“Ooh, I’m glad we left. What a horrible place. Did you learn anything?”
“Yes. Fidel has been living with a woman named Eva, who lives around here somewhere. Before him she was married to a guy named Castillo, who’s now serving time. I’m going to phone Clint to get me a police report on Castillo. Hopefully it will reveal a Buda address. I’m positive Leroy came to Buda because Fidel was staying here with Eva. They have a history.”
“Vic—what if those three men brought Jeremy here and they’ve hidden him at her house?”
“Anything’s possible.” His jaw hardened. “I’ve got to stay here and find out.”
“Phone Clint right now,” she urged. “If your son is in Buda...”
“Whatever I do, I need to do it alone, so I’m taking you home first.”
“Home?” she cried. “I’m not going anywhere if there’s even the slightest chance Jeremy is here.”
“This could get very dangerous if I’m right.”
“I’m not leaving you,” she declared with such intensity, he realized just how much she loved his son.
He let out a tortured sigh. “All right.”
Vic got on the phone with Clint and brought him up to speed about his situation and the new clues that had come to light. Clint said he’d ask a friend at the station to search for the information on Castillo, but it might be an hour before he could get back to Vic.
He thanked him profusely and hung up, only to discover that Claire was doing her own search for Castillo on the Web. “I found eight possible matches, but only four are in or close to the Austin area. None mention Buda. Shall I call these four numbers? I could pretend I’m looking for a friend. I’ll ask if Amalia is there. If a woman answers with a Spanish accent, at least we’d know a woman who could be Eva is at that address.”
Claire was so clever, Vic was astonished. “If you do that, put your phone on speaker.”
“Okay.” She started calling. Three of the four calls were answered by a man on the other end. Each time Claire asked if she could speak to Amalia. All three of them answered with a Spanish accent and said she had the wrong number before hanging up.
On the fourth call a woman with an accent answered. “Amalia? Is that you?”
“No!” Following that angry sounding no, the woman on the other end hung up. Claire looked at Vic. “Did you notice she answered after the first ring? Like she was waiting for a call?”
“I noticed everything, and you did it perfectly. What’s the address on that listing?”
“It’s in Kyle, but there’s no street address listed.”
“Kyle’s only ten or so miles from here. By the time we get there, maybe Clint will have more information for me.” Vic started the car and drove to the I-35 corridor headed southwest. “Once we get an address, I’ve got a plan, and I hope it works.”
* * *
ON THE WAY to Kyle, Claire prayed with all her might that they were on the right track. When they reached the outskirts of town, Vic pulled into a gas station to fill his tank. His phone rang before he got out of the car. After he greeted Clint, they talked for a minute before he hung up.
He turned to Claire. “Castillo’s last known address was Bernie’s Mobile Home Park in the north end of Kyle.”
Claire quickly looked it up to find the exact location. After Vic filled the tank, he got in behind the wheel and they drove to the park in question. Like the bar they’d just left, the park was out of the way and run-down. The place looked old with shabby rectangular mobile units and only a few shade trees here and there.
Vic parked near the first trailer. “I’ll find out where she lives. Lock the door while I’m gone.”
She nodded as he got out and strode toward the end of the unit with the weathered white siding. An older woman answered his knock. A second later she pointed in the direction of the other units. Vic walked back to the car. Claire unlocked the doors so he could get in. “What did you learn?”
“I told her I was an insurance agent looking for Eva. She told me she lives in the end unit, but she’s behind in her rent since her husband went to prison. If she doesn’t pay it by tomorrow, she’ll be evicted.”
“So she’s here?” Claire asked.
“Maybe. The manager says she hasn’t seen her for a couple of days.”
Claire could barely breathe. “This could be it. Jeremy could really be here.” Her voice shook.
“God willing.”