“We did, and we’re still investigating.”

“What about the people who gave Kevin Tatum a lift when he got gas, this Cass and Gibby?”

“We located them, and spoke to them.”

“What did they tell you?”

“Let’s say they corroborated Tatum’s timeline.”

Wyatt’s eyebrows lifted slightly, and he made a note. “And the gas station where Kevin Tatum walked to get gas? Any security video there? Anything arise from it?”

“All I can tell you is that interviews were conducted.”

“What about Kevin Tatum and the motel manager? Have they been ruled out?”

“We don’t consider them suspects.”

Wyatt made another note.

“And Leo Barzi, the friend whose pickup Tatum and Moore used—is it possible Barzi had a role in Moore’s disappearance?”

“We don’t consider Barzi a suspect.”

“Barzi has an interest in the dark history of the region, specifically the mystery surrounding some of the disappearances over the years.”

“We’re aware of that.”

“And he asked Tatum to record their trip along Lucifer’s Notch. Isn’t that a concern?”

“It’s something we’re keeping an open mind on.”

“I took a look at the Vermont State Police interactive map, and you’ve got something like thirty to forty unsolved missing-person cases across the state—some in the region where Moore vanished, and some going back decades. People say the region might be haunted, or that one person is behind some of the mysterious vanishings.”

“Yes,” Noble said. “And this is true of just about every state. Every jurisdiction has unsolved missing-person cases and conspiracy theories that orbit them.”

“Are you familiar with the Hydra case, the unsolved series of murders in New Jersey’s Meadowlands, Long Island, New York, and the metro areas of Philadelphia and Boston?”

“I am, and it was central to your series on the Starving Wolf case.”

“Then you know that some homicide experts speculate that the Hydra Killer might actually have been active earlier in the Northeast Kingdom, because of its proximity to Boston and New York, its remoteness, and the chilling number of unsolved cases in the area over the years.”

“That’s interesting academic speculation. Still, I’ll admit that we can’t rule anything out.”

“So, do you have any suspects or persons of interest in Moore’s case?”

“Not at this time.”

“Do you have any theories as to what happened to her?”

“We have a few.”

“Can you share them?”

“No, I’m afraid I’m not prepared to do that, Ray.”

“She could’ve been taken across the country, even up into Canada. There are places to cross undetected, if you really wanted to.”

“Absolutely.”

“Or it’s possible she’s being held somewhere?”

“That’s possible.”

“She could’ve been murdered, and you have not yet found her body.”

“Also possible.”

“So which scenario do you consider most likely?”

“We can’t rule any of them out.”