26. AN IMPORTANT CLUE
UNBEKNOWNST TO LEESA, the one person who could have answered some of her questions was still almost three thousand miles away, growing more frustrated by the day in San Diego.
Dominic had finally decided he needed help, so he had hired an investigator, paying cash and contacting the man once a day via a different public phone each time. After four days, the man had provided Dominic an address in the North Park section of San Diego.
The place turned out to be a small, run-down apartment complex. Dominic had been stealthily watching apartment five for two days now, but had not seen a single person come out of the apartment. A check of the mailboxes showed a name he did not recognize, but it was possible Leesa’s mother had remarried over the years and now had a different name. He had walked casually past the window a few times and was able to see that the place was furnished, so at least he was not wasting his time watching an empty apartment. But whether Leesa, or even her mother, still lived here, he was becoming increasingly doubtful.
If he had anywhere else to look, he would be there, but he did not. Still, he decided he needed to become a bit more proactive, despite his desire for discretion and secrecy. He crossed over to apartment six and knocked on the door. He waited a few moments and then knocked again. There was no response. The apartment’s occupants were probably at work.
He walked past apartment five and knocked on the door to number four. He was about to knock a second time when a smiling, gray-haired lady opened the door.
“Yes?” she said.
“Hello,” Dominic said in as friendly a voice as he could muster. “My name is Fred.” He plucked the name out of the air, continuing his practice of using a different name every time he inquired about Leesa or her family.
“I’m a friend of the Nylands,” he said. “I know they used to live next door in apartment five, but I’ve been gone for awhile. Are they still around?”
The woman shook her head. “I’m sorry, no. They moved out a few months ago.”
Dominic cursed silently to himself. He had reached another dead end.
“Did you know them at all?” he asked, hoping to get at least some useful information from this friendly woman.
“Not very,” she said. “Especially considering how long we were neighbors. The mother never seemed to come out of the house—I’d see her standing at the window looking outside sometimes. The kids seemed sweet enough, although Leesa was kind of shy.”
This was news to Dominic. He remembered Judy Nyland as a friendly, outgoing woman and wondered what had happened to turn her into someone who never left her apartment. He hoped it did not have anything to do with Leesa.
“Do you have any idea where they might have gone?” he asked, hoping against hope for some kind of lead.
“No, I don’t. I’m sorry.”
Dominic could see on her wrinkled face that she was genuinely sorry. Unfortunately, her being sorry did not do him any good.
“Well, thanks for your help,” he said.
As he was preparing to turn away, the woman laid her hand on his forearm.
“Leesa was going to college somewhere in Connecticut, I think. Maybe her mom moved back there to be near her.”
Dominic smiled. This was something, at least.
“Do you happen to know which school?”
“I’m sorry, I don’t. But Connecticut isn’t very big. How many colleges could there be there?”
Dominic had no idea, but he was going to find out as quickly as he could.
“Is there a public library nearby?” he asked.
The woman gave him directions to a local branch only four blocks away. He thanked her for her help and headed for the library, covering the sidewalk with long, quick strides.
The answer to the question “how many colleges could there be in Connecticut?” turned out to be “quite a few.” Dominic stared at the list he had pulled up on one of the library’s computers. He counted more than thirty—even more if he included all the branches of the state university. The number was disappointing—he had expected fewer. Still, it was something to go on, a starting point at least.
He printed out the list, then folded it carefully and put it in his pocket. It was time to get back on the train. Destination: Connecticut.