Allan Retzky - Vanished in the Dunes

“I think I saw it in my rearview mirror on the highway. Then when I got into the village and it came closer, I could see it was the same small blue car I’d seen hanging around my house the day before. I stopped and let it go past and I was sure of it.”

“Recognize the driver?”

“No. It went by too fast and I had just stopped.”

“Okay,” Wisdom sighs into the receiver and sips from a small bottle of Poland Springs.

“What can you tell me about the car? New? Size? Make? Whatever you remember.”

“It was small and blue. I think domestic. Kind of shiny so I guess it was new.”

“Anything else?”

“Sorry. That’s all I remember.”

Wisdom draws another breath.

“We’ll look into it. You can be sure. And if you see a police cruiser in your area, it’ll be one of ours just looking around for your friend. Now as long as you’re on the phone, I did want to postpone our meeting. Something came up on our side.”

“Till when?”

“Just for a few days. Let’s shoot for Friday. At about two. I’ll confirm in the morning. Is that okay?”

“It’s okay,” says Posner, but in the back of his mind, he still sees things building up too fast.

Events are closing in on him. Then he remembers that Sara will be out on Friday, and he won’t be alone, but Wisdom has already hung up.

Wisdom can’t hang up the phone fast enough before he calls Bennett, but all he can do is leave a message. He paces, squirms, and chews at a fingernail for twenty minutes until Bennett calls back. Another two minutes to update Bennett. Afterward there is only silence.

“You still there?”

“Yeah. Just looking for something that came in yesterday from NYPD.”

“What’s that?”

“Seems our doctor friend rented another car from Avis. We tracked him through his credit card. Guess what kind of car he took off in?”

“Don’t know the model, but I bet the color was blue.”

“Bingo! And for the record it was a new Ford Focus. Supposed to get good gas mileage. By the way, in about five minutes you should get a color photo of the car courtesy of the Ford PR department.”

“So the doctor is out here somewhere. This could turn into a big problem since he’s already told us he thinks that either Welbrook or Posner are involved in Heidi’s disappearance. Guess Posner was right. I mean, he is being tailed. Now we just need to find the doctor. The way this is going, any linkup with Brigid could be a real donnybrook.”

“Then it’ll have to wait a bit till we find the good doctor. Time to put out an APB on Stern’s car. It’s quieter now so patrol can pay more attention.”

“I’m on it. I’ll fill the chief in then check all the places where he might be holed up. We’ve got a pretty complete listing of places he could stay and things are relatively slow, so I can put a few people on it. If he’s here it shouldn’t take more than a few hours. That’s unless he’s staying at some friend’s house.”

“I doubt that. From what I remember, he doesn’t know anyone out here.”

“Except for Welbrook and Posner.”

“I’ve already arranged to have a car cruise regularly by Posner’s house. Welbrook lives in the same neighborhood, so we can double dip the surveillance.”

“Good. So what do you make of all this?’

Wisdom hesitates in silence for almost ten seconds before he speaks.

“Four things.

“One. I think the doctor killed Heidi. I know it’s still only a hunch, but he did have the motive of jealousy, as well as the opportunity when he disappeared for a day in a rented car without an alibi.

“Two. I think she’s probably buried out here somewhere unless he found a way to lose her in the ocean.

“Three. I think he’s been trying to pin the deed on either Posner or Welbrook.”

“What’s the fourth?”

“I think he’s nuts. I mean the doctor.”

They agree on two points. One is that it’s still too early to officially bring in County although Bennett will keep them warm. They also plan to speak again as soon as Wisdom hears back on the possible location where the doctor may be staying. He collects the car photo and arranges to have all cruisers in town have a copy together with the doctor’s description. His orders are to identify, report in, and follow the subject without being noticed, but not to approach.

Wisdom’s done all he can think of. He wants to update Brigid, but decides to wait until he knows more. He’s prepared to stay at his desk all night. As it turns out, he gets a message about Stern within thirty minutes and calls Bennett without even dropping the receiver.

“He was at the East Hampton Motor Inn. At least until yesterday morning. Stayed there about a week. Paid in cash but gave them a credit card as security when he first checked in. Also used his real name so he wasn’t looking to hide his identity or anything.”

“Anyone know where he went?”

“Negative.”

“So he could still be around town somewhere.”

“That’s for sure, only he might also have taken off when he figured that Posner made him. I mean he might have left our little piece of paradise and decided to either come back later or drop the whole thing.”

“What whole thing?”

“That he wants some kind of confrontation with either Welbrook or Posner. Who the hell knows what that could lead to?”

“And we’ve got to watch them both because Stern probably doesn’t know Welbrook’s no longer a probable.”

“Roger that. And I’d better fill in Welbrook just to be on the safe side. I’ll also see if I can scare up a few unmarkeds to watch both houses.”

“Good. How’s the sister, Brigid?”

“Okay, I guess. I’ll have to call her later. She deserves to be filled in, especially with a possible mental case roaming around.”

Later turns out to mean about four thirty. He’s done everything else he could think of. Now they need to wait and see if Stern turns up, either around here or back in the city. He checks in with NYPD, but Stern hasn’t returned to his apartment and Avis says the car is still out.

That’s when he decides to call Brigid, and only then does he realize why he’d been putting it off. He’s embarrassed. They’ve spoken only once to set up the first appointment with a man Wisdom referred to only as a “local,” but he hasn’t seen her since that afternoon at her house. They both knew that her brief dress-up time had turned him on. He doesn’t want to feel that way again so he hasn’t called. It’s a stupid sequence, so he breaks the cycle and calls. The phone rings four times before the machine clicks in. It’s funny. He hears her voice, but at the same time it doesn’t sound like her. He leaves a detailed message and hangs up. He’s actually relieved he doesn’t need to talk with her at that moment. In a way he’s broken the ice without the need to go farther.

By six o’clock nothing turns up and he decides to head home. During the drive, he tries to evaluate whether Stern might now be physically dangerous. He still thinks the doctor is putting on a big act to shift blame to another, but he can’t discount that the man has likely already killed. His assumption is that if Stern feels cornered, he might well become violent, especially in a confrontation with Welbrook or Posner.

He manages to shower and change into jeans and a sweatshirt before dinner. Karen’s made a root vegetable stew with some of her food co-op’s autumn overflow.

“I assume that you’re giving some of this away because even if you use the stuff up at this rate there’ll be enough left for the whole winter,” he says as he manages to fish bits of parsnip, potato, and carrot onto his fork.

The phone rings before she can answer, but he knows she’ll distribute most of it to a local food pantry. Karen answers and in a moment puts her hand over the mouthpiece.