The Perfect Mother: A totally addictive and unputdownable psychological thriller packed with twists by Matthew Farrell

Author:Matthew Farrell [Farrell, Matthew]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781803148427
Publisher: Bookouture
Published: 2022-10-04T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Kurt Anderson opened the front door and Roman stepped back when he saw the state of the man. He looked wired and jumpy. His eyes were wide and his hair was messy. The suit he’d been wearing the previous day hung off of him, his dress shirt half unbuttoned and untucked from his pants, his ID still hanging from his neck.

“Can we talk a sec?” Roman asked.

“Yeah, of course,” Kurt replied, waving him inside. “You got news?”

“A little.”

Kurt closed the door behind them and led the way up onto the main floor. “Can I get you some coffee? I made a fresh pot.”

“No, thanks.”

The two men made their way into the kitchen. Roman sat down across from Kurt, his back facing the sliding doors that opened out to the deck. He noticed a photo album lying open on the table. He could see pictures of Kurt’s family when Nelle was much younger. The little girl was grinning from ear to ear, her pigtails in mid-flight when the picture was taken. Kurt was laughing in the background as he spun his daughter. Laura must’ve been behind the camera. It looked like fun. Better times, indeed.

“You get any sleep last night?”

“How can I sleep?” Kurt asked. He rubbed his hand through his hair and rubbed his eyes.

“You look like you could use a few hours. I could send an officer over to keep tabs on the phones while you take a nap, if you want.”

“Nah, I’m good. Even if I knew the phones were covered, I wouldn’t be able to close my eyes.”

“Yeah, I get it.”

Kurt leaned onto the table. “So, what’s the news?”

“I spoke with Stephanie Parson and she showed me a TikTok video Nelle posted this morning on her way to the bus.”

“Nelle doesn’t have TikTok,” Kurt replied. “We don’t allow too many social media accounts.”

Roman took out his phone and played the video Stephanie had texted him.

“I had no idea,” Kurt whispered more to himself than to Roman. He clicked back to the profile page and began playing other videos. “We always check social media, but we search for her name. She’s made up an entirely bogus profile. I never knew her to be deceptive like that.”

“Sounds like a normal teen to me. Pushing back on their parents’ rules. Sneaking around a bit.”

“I didn’t think that was Nelle.”

“She’s gotta fight with her mom about something, right?”

Kurt didn’t answer.

Roman took back his phone, pulled up his recorder, and hit the red button. “I need to record this.”

“Okay.”

He handed back the phone and replayed the TikTok video, stopping it right before the end. “You see that red SUV in the background?”

“Yeah. Is that who took her?”

“Not sure. But you see those Texas plates? They mean anything to you? Does Texas in general mean anything?”

Kurt shook his head and, again, ran his hand through his messy hair, making it even worse. “No. Texas means nothing.”

“Bastrop?”

“What is that? What’s Bastrop?”

Roman took a folded piece of paper from his jacket pocket. He studied Kurt, looking him up and down, searching for a tell.

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