“Not much. She lives on her own. She came by Sunday to drop off her dog so I could watch him. She had a wedding to go to.”

“Whose wedding?” Matty asked.

“A friend of Sadie’s named Janelle Halloway. Sadie was supposed to come by after work yesterday to pick up the dog, but she never showed. I called her but got no answer. I kept calling until around eleven; that’s when I phoned you folks. I got a call around four-thirty this morning. Said Sadie was…” Mr. Vauk paused to let a quiver pass his lips. “She was here at the hospital.”

“I know this is difficult, Mr. Vauk,” Niki said. “Only a few more questions. Was Sadie dating anyone?”

“No one she told me about.”

Matty asked, “Did she have any enemies?”

“No.” The word came out sharp and strong, as if Mr. Vauk had been insulted.

“Anyone make her nervous lately? Call her too much?”

“Nothing like that. Everybody loves Sadie.”

Niki asked, “Has she said anything since the other detective left?”

“She’s been asleep.”

“We’re going to talk to her and ask her some questions, and we’d prefer it if you weren’t in the room,” Niki said.

“She’s my daughter.”

“Exactly,” Niki said. “Sometimes we ask questions that are…Well, they’re the kind of things a girl might not want to talk about in front of her father.”

“I’d rather be there.”

“We need to speak with her alone,” Niki said. “It’ll help the investigation. We want to catch this guy as much as you do, Mr. Vauk.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, ma’am. Ain’t no one on God’s green earth that wants to catch that son of a bitch more ’n me. I’m her father. I was supposed to protect her.”

“I understand,” Niki said. “We need to do our job now, so this doesn’t happen to anyone else.”

“You find out who did this and I’ll god damn guarantee you he never does it to anyone else. I got friends who’ll make sure of that, guys from the brotherhood if you get my drift.”

Matty, who stood all of five foot nine, calmly stepped forward and looked the six-foot-plus Mr. Vauk in the eye and said, “Mr. Vauk, I know you’re angry, but we’ll be the ones handling this case. And right now, we need to talk to her alone. Is that all right with you?”

Vauk seemed to wilt under Matty’s stare. He nodded. “I’m just saying…”

“We understand,” Niki said. “Why don’t you go grab a coffee or something. This won’t take long.”

Vauk nodded and hesitantly walked away.

Inside the room, Matty stayed near the door while Niki walked to the side of the bed, put her hand on Sadie’s arm, and gave it a light squeeze.

Sadie opened her eyes in confusion, as if she had no memory of where she was or how she’d gotten there. She looked almost unbearably young and scared. Her breath quickened when she saw the detectives and her eyes darted around the room searching for her father.