was the first unsolicited statement Misty had uttered.

“I believe that, too.”

“All that stuff in the papers and on TV? It’s all wrong. They wouldn’t do something like that.” Misty’s teary eyes looked up into Mallory’s.

“I believe you. I’m on their side. But we’re going to have to find Courtney and Ryan if we’re going to prove that.” Mallory lowered her voice. “Misty, has Courtney tried to contact you at all?”

“No.” A quick shake of the head. Another answer that was faster than it should have been. “Why did you ask me that?”