“Hmm.” That was interesting too. There was no one available to carry on the family dynasty? Or had it failed financially? Was it worth looking into? “Dedryck would be . . . what, in his eighties?” she asked. “Did you look for a record of his death?”
“I did, but none exists. So either I didn’t look hard enough or he’s still alive but living and working somewhere else.”
“Odd.”
“I thought so too. But again, it might not be connected to the man who told you that story.”
She sighed, setting the papers on his desk. “Even so, these crimes aren’t even related to ours. They may or may not have something to do with some man I barely remember who told me a story that might be a lie.” And if he’d told it to her for some other purpose, she had no idea what that might be. She let out a short laugh that held more frustration than humor. “I feel like we’re wading into the weeds, Evan.” And potentially about to trip down rabbit holes.
He ran a hand over his face. He looked as frustrated as she felt. And tired too. He was the one who’d stayed up half the night downloading files about missing women near and far.
“And I’m running out of time,” she said softly. “I have less than a week before I’m scheduled to go home. I cleared out my dad’s storage locker. I can’t just hang around town. I need to get back to my life. I need to get back to Callie.”
“You promised two weeks.”
“That’s up in five days.”
“We’ve made progress, though.”
“Not enough.” She looked toward the window momentarily. “Listen, with your approval, I’m going to give that money to Louise.” They’d discussed the money they found among Dow’s things briefly on the plane to Vegas but hadn’t come to any conclusions. Noelle knew she could have made a reasonable claim to it, considering it had almost certainly been the money her dad had been paid for her mother’s ring. But he’d also apparently given it to Dow for reasons unknown. Noelle didn’t feel right keeping it. And if the past-due medical bills she’d spotted on Louise’s coffee table were any indication, the woman could use it.
“Are you sure?” Evan asked. “We could use it to buy your mom’s ring back.”
She shook her head, even while a buzz of yearning vibrated under her ribs. She wanted that ring. But . . . what did it matter? It wasn’t like it had good memories attached to it, for her or for her father. Her mother had cheated on him and been shot because of the affair that led to her being where she shouldn’t have been. “No. I’d rather give it to Louise.”
He gave a small shrug. “I’m fine with that. It’s your call.”
“Meet for dinner?” she asked.
He paused, looking like he wanted to say something, but either he changed his mind or the right words didn’t form. Instead, he simply nodded. “Do you like Indian food?”
“I love Indian food.”
“Great. I’ll text you with the name of a great little place near your hotel.” She could see that he was both frustrated and slightly sad, and she wished she could change that, but she couldn’t.
“Sounds good.” She gathered her things, and he walked her to the door where they said goodbye. When she got down to the street, she looked up at his window to see him standing there, hands in his pockets as he stared down at her.
Noelle had run some errands and stopped in a couple of shops, looking for the perfect gifts for Callie, Paula, and Chantilly. She had dropped her purchases back at her hotel room and had picked up the cash in the duffel bag she’d left in the safe in the closet and was heading to Louise’s house.
It was interesting being back in Reno. She’d held some amount of fear inside about returning to the place where so many personal tragedies had occurred to her. But she was surprised to find that everywhere she turned, there were good memories too. And while they didn’t cancel out the bad ones, they helped dispel the anxiety she’d felt about being back in her hometown. Another victory, some more closure. And she was grateful.
Her phone rang as she was walking through the hotel lobby, and she pulled it from her purse, smiling to see that it was a FaceTime call from Callie.
“Hi, Sugar Plum.” Her daughter’s lovely face filled the screen and made her smile.
“Hi, Mommy!”
“How’s my girl?”
“Good! Me and Paula went shell hunting, and I found the biggest one ever! I put it on my shelf.” She turned the camera around for a moment so Noelle could see the large shell sitting among her books and other favorite items.