Where did he go to college? Kate asked.

Oh, thats right here, DeMarco said, holding up one her sheets of paper. VCU. He attended for two years before dropping out.

Any idea how Wendy and Alvin met, Sheriff? Kate asked.

No idea. They didnt always live here. Came into town about fifteen years or so ago. Right when little Mercy was a baby.

Any idea why they moved here?

Not really. I knew they were from somewhere around the Roanoke area. I always figured it was easier for a family to get by on very little money out here. Alvin had a good job at the lumber mill out in Deerfield. Around here, its not a job to sneeze at, you know?

Do you know if he had that job since the first day? Maybe he moved here specifically for that job?

No, I asked that when I spoke to his boss. According to them, their records show that he applied for the job after coming to Deton. So if he moved here for a specific reason, it wasnt that. And while I do love my town, its not really the sort of place people move to just for the hell of it, you know?

And his employer there said nothing was out of the ordinary, right?

Right. He was just as shocked as anyone.

As Barnes stepped back out of the room, Kate reclined back in her seat a bit and landed on a particular thought. It didnt seem important per se, but it did seem a little odd. She spoke out it out loud to DeMarco, hoping they could figure it out between them.

So why would a married couple with a baby that wasnt even one year old yet move to a place like this if there wasnt already a steady job lined up?

That does seem weird, DeMarco said. Maybe they were trying to get away from something?

Maybe. What she didnt say out loud was: And if they were running from something, did it come all the way to Deton fifteen years later to catch up to them?

***

At some point, someone ordered pizza and someone else put on a pot of coffee. When Foster came into the room to offer them pizza, Kate looked to her watch and was surprised to find that it had somehow come to be 6:30. She stood up and stretched, realizing that she could indeed go for a few slices of pizza.

Another officer came in behind Foster and handed over a single sheet of paper. Kate took it and saw that it was one of the several documents she had asked for when this whole Fuller excavation had started. It was a copy of Wendy and Alvin Fullers marriage certificate. Theyd been married twenty-one years ago, at an old vineyard-based colonial retreat in Waynesboro, Virginia.

This is great, Kate said, though it didnt really tell them much of anything. How are we looking on those medical records?