Chapter Twenty-Four

Officer Archie Nunez

Brian Nichols came out of the house and motioned Nunez over as he was about to get in his patrol car. Nunez told Ritchie, his rookie who only had two more weeks of probation, to start typing up the report. Then he closed the door and turned to Brian.

"Have something to add?" Nunez said.

"I'm sick about this. I've known Annie since she and Peter got together, she's terrific. They both are. I'm PJ's godfather. My wife is calling around, and I'll let you know if she hears anything. This has thrown Peter. Annie is a great wife and mother. She can be a little high-strung sometimes, but..." Nunez waited for Brian to continue. "I didn't want to say this in front of him. Do you think there could be foul play?"

"Do you think that Mr. Carillo has something to do with her disappearance?"

Brian's eyes widened. "No! He worships the ground she walks on. Peter and I have been friends for nearly ten years, since we went through the academy together. I was their best man, I know them. They've always seemed happy. Annie is a sweetheart."

"But you said high-strung."

"You know what I mean."

"Not really."

"She gets upset if like, um, she overcooks dinner or a cake doesn't turn out perfect. A perfectionist, not high-strung. She was in a book club for a while, but quit. She told Nat the women made her feel stupid because she was a stay-at-home mom. I'm sure they didn't do it on purpose—I know a couple of the girls. One is my neighbor."

"Name?"

Brian looked at him oddly. "What?"

"The neighbor who knows Annie from the book club."

"I'm sure Natalie will call them." Nunez just stared at Brian, waiting. "Kris Madera," he said after a brief hesitation. "She lives across the street from me. I'm just a few blocks over from here."

Nunez made notes.

"Was their marriage good?"

"Yeah, real good. We have barbecues and dinner all the time. I've never seen anything weird. That's why I'm thinking foul play, since her car is here."

"The car seats aren't," Nunez said.

"What do you mean?"

"We checked the house, the garage. The car is here, but the car seats—I assume she has two, one for the baby and one for the toddler—are not in the minivan. Do they have another vehicle?"

"No." Brian frowned. Had he not known that? Had Carillo not noticed? Or did he notice and not say anything.

"We don't know what happened, but there is no sign that Mrs. Carillo left under duress. At first glance, it seems that a friend picked up her and the kids. She left her phone behind. She doesn't want to be found right now, but in my experience marital spats take a few days to work themselves out. We'll look into this. If the kids are in danger, we'll bring in CPS, but there have been no calls to CPS, no record that the family has had any problems, no calls for service to this address.

"If your wife talks to her, or finds someone who has, I know you'll want to tell Carillo, but also call me. I'll talk to Annie. See what's going on, where her head is at, make sure the kids are safe."

"Thank you." Brian shook his hand. "I'm sure you're right, and Annie will come home on her own in a couple of days. Peter is just really worried. This came out of left field, you know?"

Nunez nodded and watched Brian go back inside.

Marital problems never come out of left field, he thought as he climbed into the patrol and pulled away from the curb.

"Aren't we going to talk to neighbors?" Ritchie said.

"We will. But I want to talk to Natalie Nichols first."

"Okay, why?"

"According to both Carillo and Nichols, Natalie is Annie's closest friend. I want to see who she called. Maybe she knows something more but doesn't want to say in front of her husband or Carillo."

"You don't think that something happened to her and the kids, do you? I didn't see any evidence of violence."

"I think she left of her own free will. Natalie Nichols may know why."