Nicky glanced at Linda for confirmation. She held herself, looking sad, but nodded. "I also believe Darren wanted to hurt Meghan. He was very possessive, and when she broke it off with him, we all feared violence."
"And then she disappeared," Nicky said. "How long after they broke up?"
"About two months," Linda said.
"He'd been stalking her at work. She'd come home upset and would stay holed up in her bedroom for days. I asked her to come home, but she wouldn't. She'd just stay in there, crying. I think she was afraid of what Darren might do."
"She got her locks changed, but he broke them," Terry said. "One day, I drove by and I saw him parked outside her work. He saw me, too. I went inside and told the cops, but when I went outside again, he was gone. He's slick."
"There's got to be something you can do," Linda said, tears in her eyes. "It's been months, but she's still missing. There's got to be something--"
"We're doing everything we can to find your daughter," Nicky said. "We're slowly unraveling this case. We have some leads, and we're following them wherever they go."
Nicky and Ken stood up. "Thanks for the info," Ken said. "We'll look more into Darren."
"I need more than that," Terry seethed. "I need you to arrest him."
"We'll do what we can," Nicky told him. "I promise you that much."
She took another look at Meghan's parents, who were so obviously broken up over their missing daughter. "We want to find her just as much as you do."
Nicky and Ken left them to their grief.
***
Nicky's heart was racing as she called Grace right away. The sound of the phone ringing filled the car and Grace's voice came through the speakers immediately. It was warm, calming, and reassuring.
"Agent Lyons! Have a task for me?" Grace asked through the phone.
"I do," Nicky said. "I need you to dig up some intel on a guy named Darren McMillan, from a small town near Hollywood called Frankstown."
"You got it, babe," she said. "Give me a sec."
Nicky heard typing on the other end of the line. She adjusted herself in the driver’s seat. Ken was on the passenger side, silently looking at the world outside. Through the windshield of the car, the sun was sinking in the sky, turning the sky yellow in the late-afternoon.
Shortly, Grace came back with: "Wow, this guy is a real piece of work, that's for sure. On paper, he's only been dinged for a few minor drug charges... but I did some deeper digging and apparently he's been linked to human trafficking, but he was too good at covering his tracks for it to be proven."
Damn. Nicky was starting to see why Terry suspected this guy.
"Anything about Meghan Salinger in there?" Nicky asked.
"Yes, actually. Meghan tried to report him for stalking her, but it never went anywhere. He was a suspect in her disappearance but get this... the investigators on the case never even found him."
"What?" Nicky scowled. "How is that possible? Did they just give up?"
"Said he skipped town. It seems like they didn't really think he did it, because they barely looked for him."
Nicky was mad just thinking about that. She felt for Terry and Linda, and how frustrated they were with law enforcement. Nicky would do everything in her power to make sure she didn't give them the same results.
"Thanks, Grace," Nicky said. "Anything currently known about his potential location?"
"Just a sec..." More typing was heard on the other end, until Grace said, "Officially, he last worked at a garage, but we can assume he's not there anymore. Unofficially, he was seen working at a strip club, and it looks like a real skeezy place... looks like it's a couple towns over from where you're at."
Nicky looked at Ken, who nodded, clearly thinking the same thing as her.
"Send me the address, Grace."
"Will do."