Page 96 of The Advocate’s Ultimatum

Gates gave a short breath through his nose. “She was in the front on the passenger side.”

“Where did he go?”

“He turned just a few blocks down, but there was another car behind him. It was back a bit, but going in the same direction.”

“Was it following Hayes?”

“I don’t know,” he said. “Could’ve been. Could’ve just been another car on the road, but it did turn the same place Hayes turned.”

“Could you see who was in that car?”

“Just some guy. But I didn’t recognize him or the car he was driving.”

“But you noticed it.”

Gates grinned. “It was a 1966 yellow Mustang. I had one like it when I was young.”

“Did you tell anyone about Hayes?”

Gates gave a short, dry laugh. “You see where I ended up?”

Right where you belong, JP thought.

“If I’d walked into a station back then and told them I saw something, they would’ve locked onto me harder than they already had. Besides, I’m not going out of my way to help the cops.”

“So, you said nothing.”

Gates nodded. “So, I said nothing.”

“Do you ever regret that?”

“No. They already had the right guy.”

“And you had nothing to do with her abduction?”

“No. I don’t hurt little girls.”

JP did all he could to keep from punching him.

Chapter 36

Monday afternoon

The address had been in JP’s notebook for a couple of days, and it was time to check it out. A modest neighborhood, older homes, yards that had seen better days but were still cared for. Yvonne Caldwell had lived there once. At least, that’s what the neighbor had said.

JP parked along the curb and sat for a moment, looking at the house. Nothing about it stood out.

He got out and walked up to the door and knocked. It took a minute before someone answered. A man in his forties, cautious but not unfriendly.

“Yeah?”

“My name is JP Torn. I’m trying to track down Yvonne Caldwell. I was told she used to live here.”

“We’ve been here six years now.”

“Do you know where she went?”

“No,” the man said. “The place was empty for a while before we bought it in a bank sale.”