“Finding him wasn’t complicated. He’ll be here tomorrow early afternoon,” she said. “Nate showed Ricky the photos of several cops—none in uniform, we didn’t want to taint his ID—and he picked out Detective Carl Chavez as one of the men who was in his house the night his parents disappeared. He said he acted like he was in charge, ordered three other men to search the house and shred papers, and took something from Denise Albright’s office that Ricky believed was a deed. I don’t have Ricky’s official statement and I recognize that a court is going to be hesitant about accepting the testimony of a child who is relying on an old memory, but I believe him. So does Nate.”

Rachel pulled over a chair and sat down. “A cop. And it wasn’t a welfare check or something?”

“No. It was the Friday they disappeared. It happened about the same time they allegedly crossed the border, days before the sheriff’s office was called about a welfare check, and we now believe they were already dead. The men had keys to the house and came in without knocking. Ricky hid.” Lucy told Rachel everything that Ricky told Nate.

Rachel said, “I’ll call Abigail tonight and see how she wants to proceed.”

Lucy was actually relieved she didn’t have to make this call. “Nate and I were skeptical of the initial police investigation into the Albrights’ disappearance and how both Detectives Chavez and Douglas reacted during our conversations with them. Chavez wouldn’t say much, told us that it was Douglas’s case, that Douglas was the senior agent, but he was part of every interview. We didn’t trust either of them—not because we thought they were corrupt, but because we thought they were incompetent. And now I can’t say for certain that Douglas is not involved. They’ve both been in the department for years, they’re friends. And,” Lucy continued, “Douglas was furious that I didn’t call him when we served the warrant on the bank.”

“He has a point there—it’s common courtesy—but I see why you held back. We can’t tell him until we know more. But Abigail is going to want to talk to the sheriff directly so he can decide how to handle an investigation. Write up everything you know—facts, not conjecture—and send it to me. Then when Ricky Albright arrives, he’s going to have to make a formal statement. I’ll work on that—Abigail will know exactly how to proceed, but likely Ricky can give his testimony directly to a judge, who can then decide on a warrant for Chavez and possibly Douglas.”

“I’ll get it to you within the hour—I’ve been working on it.”