Chapter 18

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Tony's mouth dropped open. "How could that happen? Who would be able to do that besides April? They'd need her sign-in information."

"I can only think of one other person," River said.

"Nathan? It can't be."

River leaned back in her chair. "I'm trying to wrap my head around this. Before we accuse Nathan, we need to see if the electronic-crimes task force can figure out who removed all those episodes."

"So now what do we do?"

River smiled at him. "Repeat after me. My partner..."

Tony looked confused. "Not sure why you're smiling, but I'm a little frightened."

"Do what I asked," River said.

"Okay, okay. My partner..."

"Is the best partner in the world."

Tony crossed his arms and stared at her. Finally, he said, "Is the best partner in the world."

"Because..."

His eyes widened. "You have all the information from her site, don't you?"

"Well, not all of it, but quite a bit." She picked up her notebook. "I already told you I took pictures of all the pages and notes in April's notebook, but I also took pictures of the podcast pages. Of course, they only contain a general description of the case. But I listened to each podcast and made additional notes. I just felt like the way things were going, it was best to make sure all the information stayed with us. I'm pretty sure we have everything we need."

"You really are brilliant," Tony said. "You know what this proves, right?"

"I'm not sure."

"It proves that no one is smarter than I am since I picked you as my partner."

River laughed. "You're ridiculous."

"I know, but I'm really cute, so that makes up for it."

"Yes, yes. You're adorable." River got up and grabbed her notebook. Then she brought it over to her desk. "We can go through my notes, and anything I didn't get, we can see on my phone."

"Before we do that, let me call the detective in charge of the case and tell him about the podcast."

"I'm not sure what they can do," River said. "Can they actually tell us who removed the episodes? Wouldn't whoever did it have to have access to April's login information?"

"Sure. That's why the first person I'd look at is Nathan. Supposedly, April wasn't close to her father, and she didn't want him to know about the podcast. I'm pretty sure it couldn't have been him." Tony picked up his phone and made a call.

While he talked to the detective, River began looking through her notebook. She had a lot of notes from the Casanova case. She even found some scribbles she couldn't decipher. It wasn't the first time she hadn't been able to read her own writing. She quickly pulled up the pictures she'd taken with her phone. She planned to send them to her laptop so they'd be easier to read, but she hadn't done that yet. She also grabbed April's notebook out of the tote bag and brought it over to her desk. As she looked through the pages, she saw something written in a margin that had to do with the Casanova case. This was the first time she'd noticed it. April had written the name Brent Wilkins. Who was that? Although she had no idea, something about the name struck a chord with her. As if she'd seen or heard the name before. Could it be someone who phoned in a tip? Had the name been mentioned somewhere else in April's notebook? Or on her podcast? Of course, there were a lot of reasons it might seem familiar. Maybe River had known someone with a similar name. Hopefully, she'd remember at some point, but right now she couldn't pull up any connection.

"Everything okay?" Tony asked. "You're frowning."

"Yeah. Just a name April wrote down here. I have no idea why she thought it was important. No explanation. Maybe I'll find it somewhere else in her notes. So, what did the detective say about April's site?"

"He said they'd noticed it was gone, and they're already looking into it," Tony said. "He also asked that you send him the pictures of the site. The good news is that most hosting companies keep copies of the podcast for at least ninety days. The police can request those copies, but they have no idea how long that could take. For now, they want the information we have."

"I want to call Nathan," River said. "I need to ask him a question."

"Like whether or not he has the login information? After thinking about it, I realize it would be very difficult for him to do something like that with the police department watching him."

"You're right. I'll bet they already checked that out themselves. They may not be looking for April, but I'm sure they've come to the conclusion that what happened to Kevin could be connected to her disappearance."

River picked up her phone and called Nathan, not sure he'd actually answer. When he did, he sounded stressed. She couldn't blame him.

"Nathan, April's podcast is gone," River said.

"I know. The police already checked my laptop and my phone to make certain I didn't do it. To be honest, I don't even remember her sign-in information. I have enough trouble remembering my own passwords."

"Did she make a note of it somewhere?"

Nathan was silent for a moment before saying, "Yes. She kept a small planner with all of her account information. It had blue flowers on it. When I went through her apartment, I didn't see it. To be honest, until you mentioned it, I'd forgotten all about it."

"Could you have missed it? Could it still be there?"

"No, her father cleaned everything out and took what was left. He waited a couple of months before he did that. I think he was hoping she'd come home on her own. I couldn't blame him."

"Is there any way he'd delete her episodes?"

"No, he's not good with the Internet, and like I told you, he didn't know about April's podcast."

"Okay, thanks," River said. "How are you doing?"

"Well, they're letting me work, and at least I feel safe. Have you figured out what's going on yet?"

"Not yet. It will take a little time, but we're working on it. You just relax and stay positive. We're going through all of April's cases to see who might want to stop you from trying to find her—or who might be concerned about someone reopening her cases. When we have something solid, we'll let you know."

"Okay. I just ... really want to go home."

"I know. Hang in there," River said, trying to sound positive. She felt bad for Nathan, but she and Tony were doing their best. "Hey, before we hang up, have you heard the name Brent Wilkins? April wrote it down in her notes. It sounds familiar to me."

Nathan was silent for a moment. "Sounds familiar to me too, but right now I can't place it. If I remember I'll call you back."

"Thanks, Nathan."

When she hung up, she told Tony about their conversation.

"So, Nathan didn't take the episodes down," he said. "Not sure what happened to the planner. Maybe Nathan missed it."

"Could the person who took April have also stolen the planner?"

"And left all her other belongings behind?" Tony asked. "Doesn't make any sense. Maybe it was still in the apartment and her dad took it. It probably wouldn't have meant much to him since he didn't know about the podcast."

River sighed. "It could be anywhere. Besides, if the person or persons who took April wanted her sign-in information, they could have gotten it from her."

"If she's still alive."

"Did Armbruster give you an email address to send the photos?" River asked.

"Yeah." Tony read it off while River wrote it down. "You know we need to tell them we have April's laptop, notebook, and phone. They may want to see them."

"I'm surprised they haven't asked for them yet. Maybe Nathan didn't tell them that he gave them to us. I know they're concentrating on Kevin's murder, but by now they've got to be looking at the connection between Kevin and April's podcast."

"I agree," Tony said. "We need to tell them the truth. If they don't want April's things, fine. Either way it won't impact our investigation since we have copies of almost everything."

"I'll send the photos to Armbruster and let him know about them. We'll leave it to him."

"Okay," Tony said. "I think that's the right move."

"We have a lot of work to do."

"Step by step," Tony said. "It's not a race. It's a marathon."

"I hate that quote," River said with a sigh. "Unfortunately, it almost always seems to be the case."

At that moment, her phone rang, and she answered it. Nathan.

"I just remembered where I'd heard that name," he said. "That's the name of the reporter who coined the phrase the Castlewood Casanova."

"Thanks," River said. "I'd hoped it was a suspect, but at least I can let it go now."

Nathan said goodbye and they hung up again. Although River wanted to forget about Wilkins, there was still something nagging at her. But what was it?

HE WAS GETTING TIRED OF WAITING. He felt as if he were dying of thirst, but he wasn't desiring water. He was longing for death. Her death. He needed to watch the light leave another woman's eyes. His patience was almost at the breaking point. Several times he'd come close to kidnapping another woman in an attempt to slake his craving. But if he did that and his offering was discovered, it would bring too much attention. Law enforcement would invade the area in full force, and River would be hidden away from him. As it was, she and her friend suspected he was near, but they couldn't prove it. They'd been provided protection, but he could still get to her easily. He couldn't risk losing her. Sometimes he wondered if his yearning to finish what had been started was foolish, but his longing for her overwhelmed him. River Ryland's death would be his most outstanding accomplishment. The crowning achievement of his existence.

He was even ready to give up his own life if necessary. River Ryland would most certainly die. And she would die crying out for help from a God that couldn't protect her.