Chaingang

“I've been asking everybody who was part of the land deal, that I could find. Some don't want to talk. Some don't know anything, or they're damn good actors. Others—they've vanished or they've gone into hiding or been abducted or ... whatever. I know this guy, I see him around the bars and stuff. He's got a job out there at the big construction site. He let it slip that he'd overheard Kelly McCauley, Marty Kerns's secretary, talking about others being missing. Mr. and Mrs. Poindexter. Rusty Ellis. Sam. All parties to the big land deal. And Sinclair or somebody else Sam had been dealing with has been in touch with the cops or they've found him.” For the first time he was consciously aware he'd neglected to ask the McCauley girl about who that was.

“I acted like I was a sheriff and called her. Confirmed the business about Gill and Betty Poindexter and Ellis being missing. But I forgot to ask about the cops having had contact with the firm Sam was representing. She probably wouldn't have known much. Marty Kerns knows a lot of information that he's been keeping from you."

“Son of a—” She was beet red with anger. Getting up to get her purse and car keys. “I'll get an answer from him, and it had better be a good one or—"

“Keep your cool if you can, Mary. You might need him before this is over."

“I'll keep my cool, all right.” She was raging. This was no surprise. She'd known that Kerns had information he wasn't giving her. “Come on, if you want to go with me."

“I probably would just make it worse. He'll be more likely to talk if I'm not there. We don't get along."

“Stay here, Royce. I'll come back as soon as I talk to him."

“Okay."

“Thanks.” She looked at him with deep feelings, wanting to say more, but too full of this news to articulate it. He nodded and smiled, and she was gone.

At first Marty Kerns was cool, and tried to play it close to his vest, but when she started screaming she was going to the paper, calling her state senators, and suing the town—among other things—he opened up and told her about the case for the first time.

“It's something that looks a lot worse than it really is, Mary; that's part of the reason you weren't brought up to speed about the others that are missing. We're pretty certain it is just coincidence, and the last thing you want to do is start rumors in a little town like Waterton. That's the other aspect of it. If some of these folks got the idea people were vanishing or somethin', you'd have a panic on your hands in no time. People would be spotting UFOs, and serial killers, and God knows what! The truth is that people turn up missing all the time, even in small towns. The police get routine calls every day from somebody whose wife or husband has been missing for a couple days. Ninety-five percent of the time it's a ... uh ... domestic problem or something. Not like your situation with Mr. Sam. You get older folks vanish all the time, Mary. They wonder off and get lost or lose track of what time it is—things like that. Usually it's no big deal. It isn't this time either. It just could be blown up outta proportion because a couple of the people happened to have been doing some business in a real estate deal. That's the only reason you weren't told. It wasn't necessarily that relevant."

“Relevant? It seems very relevant to me. And why did you purposely withhold the information that you'd been in touch with somebody who had business dealings on the land sale and had been in contact with Sam? Wasn't that relevant either?"

“I don't know what you mean. We never had contact with any ... Oh, you mean the guy with CCC? That didn't have a bearing on your husband's disappearance."

“How can that be?"

“He had never been in personal contact with Sam. Only with his representative, who was Mr. Sinclair, the one who had the dealings here in town. He knew nothing about Sam being gone."

“Well, where is this Sinclair?"

“He's out of the country, is what Mr. Fisher said."

“Who's Mr. Fisher?"

“He's the man putting together the park out there.” He gestured to the north of town. “If you want to talk with him, I'll be glad to set it up for you, but I promise you you'll be wasting your time."

“Please give me his number. I certainly do want to talk to him.” She felt like this stupid slob had violated her, lying to her as he had about her husband.

“I understand he'll be in town tomorrow. Why don't you get together with the gentleman if it will ease your mind?"

“Fine."

“I'll take you out to meet him myself, in the morning if you like."

“That's all right,” she said. “I've got my own car."

“Fine. I'll call him when he gets in town tonight and tell him you will be coming out sometime in the morning to talk with him. How's that?” She nodded. “He'll be somewhere out there with the construction crew, I imagine. Name is Joseph Fisher. Okay?"

“I'll be there."