The Podcast

Chapter 29

Tuesday evening

Nestled in a flat, wedged-shaped valley between modest mountains, Lucas winds his way through a master-planned suburb built in the early 2000's. Streets dotted with textured stucco homes and their two-car garages, the cookie-cutter elevations perfectly reflected over the midline. He parks his car in front of one of the nondescript duplexes, a wrap-around patio in the back just visible from the front. It's a far cry from Sumner's Hidden Hills mansion, her multi-million dollar boxes stacked precariously on a cliff's edge. It's hard for Lucas to imagine her living here.

Lucas peeks his head around the side of the house, noting a small wisping plume of smoke rising from a grill on the patio. Raising his fist to the door, he wraps his knuckles against it quickly three times in succession.

He hears movement inside the house, footsteps as they tread toward the front door.

"Can I help you?" A man opens the door but leaves the screen shut. He's about 6'0" with sandy blonde hair and tan skin, his pale eyes bright and sparkling against the saddle brown of his face. He looks to be in his mid-fifties but still fit for his age.

If Lucas hadn't spent as much time as he had with Sumner, studying her mannerisms, her face, the way her eyes tightened when she's nervous, he may not have noticed the striking similarities between them. On the surface they hardly look alike, but just beneath it, the genetics are uncannily similar.

"Are you Beaufort West?" Lucas keeps his voice as calm and mild as he can, not wanting to spook him.

"I am. Is something—" He cuts himself off, his eyes pinching just like Sumner's. "Did something happen to my daughter, Sumner?"

"She's alright, safe." Lucas watches as the man in front of him releases a genuine sigh of relief. Unless he's a damn good actor, it seems he still cares deeply for his estranged daughter. "But there is an ongoing case that's escalated recently." Lucas looks just beyond Bo's head to try and assess if anyone else is home. "Are you alone right now? My name is Detective Lucas Saba and I'd like to come in and ask you a few questions that may help."

"Just me here," Bo opens the screen door, motioning with his arm to invite Lucas in, "come on in."

Lucas scans the short hallway that opens up into a modest living room. A few feet beyond is a small kitchen with sliding glass doors that connect to the patio. He sees a few photos of Sumner on the wall, as a little girl in a dance leotard, another from high school graduation. And then there's a photo of a woman—her resemblance to Sumner so striking for a moment Lucas thinks it's her.

"My wife, Sorrel." Bo nods toward the photo, a wistfulness to his voice. "Looks just like her doesn't she?"

"She does." Lucas clears his throat before motioning to the kitchen table.

"So Sumner's alright? She's not hurt or anything?"

"No, she's not hurt." Lucas drums his fingers on the table, refining his tactic in real-time. It had been a spontaneous decision to drive here. He hadn't even been sure that Bo West would be home. He looks up at him, at a man who may very well be arrested and charged with multiple counts of homicide. A man who by the looks of it has no idea those charges could even be on the table. Further cementing Lucas' gut that the hair had been planted—meticulously placed at every crime scene.

"Beaufort—"

"Bo, please." Bo raises his palm in the air, a gentle smile on his lips. Lucas nods once before continuing.

"Bo, when was the last time you had contact with your daughter?"

"Shit," Bo runs a hand through his short dirty blond hair, "2014? Eight years ago? I've tried to contact her since—phone calls, emails, letters. A father will never stop trying, you know? But I haven't heard a word from her since...well since everything went down with Chloe. I'm assuming you know the history there or you wouldn't be sitting at my kitchen table right now."