Side Story #1 - Colt - Page 31

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'Yeah, he was,' said Colt. 'We don't know the details of his death, though. There could be any number of wrinkles in that story.'

'True enough,' said Boh. 'And we've got plenty of reason to be suspicious of her already.'

'She still not concerned about her missing dog at all?'

'Nope. Hasn't mentioned him once, as far as I can tell. You said his name was Brick, right?'

'Yeah. Has she mentioned anyone else around town during her arguments with the other two? Like someone she might've been comfortable entrusting him to?'

'No one like that, but I have heard them talking about other people. Names I'm not familiar with.'

Colt supposed that was as good a start as any. 'How many names?'

'Just two. Fred and Nina.'

'Nina Margot is Rex's mother,' said Colt. 'She works at the local daycare.'

'Ah. That would make sense, then. Janet was worried how Nina was feeling. What about this Fred?'

'The only Fred I know in town is Fred Millerman. Easy to spot. One of the wealthiest people in Orden. Huge, nasty burn car on his face.' Colt thought back to the crime scene. 'I think he probably had some personal ties to Rex, too. Found a painting in Rex's home with the Fred's initials on it. And an inscription. Said it was a gift. Said Rex was the inscriber's "savior." '

'I remember you mentioning something like that when we were discussing the case before.'

'Good. Why were they talking about someone named Fred?'

'They were debating whether or not they should go talk to him. Janet thinks he might be able to help, but the other two are stonewalling her. I can't tell whether her arguments are convincing them or vice versa.'

'Hmm.'

After that, not much more progress was made. Janet was staying put in a hotel and seemed, in some ways, even more confused about what was happening than Colt was. Bohwanox was increasingly of the opinion that they wouldn't be able to learn anything else of value from her.

Colt didn't want to believe that. She had to know more, didn't she? Her behavior was way too strange.

He supposed Fred Millerman was a decent new lead to pursue, though. But how to go about it?

Fortunately, Colt already had an appointment, of sorts. Before the murder had even taken place, Colt had ordered a new stroller from Fred's store. That was the perfect excuse to go see him, at least.

Less fortunately, the stroller wouldn't arrive until the end of the week.

So he had a few days to kill.

Well, whatever.

This was far from a standard police investigation. He could wait it out. There was no sense in rushing things and potentially exposing himself to danger needlessly.

So he waited.

And every day, Alice kept coming back to check in on Brick, which didn't exactly help Colt uncover any new leads. Her presence was rather distracting, to say the least.

The twins seemed to be taking a liking to her, though. And so did the fucking dog, if that mattered.

Colt, meanwhile, was struggling. On the one hand, it was good to be building a real rapport with someone from the town, but on the other...

On the other, he couldn't even articulate why it was bad. Because he didn't trust her? Because she was too damned nice? What was it?

How was it possible to want someone to both stay and leave at the same time?

Was he an idiot?

Maybe he was.

He had to keep his head clear. He had to focus on what really mattered.

Eventually, he finally got the idea to try using Alice as a source of information for the case again. He had previously figured that he'd already gotten everything that he could out of her, but there didn't seem to be any harm in trying again. They were able to talk a bit more casually now, too. He had more conversational space to work with, he supposed.

"Do you know anything about Fred Millerman?" he asked. Hopefully, that question didn't sound too heavy-handed.

Alice brightened. "Oh, Fred? He's a big sweetheart. One of the nicest people I've ever met, though he's reluctant to show it, I think. He helps me out all the time."

Given her poor standing with the rest of the town, that probably meant a lot to her, Colt figured. He didn't want to read too much into things, but over the last few days, he'd gotten the impression that Alice really was just starved for social interaction. She enjoyed herself way too much during these "check up" visits for Brick.

It had to be because almost no one else in town would give her the time of day. But if Fred Millerman was different, then it made sense that she would hold strong affection for him, too.

Colt had to consider his next question carefully. His relationship with Alice might've improved, but he knew that he was about to broach a sensitive subject regarding someone she obviously cared about. "Do you know what happened, ah... to his face?"

Alice's soft expression became even softer, and she frowned. "His burn scars..."

Colt had an inkling of where he'd gotten them from, but he wanted confirmation. Rather than pressing further, he just waited quietly for Alice's answer.

"...You remember the fire I told you about before?" she said.

"Yeah."

"That was where he got them."

So his was hunch was right, then. He was still short on details, though. "What happened, exactly?"

She took a breath and shook her head. "He was a hero. He tried to save those children. Even though he arrived too late to help anyone, he charged in, anyway."

A hero? Colt found that surprising. Recalling what she'd told him previously, she had been out of the country when the fire took place, so this information that she was giving him must've been secondhand. Or she was lying, of course. But he would give her the benefit of the doubt, for now.

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