“Sorry,” the man inside rasped. “We’re closing.”
Noelle pulled out her ID. “Henry Price?” The sheriff had given her the guy’s name.
The man nodded as his gaze jerked down to her ID.
“I’m Agent Noelle Evers, and this is my partner, Agent Thomas Anthony. We need to ask you some questions about Jenny.”
Henry rubbed a hand over his bleary eyes. “Already talked to the sheriff on the phone.”
“And now you’re going to talk with us,” Thomas said simply. The bell jingled again as the door closed behind them.
Henry shook his head. “I don’t know anything. The girl was here this morning. I told her to go and clear the snow from the front, but instead of doing her job...” He turned away and headed for the kitchen. “She just left. You try to help some people, and they just turn on you—”
“Mr. Price.” Anger snapped in Noelle’s words.
Henry stopped and glanced back at her. A frown pulled down his brows.
“I don’t know what you think is happening here,” Noelle told him, her voice tight with barely held fury, “but Jenny Tucker’s mother is down at the sheriff’s station right now, her heart breaking because she believes that her daughter was abducted.”
He waved his hand. “She’s a teenager. They’re always trying to cut out of this town and find some adventure.”
“None of her friends believe that she cut out of town. And...other evidence...we have suggests that Jenny could be the potential target of a kidnapper in the area.” She wouldn’t tell him about Jenny matching the physical description of the other victims. They still didn’t know what had become of those victims.
Henry blinked as what could have been worry flashed in his eyes. “I didn’t hear anything. I mean, if someone took her, she would’ve screamed right?”
“Not if she didn’t have the chance.” Thomas’s voice was cold.
Henry’s gaze flew to the door. “The shovel was outside. When I went looking for her, it was propped right on the side of the building. Like she’d just gotten bored, left it there and walked away.”
Thomas took a step forward. “We’re going to need that shovel.”
They’d dust it for prints. Maybe they’d get lucky. If the girl’s abductor had touched it with his bare fingers and the guy was in the system, they could get a hit on his identity.
Henry nodded. “Yeah, yeah...” He turned away once more.
Noelle grabbed his arm. “I need you to think very hard for me. When you went outside and you saw that shovel, did you notice anything else?” Snow had fallen since this morning. By now, it would’ve covered any signs left behind by Jenny and her abductor.
Henry frowned down at her hand. “I don’t... I don’t think so.”
“Were there footprints in the snow?” she pressed. “Any vehicles that didn’t belong?”
His eyes narrowed as he glanced back up at her face. “I think I saw one set of footprints leading toward the parking lot. That’s why I thought it was just Jenny leaving.”
One set. Which would imply Jenny had left on her own. Or else her abductor had carried her off.
“You have any customers here who seem particularly interested in girls around Jenny’s age?” This question came from Thomas.
Henry blanched. “No, man, just...no.”
Noelle dropped her hold on him. She wanted to get outside and take a look around that parking lot. “If you think of anything else, let us know.”
“I’ll get the shovel.”
“I’ll get it,” Thomas said. “We don’t want to destroy any evidence that might be left on it.”
“I used it all day,” Henry said as he hurried down the narrow aisle that led to the kitchen. “I didn’t think... I used it all damn day.”
Noelle turned away from the men. Her gaze fixed on the diner’s windows. If Henry had been working in the kitchen when Jenny was taken, no, he wouldn’t have been able to see anything at all out there.