“Don’t be naïve. They could make a lot more trouble for me from in here.”

“Look, I need some answers here. There’s a girl who allegedly committed suicide because her uncle abused her—an uncle who went by the name of Milo Sanchez, which just happens to be the name of a man who had the same tattoo as one of Talon’s abductors. It’s possible that this young woman didn’t kill herself, but that she was murdered. I need to know where to find that man. And as for Tom Simpson? He has disappeared.”

Larry widened his eyes again. “He has?”

“Yes. About a week ago. No one’s seen him or heard from him. Do you have any idea where he might be?”

“If I did, I wouldn’t be able to tell you.”

“Because they’d kill you?”

“Yes.”

I felt kind of caught between a rock and a hard place. I wouldn’t mind seeing Larry get the shit kicked out of him, but I also needed him alive, to answer my questions. Problem was, so far he had refused to do so. If only we were sitting at the table, right in front of each other. I’d be able to play with his head a little better.

I opened my mouth to speak, but he spoke first.

“So have you told your friend about your suspicion?”

“You mean about his father?”

Larry nodded.

“No, I haven’t. Not yet.”

“Your brother?”

“Not yet. I need proof. That has to come from you.”

No response.

“The mayor told me that you and he go way back. That you went to high school together in Grand Junction.”

“That’s right.”

“Any chance Theodore Mathias went to that same school?”

No response.

“Nico Kostas? Milo Sanchez?”

No response.

“Larry, you’ve got to give me something here.”

“I don’t have to give you anything.”

Christ. Either this man was terminally stubborn, or he truly was afraid for his life.

“Fine.” I stared straight at him, through the glass, into his vacant blue eyes. “One last thing. You might want to do something before you go to sleep tonight.”

“What?”

“Say your fucking prayers. It’ll be a long night.”

Chapter Thirty–Six

Melanie

Jonah had gone into the city, so Talon came over in the late afternoon for our session. I needed an enclosed space, where we could have quiet, so I decided on one of the vacant bedrooms. Unfortunately, Talon was used to sitting in my recliner during his sessions. The best I could do was either a rocking chair or a bed.

“That’s fine,” Talon said. “I’ll lie on the bed.”

“Are you sure? You never wanted to lie on the couch in my office.”

“Yeah, but that was when I was new to therapy. I’ll be fine. I no longer feel so…vulnerable. Plus, lying on a shrink’s couch—that’s just so cliché.”

“This will seem a little different because we’re not in my office, but it will basically be the same thing. I’ll take you back to the beach, like the other times. Then we’ll go from there. Is that all right?”

“Yes. Whatever you think is best.” He sat down on the bed and pulled his legs over, laying his head on the pillow. He squirmed and fidgeted a bit.

“Let’s get you a little comfortable first,” I said. “How are things going? With the ranch? Jade?”

“Good. I’m still taking terrible advantage of my foreman. He’s been really understanding about the extra workload. I love having Jade at the house. We talk every night after dinner.”

“How’s her work going?”

“She’s overworked. There’s only one attorney, so everything falls on her. And now, with the mayor missing, she has even more going on.”

Of course. The mayor was missing. Bryce had told Joe and me earlier. In fact, I was possibly the last person to have seen him in the Snow Creek hardware store before he disappeared.

But I couldn’t tell Talon any of this. At least not yet.

“The mayor’s missing?” I said.

“Yes. He just up and vanished sometime last week. Now a lot of his stuff has fallen on Jade as well.”

“He doesn’t have a deputy mayor?”

Talon laughed. “Not in a town this small, Doc.”

I returned his laughter. “How are you feeling otherwise? Are you still having dreams?”

“Yeah. About once a week. I try not to let them bother me, though. I’ve kind of trained myself to wake up before the dream gets bad. I lie there for a few minutes, listening to Jade breathe beside me, and then I’m able to go back to sleep.”

“Good.”

“Do you think they’ll ever stop altogether?”

“They may. And they may not. The important thing is to handle them well, which you seem to be doing.”

“This is never really going to go away, is it?”

I sighed. “Therapy can’t erase what happened to you, Talon. I only wish that it could. The best therapy can do is help you heal, help you deal with the fact that it did happen, help you accept that it wasn’t your fault and that it doesn’t change who you, as a person, are. You’ve come a long way. You’re definitely one of my biggest success stories.”

“I suppose. I know I want to live now. I look forward to every new day, and for a long time I never thought that was possible.” He cleared his throat. “I’m really sorry about your other patient. The girl.”

“Every therapist—every doctor, whatever his specialty—has patients who don’t make it.” I tried to sound nonchalant.

“I’m sure,” he said. “That doesn’t make it easier, though.”

“No, it does not. But let’s get back to you.”

“Okay. Sorry.”

“No problem. Are you ready?”

“Yes. I need to figure out if I can remember anything at all that might help us catch the other two guys.”

“All right.” I flipped the speakers on from my laptop and started playing the ocean sounds.

“Close your eyes. You’re on a lounging chair on the beach. I want you to scrunch your toes up and then relax them. Feel the tingle. Feel the sun shining on you, as you hear the waves rolling in. The birds chirping here and there. Now tense up your calves, and then relax them. Feel the tingling and relaxing sensation from your knees out to your toes. The sun is shining its warmth on your face, a tiny breeze blows over you, and you welcome the coolness of it…”