“Thank you for your help, Jonah. I hope we can speak again. By the way, what’s the topic of your webcast?”

“Sorry, my what?”

“Your webcast.”

“Oh.” He looked sick. “Today’s topic is ‘Our Path to Joy.’ ”

Chapter 47

Still Missing

Gurney used the quarter hour prior to Hardwick’s and Esti’s scheduled arrival at nine o’clock to type and print out three copies of what he’d jotted down the day before on a legal pad—the case’s key points.

Esti was the first to arrive but only by a minute. As she was parking her hot blue Mini Cooper by the asparagus bed, Hardwick’s red GTO was rumbling up past the barn.

She stepped out of the little car, and her T-shirt, cutoff jeans, and relaxed smile all proclaimed a day off from the job. Her caramel skin glowed in the morning sunlight. As she approached the side door, she cast a curious glance at the flat stones marking the rooster’s grave.

Gurney opened the screen door and shook hands with her.

“Hey,” she said, “it’s so gorgeous today, we should stay out here.”

Gurney returned the smile. “That’d be nice. Problem is, I have some videos inside I want you and Jack to see.”

“Just a thought. The sun feels good on my skin.”

Hardwick pulled his car in next to hers, got out, and swung the heavy door shut. Without bothering to acknowledge her or Gurney, he shaded his eyes with his hand and began scanning the surrounding fields and wooded hillsides.

She gave him a sideways glance. “You looking for somebody?”

He didn’t answer, just continued what he was doing.

Gurney followed his gaze until it reached Barrow Hill, realizing then what was on the man’s mind. “That’s the most likely spot,” said Gurney.

Hardwick nodded. “At the top of that narrow trail?”

“It’s actually an overgrown quarry road.”

Hardwick stayed focused on the hill. “Pretty good distance from here. He’d need to be really good. Maybe twelve hundred feet?”

“Maybe a little more. Not too different from Long Falls.”

Esti looked alarmed. “You guys talking about a sniper?”

“A possible location for one,” said Gurney. “There’s a place near the top of that hill that would be my choice if I were targeting someone who lived in this house. Clear view of the side door, clear view of the cars.”

She turned to Hardwick. “Every place you go now, that’s what you’re checking out? Sniper spots?”

“With two rounds in the side of my house, it’s on my mind these days. Areas surrounded by good cover concern me.”

Her eyes widened. “So maybe instead of standing here like sitting ducks, staring at a place we could be shot from, we should go inside, yes?”