Last Seen. Rick Mofina

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       13

      Long before the knock on the door had ended Detective Price’s interview with Cal, across the hall in Interview Room 403, Detective Leon Lang slid a tissue box closer to Faith Hudson.

      “Faith, I know you’re devastated and exhausted but the sooner we get through this, the faster Detective Price and I can go to the next step.”

      “I’ve told you everything.” She touched a tissue to her eyes. “How can I sit here talking to you when every fiber in me is screaming that my child, my baby, is missing and when—” her fingers tightened into fists, her knuckles whitened “—when I don’t know where Gage is, if he’s safe, if he’s warm, if someone’s hurting him.”

      “I know this is hard but we have to work together to help Gage, all right?”

      Lang’s soft smile was assuring, his tranquil demeanor calming. That he had a daughter close to Gage’s age made his compassion genuine.

      “All right.” Her voice was barely a whisper.

      “Good,” he said, and consulted his notes. “Before we move on, I want to go back to the last moment you saw Gage. You say that you saw him in the spinner at the exits with Cal?”

      “Yes, the last I saw him he was with Cal.”

      “You’re certain about that?” Lang checked his notes. “Because in your initial statement to Officer Ripkowski you indicated you weren’t sure.”

      “Yes, there was confusion—the floor was spinning, the strobe lights and the guy with the saw—but I’m sure I saw him with Cal.” Her chin crumpled.

      “But he obviously wasn’t with Cal when you exited.”

      “No.” She shook her head and brushed her tears.

      “All right, I want to move on. Does Gage take any medication of any kind?”

      “No.”

      “Does he have any chronic illness or injury or condition?”

      “No.”

      “Has he ever needed or received counseling for any issues?”

      “No.”

      “Any problems in school?”

      “Academically?”

      “Start with that, yes.”

      “No, his grades are good. He likes school. He completes his assignments. He’s very bright. He told me he wants to be an architect, that he wants to design buildings and stadiums.”

      “What about peer pressure or bullying at school?”

      “No, nothing that I’m aware of.”

      Lang made notes while Faith glanced again at the camera up in the corner that was recording everything.

      “Has anyone moved in or out of your neighborhood recently?”

      Faith thought. “The Robinsons at the end of the block—they’re accountants. They retired and moved to Nevada about two months ago. A family—the Carrutherses, from Seattle—moved in with twin teens, a boy and a girl. They keep to themselves, pretty much. I think the dad works at O’Hare for United or Delta.”

      “Have you observed anyone taking special interest in Gage?”

      “No.”

      “Anyone acting suspicious around him?”

      “No.”

      “Tell me about Cal, his personality. Just quick descriptors—would you say he’s calm or nervous?”

      “Calm.”

      “Overly suspicious or overly trusting?”

      “Well, he’s a crime reporter, so I’d say suspicious.”

      “Self-centered or a team player?”

      “I’d lean to self-centered.”

      “Heartless or compassionate?”

      “Depends.”

      “How?”

      “If he needs an interview with someone, he can be as compassionate as he needs to be. If he’s trying to beat his competition on a story, he can be heartless, ruthless even.”

      “Would you say your husband is a giver or a taker?”

      Faith considered the question for a moment. “A taker.”

      “A taker?”

      “He’s often at work, or with friends, or sources. Taking Gage to the fair was like a gift of his time to us.”

      “Would you characterize him as a workaholic?”

      She nodded.

      “Is that a source of tension for you and Cal?”

      She took a moment to respond. “No. We’ve adapted.”

      “Would you say Cal is solitary or needs to be with others?”

      She brushed a tear from the corner of her eye.

      “Solitary.”

      “Deceptive or truthful?”

      “Truthful, unless he’s suspected someone has deceived him.”

      “What do you mean?”

      “If he’s dealing with unsavory types for a story, that sort of thing, he’ll do whatever it takes to get at the truth.”

      “Would you say he was arrogant, or humble?”

      “Somewhere СКАЧАТЬ