Chapter 3 - Caleb Rowe Had Been Missing for 184 DaysNash didn't make it to shift.
His sergeant made that decision for him.
By midnight, Nash sat inside an interview room at Central Police Headquarters giving his statement to Detective Ava Morales.
He knew Ava.
Not well.
Enough to know she hated dramatic storytelling.
That suited him.
"Start before you saw the woman."
"I was riding east."
"Why were you late?"
"I helped a driver with a flat earlier."
Ava looked up.
"Apparently tonight was your night for helping strangers."
"Apparently."
"Continue."
Nash described Delia.
The fake labor.
The turn onto the service road.
Four men.
Royce.
The badge.
The escape.
He repeated exact phrases when he remembered them and admitted when he didn't.
Ava finished one page.
Then asked:
"Did you recognize Royce Danner?"
"No."
"You've heard the name?"
"Since tonight."
Ava leaned back.
"Burglary arrests. Assault allegations. Nothing that stuck long enough."
"Why?"
"Witnesses change stories."
Nash thought of Delia.
"Fear?"
"Usually."
Then Ava opened another folder.
Caleb Rowe.
Forty-two.
Married.
Two children.
Forensic accountant.
Missing 184 days.
His truck was found abandoned near Council Bluffs.
Phone never recovered.
Wallet missing.
No verified activity afterward.
Nash looked at the photograph.
Caleb wore glasses.
Ordinary face.
Someone you might trust to prepare taxes.
"Delia says he stopped for another woman."
"We're checking."
"Was that theory already known?"
"No."
Ava tapped the folder.
"His wife thought he was meeting a client."
"Which client?"
"Unknown."
"Why would a forensic accountant stop on a dark road if he had somewhere to be?"
Ava gave him a look.
"You did."
Fair.
"What was Caleb investigating?"
"That's where it gets interesting."
Nash waited.
"Before he disappeared, he was consulting for three civil cases involving fraudulent debt collection and stolen identities."
"Connected?"
"Lawyers thought maybe."
"To Royce?"
"No known link."
"Then what's the key?"
Ava looked at the evidence photograph.
"CRW could mean anything."
"Delia thought Caleb."
"Delia also participated in nine robberies."
Nash nodded.
He knew.
Do not build facts around the person telling you what you want to hear.
Ava continued.
"We don't know whether she is scared, manipulative, cooperative, or all three."
"Probably all three."
"Exactly."
Another detective entered.
"One runner caught."
"Who?"
"Leon Mercer."
Nash almost smiled.
"Any relation?"
"No."
The detective laughed.
"He's already talking."
Ava stood.
"About?"
"Royce."
"And Caleb?"
The detective's expression changed.
"He says ask Wade."
"Where's Wade?"
"Still out."
"Why Wade?"
"He drove Caleb's truck."
Nash stared.
"After Caleb disappeared?"
"That's what Leon claims."
Ava looked at Nash.
"You're done for tonight."
"You're kidding."
"You are the victim and primary witness in an armed robbery investigation."
"Attempted."
"Don't become difficult."
He sighed.
"Can I ask one thing?"
"You can ask. I may not answer."
"What did Leon say the robberies were for?"
Ava paused.
"Phones and wallets."
"That's what Delia thought."
"And?"
"Leon says Royce paid extra for certain IDs."
Nash frowned.
"Certain people?"
"Certain victims."
"Selected beforehand?"
"Possibly."
That changed everything.
The scenario looked opportunistic.
Woman in distress.
Kind stranger.
Wrong place.
Wrong time.
But maybe some victims were not random.
"Was I selected?"
"No indication."
"Good."
Ava stared.
"Why good?"
"Because if a criminal organization intentionally targeted an Omaha police officer, your night gets worse."
"Fair."
Nash stood.
Ava stopped him.
"Mercer."
"What?"
"You did the right thing not chasing."
"I know."
"Do you?"
He looked at her.
"One person in custody is better than five people running and a cop doing something stupid in the dark."
"I know."
"Good."
Nash almost left.
Then Ava added:
"One more thing."
He turned.
"Caleb Rowe's wife is downstairs."
Nash frowned.
"Why?"
"We called because of the key."
"Does she recognize it?"
"Maybe."
"Maybe?"
Ava opened the door.
"Come see."
Marissa Rowe sat in another interview room holding a photograph of the key.
She looked exhausted in the way people became exhausted after months of uncertainty.
Not crying.
Past that stage.
She looked at Nash.
"You're the officer who found this?"
"It was found inside evidence connected to tonight's robbery."
She nodded.
"I know."
Ava sat beside her.
"Tell him what you told me."
Marissa looked at the photograph.
"Caleb had a key like this."
Nash waited.
"To what?"
"A storage unit."
"Where?"
"I don't know."
"Why wouldn't you know?"
"Because it wasn't ours."
"Whose?"
Marissa swallowed.
"He wouldn't tell me."
Ava asked:
"When did you first see it?"
"Three weeks before he disappeared."
"What did he say?"
"That if anything happened, I should look for a brass key."
Nash stared.
"Did he leave it with you?"
"No."
"He said he couldn't."
"Why?"
"Because somebody was watching him."
Silence.
Marissa looked at Nash.
"Did that woman say where she got it?"
"Her brother."
"Who?"
"Eli Voss."
Marissa's face changed immediately.
Ava noticed.
"You know him?"
Marissa nodded.
"Caleb mentioned an Eli."
Nash leaned forward.
"When?"
"The night before he disappeared."
"What did he say?"
Marissa looked at both detectives.
"He said Eli had made a terrible mistake."
"What mistake?"
"He didn't explain."
"What else?"
"He said Eli wanted out."
"Out of Royce's group?"
"I didn't know there was a group."
She pressed her fingers together.
"Caleb only said, 'The kid finally understands what they're really selling.'"
Nash felt cold.
Ava asked:
"What did he mean?"
Marissa shook her head.
"I begged him to call police."
"Why didn't he?"
"He said he needed something first."
"The key?"
"No."
She looked at Nash.
"A list."
"What list?"
Marissa's eyes filled.
"The names of everyone they had already used."
Nash thought of wallets.
Phones.
IDs.
Then the wording.
Used.
Not robbed.
Used.
Marissa whispered:
"Caleb said stealing their money wasn't the point."
Nash stared.
"Then what was?"
May you like
She answered:
"Their lives."
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