Good people dont always attract other good people, though, Kate pointed out.

But in this kind of town…everyone knows everyone. It makes me think that if no one has offered any sort of evidence or theories, the killer might be an outsider.

Thats likely, Kate said. But I think the fact that a fifteen-year-old girl is missing might be more important. Locals are of course going to assume that the girl was taken. But if we take that small-town filter away from it and dont assume that everyone is a good person, what others theories does that bring up?

That the daughter may not have been taken, DeMarco said. She spoke slowly, as if considering the idea very carefully. That she may have run away. That she may be the killer.

Exactly. And Ive seen this sort of thing before. If we get into Deton spouting off that theory, were going to get sour looks and closed doors.

I assumed as much.

Thats not to say we dont treat it like a kidnapping case from the start. But we also cant go in assuming the daughter is the killer, either.

Not until we know more about her, DeMarco said.

Thats right. And I feel like thats where we need to start. Because if everyone in town sees the Fullers as good people, I can pretty much promise you that no one is properly looking into the daughter as a suspect.

So thats where we start, DeMarco said.

Yes, but maybe under the radar. If they find out were starting off with the fifteen-year-old daughter of the recently deceased as the primary suspect, this case is going to be much harder than it has to be.

It was a foreboding statement, one that seemed even more pressing as they passed by a sign that told them Deton was only seven miles ahead.

***

Deton wasnt quite as small as Kate had been expecting, but it was still quite rural. It seemed as if any business of any real importance was located along the main strip of highway that ran through the town. There was no Main Street, just a patch of Highway 44 that ran through it. Secondary roads meandered off of 44, snaking their way back into Detons less populated area.

The bulk of the town consisted of a Rite Aid, a Burger King, a Dollar General, and several smaller local businesses. Kate had seen hundreds of little towns just like this during a career that had taken her all across the country and she felt that they all looked the same. Of course, that did not mean the people and their cultures were the same. To think such a thing would be a huge mistake.