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A beautiful young woman with long blond hair and violet eyes pulled open the heavy door and stared at the two men. She wore a lavender sweat suit that matched her eyes. Oleg was taken aback by the beauty of the young woman. She held a baby, who was less than a year old, in her arms.
“Yes, can I help you?” the young woman asked.
“We’re looking for Nicholas. Is he home this evening?” Oleg’s voice was low and gruff.
The woman shook her head, her blond hair moving from side to side. She studied them. “No. He’s not. I’m looking for him myself,” she admitted as her eyes filled with tears.
“You’re Dawn, correct?” Oleg asked.
The woman nodded her head
“When did you last see him?” Oleg questioned as he looked into her strange eyes that now appeared more of a blue shade than violet. “It’s very important that we find him, Mrs. Smirkowitz,” he added gesturing to Redman.
The woman hesitated for a moment. “It was late this afternoon, maybe ‘round three o’clock or so, I think. He said he would be back before dark,”
Redman broke into the conversation. “That was a long time ago. It’s way past dark. Where’d he go?” he demanded in a harsh voice.
“I ... I don’t know,” Dawn stammered. “He said he had a few errands to run, and then he was picking up some wine for this evening.”
Redman moved closer to her. “Cut the crap,” he said rudely. “We need to find him. Tell us everything you know and spit it out now.” Redman’s tone was abrasive and loud. The baby started to cry.
Fear flooded her eyes and tears flowed down her cheeks. She shrank back in the doorway and bounced the wailing infant in her arms. “Is this about Constance’s death? The police just left a little while ago.” Her voice quavered.
Oleg put his hand out to prevent Redman from moving closer to the woman. “No. It’s not about that. We’ve business with Nicholas and had planned to meet this evening. He didn’t come, so we thought that perhaps something had happened.” Oleg tried to make his voice as reassuring as possible.
Dawn looked at him but said nothing.
“I’ve been calling Nicholas for hours. No answer. Do you know where he is?” Oleg asked Dawn gently.
She shook her head, her violet eyes filled with tears.
“Is there anywhere you can think of he may have gone?” Oleg continued.
“No, not really, but we own a couple of tracks of property, sort of a farm, between here and Gordonsville. He bought them a few years ago. He goes there sometimes and rides his tractor, plays with his ATV, that kind of thing.”
“Would he go there with snow and ice on the ground?”
She shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. There’d be nothing for him to do,” she admitted. “The barn doesn’t have heat, so I doubt he’d go there.”
“Where is the farm or farms?” Redman asked.
Dawn shot him a frightened look. “I’m not sure. Off of Route 33 somewhere. Before Gordonsville.”
“Can you be more specific?” Redman growled, an angry look on his face. “That’s a lot of miles to cover.”
Dawn looked apologetic. “I ...well, not really. It’s near the Barboursville winery. We went there last year, and the other track of property is close by. I saw the barn. He wants to build a horse farm there in a few years.” She forced a smile through her tears.
“Is there anything else you can possibly tell us that may help?” Oleg asked kindly. “We wouldn’t bother you unless it were really important.”
“No. I’ve told you the same thing I told the police. They’re looking for him, too,” she said. “They want to question him about Constance and Sarah,” she said as her eyes filled with tears again.
Oleg handed her his card. “Please call us when you hear from him, Dawn. It is very important.”
Dawn accepted the card and nodded.
“Thank you, and good evening,” Oleg said as he and Redman turned and left the porch. They heard the door shut, and the dead bolt click into place.
“Well, that was useless,” Redman growled as he lit a cigarette and threw the match in a pile of snow.
Oleg scrunched the match with his boot. “Pretty much was. As you said, that’s a lot of area to cover. I guess we need to go on the Internet and search the county deed book.”
“You may, not me. I’m busy,” Redman shot back. “Get me back to our meeting place.”