“But Reed Harris was at the White Oak Casino. Went there after tending bar at the Dizzy Duck. We have footage of him there all night. Didn’t leave until eleven in the morning. David Haas was home from work by then, so we know Reed had nothing to do with it.”

“You talked to Mr. Harris?”

“Yes. Even searched his house.”

“You…” Max hadn’t expected that. “You had probable cause to search his house?”

“Consent search. Did it myself.”

“Just you?”

Bolger crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. “Yeah. Just me. And I didn’t find a thing to suggest that his wife or boy had been there—ever.”

“What was his demeanor?”

Bolger shook his head as his umbrage reared once again. “He was upset, but cooperative. He acted like a man who had nothing to do with his wife skipping town.”

“Ex-wife.”

“Whatever.”

“I assume you took a look at Sandy’s phone records?”

“I did. Haas called her a bunch of times, but that’s it. We tracked her through the cell towers down to Minneapolis. She stopped at a convenience store on the north end of the city to gas up. Used her credit card there. After that, she must have gotten tired of Haas calling, because she turned off her phone. That’s where her trail ends.”

“Did you get surveillance footage from the store?”

“They didn’t have any.”

“Did you look for footage from any of the surrounding businesses?”

“What for? We know what happened.”

“Do you?”

“Yes, we do.” Bolger’s voice turned stiff. “I know Lyle doesn’t want to believe it, but his daughter ran off. She got tired of Haas and Grand Rapids, so she left. I don’t need video of it to know what’s what. If my ol’ lady comes home carrying bags of groceries and a receipt from the grocery store, I don’t need a goddamned video to know she went shopping.”

“This is a missing-person case,” Max said, keeping his tone even. “We’re not talking about a trip to the grocery store. You have two people gone and—”

“Jesus, you’re just like Lyle.”

Max couldn’t help but let his voice tick up a notch. “Did you check Haas’s time card? Did you talk to his fellow employees? What about calls made by other phones near her home? Did you check the cell towers for other traffic?”

“I sat down with you out of common courtesy, Detective. I’m not going to entertain Lyle Voight’s fantasy no matter who he sends in here to spin it. His daughter ran off. That’s the end of it. Now, I’ve wasted more time than I care to on this crap. If you want to be a sidekick to Don Quixote out there, be my guest. We’re done here.”

Bolger stood, gathered up his laptop and file, and walked out without another word.

Max remained seated for another minute before walking across the hall to the receptionist. She was an older woman, and Max thought it likely she was a holdover from Lyle’s time. If that were the case, she might have a soft spot for the request Max was about to make.