“C’mon. Bear with me for a second, Will. Some of the things Tally said about Shannan and the way she grew up made me think the two girls share some emotional DNA. I just want to check it out.” I grip the table in front of me, cool and flat and real. “This isn’t a vision I’m talking about. When Tally called Karen, she opened up and shared all kinds of things, how there was a lot of upheaval in Shannan’s childhood, men coming and going, exposure to violence. I know she was hard as nails with you, but if I can get Karen to talk to me, we might learn a whole lot more about how Shannan may have crossed paths with a psychopath.”

He sighs and I see how tired he is. We’re both running on steam. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

“It’s a long shot, but honestly, all the breadcrumbs matter, I guess.”

“That’s right. They do.”

(forty-five)

Early the next morning, I head to Gualala to Karen Russo’s workplace, a dated-looking salon called Rumor’s All About Hair. She’s leaning against the front desk when I walk in, a pretty if slightly hardened brunette in a dark smock over belled jeans and high cork-bottomed wedges. I put her in her midthirties, which means she probably had Shannan at eighteen or nineteen.

As soon as I introduce myself, Karen’s eyes flatten. She’s had enough of cops and reporters. Maybe I should have brought Tally with me, I think too late.

“I’m working here, all right?” she throws out.

“Just fifteen minutes for coffee?”

“I don’t have much to say.”

“That’s okay. I’ll be waiting across the street at the coffee shop. I only have a few questions.”

—

Forty-five minutes later, she finally turns up. I’ve had three cups of coffee, all watered-down diner coffee, but my palms are clammy anyway, my optimism waning.

“I have someone at eleven,” she says. “A regular client. I can’t be late.”

“Understood. I just want to get a clearer picture of your daughter if possible, Ms. Russo. What can you tell me about Shannan’s habits, before all this, I mean?”

“She was bored, in trouble a lot.”

“She was a senior in high school when she went missing, am I right?”

“She never cared about school and I gave up trying to get her there. Honestly, I gave up a lot of things. I know that sounds shitty. Shannan didn’t want a mother. She didn’t want anyone to care about her.”

Karen’s toughness may be a defense, as Tally suggested, but it’s a formidable one. “That must have been hard, her pushing you away.”

She squints, her lashes thick with inky mascara that’s so black it’s almost blue. “I had plenty of time to get used to it.”