We drove separately, in case Orin ran out of time and had to hurry back to the library, but we parked next to each other on the small parking strip on the other side of Donner’s and Gril’s trucks.
Donner was seated at his desk in the front part of the building when we went inside; Gril was back in his office.
“Can I help you two?” Donner said distractedly.
“Any chance we can talk to both you and Gril?” I said.
Donner looked back toward Gril’s open door. Gril stood up behind his desk, his phone’s handset to his ear, and signaled us in. We made our way, crowding the small office.
“What’s up?” he said, covering the mouthpiece with his hand. “I’m on hold.”
“We have some things we think you should know,” Orin said.
“I’m listening.”
“The Hortons,” Orin said.
“The folks who lived in the house that burned down? Yes. You said you were looking for them in an apartment building in New York,” Gril said.
Orin nodded. “Still didn’t find them, but the building’s landlord did just call me back. Their apartment has been empty all these years.”
“Both theirs and Randy’s apartments have been empty?”
“Yes.”
He held up a finger. “Gril Samuels from Benedict. I need to talk to Christine. All right. I’m returning her call. I need to talk to her ASAP. Have her call when she can. Thanks.”
Gril hung up the phone. “So, Randy and his missing wife are listed as the owners of an apartment in New York City. The Hortons are also listed as owners of an apartment in New York City. Neither family has lived in their apartment for a long time?”
Orin and I nodded.
“The apartments are located close to each other. The families might have known each other?” Gril asked Orin.
“Hard not to wonder. I need to talk to Randy about that. He should be back soon.”
I raised my hand. The three men looked at me.
“I think it’s time for me to confess something,” I said.
Gril’s expressions quickly spanned a spectrum, ending in irritated doubt. “What?”
“I saw something. I shouldn’t have, but, nevertheless, I did.” I cleared my throat. “I saw some toothbrushes.”
“What?” Donner said.
“And three beds,” I said.
“Spill it, Beth,” Donner said, sounding even less patient than Gril looked.
I sighed. “I’m sorry, but I trespassed on Randy’s property yesterday, early. I saw some things.”
Donner and Gril made noises that I purposefully ignored.
Orin looked at me and smiled. “Atta girl,” he said. “Att-a girl.”
“I’ll tell you the details, but there’s more. I went to Tex Southern’s house to check on the girls. I saw something that might have been a big old freezer. I told Viola. Did she come talk to you?”
“Yes,” Gril said. He looked at Donner.
“I was going to head out there this morning,” Donner said.
“Viola said she was going to check on it, too,” Gril said.
They looked at me, waiting.
“Right. Okay. I know you probably saw the three beds in the loft,” I said.
“Sure. Randy said he sometimes sleeps up there. Many cabins have lofts, makes it easier when you’re having visitors. Randy said the space heaters keep it warmer up there.”
“Were the clothes all his?” I asked.
“There was nothing to indicate they weren’t,” Gril said.
“I opened the medicine cabinet. There were three toothbrushes inside it. Is … is that normal for some people? Three toothbrushes? One adult size; two were smaller and pink.”
“I didn’t notice the toothbrushes, but I didn’t look in the medicine cabinet. We’ll ask Randy. Donner, head out to Brayn now. I doubt the freezer is anything, but I think it’s time we insist upon knowing who the girls’ mother is, or who their mothers are.”
“Wait!” I said.
Gril and Donner weren’t happy. Orin just smiled at me again.
“I suspect we’ve all had this thought, but do you think the Horton girl whose body they couldn’t find survived that fire? What if she, Annie, is actually a Horton?”
“The thought seems to be solidifying some. Son of a bitch.” Gril stood and grabbed his jacket off the back of his chair. “Let’s both go, Donner.”
A few seconds later, after a whirlwind of gathering guns and coats, Gril and Donner were gone, the sound of Gril’s truck engine firing up and rumbling away. Orin and I stood in the office, alone.
“I’ll be,” Orin said. “You are full of surprises.”
“Why would Randy have three toothbrushes?”
“I admit, that’s weird, but maybe not, Beth. It could just be the way it is. I keep my old toothbrushes to use to clean other things.”
“Me too, but I don’t keep them with the toothbrush I use on my teeth.”
Orin nodded. “I just don’t know.”
“You need to get back to the library,” I said.
“I do. What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know. It seems as if I’ve managed to send a group of people out to Brayn. I feel like I should go, too.”
“I hate to sound like your parent, but I wouldn’t if I were you. The snow is only going to get worse today. Wait for Gril to come back. I bet he tells you what’s going on. All you’ll have to do is ask him.”
I’d promised Ellen I’d take her to the knitting class anyway.
We walked outside together and said goodbye. I watched as Orin drove away and stuck his arm out to wave. I looked up at the cloudy sky. It wasn’t dark like night, but dark enough not to feel like day. I shivered, though I wasn’t terribly cold.
I wouldn’t drive out to Brayn, not today, but I had another idea. Maybe the coming storm wouldn’t be too much of a detriment.