Chapter Eight - Part Three

By two o’clock AM, Matthew and Rosita had searched the entire house.  They even ventured into the basement, which felt unusually cold for that time of year.  There was no sign of Tiffany.  Matt thought she probably went home with one of her girlfriends and fell asleep on a couch, unbeknownst to the friend’s parents.  He wasn’t in a panic yet.  Nick didn’t even bother getting up to help.  He was still asleep at eight o’clock when the sheriff’s deputies showed up.

The doorbell only rang once.  Matthew saw the Sheriff’s SUV coming up the driveway.  He answered the door and invited the two deputies in.  Rosita had just made a pot of coffee and invited the two men to have a cup while they talked.  Neither Rosita nor Matthew had ever had a reason to be crosswise with the police, so they were perfectly calm when the questions started.

“When was the last time either of you saw Tiffany?”

“Who was she talking with the last time you saw her?”

“Did you notice anything unusual about her behavior?”

“What about anybody else in the house?”

“Was your son, Nick, here last night, Mrs. Benson?”

That was the first question that startled Rosita.  “Well, yes, he was here.  Nick was the deejay for the party that we threw last night for Matthew’s friends.  Parents were invited, as well as the kids, so there were plenty of adults keeping an eye on things.  Why do you want to know if Nick was here?” she asked.

“We need to know everyone from this home that was in attendance at the party.  That’s all.  Is Nick here?”

“Yes, of course,” said Rosita.  “He hasn’t gotten out of bed yet.”

“May we speak with him please?” asked one of the deputies.

“Mattie, will you please go and get your brother?  Tell him that the police want to talk with him,” said Rosita.

When Matthew went to get Nick, he was already gone.  They hadn’t seen him leave the house, but the pickup was gone and Nick wasn’t there.  He went back in the house to let the deputies know.

“I’m really sorry,” said Matthew, “but it looks like he already left.  I didn’t even know he was up.  Mom, he took our truck, too.  Did he ask you if he could use it?”

Rosita replied, “No, he didn’t ask, but we’re all family here so we can share the truck with him.  I wonder why he needed it.”

The deputies looked at each other and said nothing.  They left after letting Rosita and Matthew know that they wanted to be called as soon as Nick got home.

The day dragged on for both of them.  They didn’t have the keys to Nick’s Mercedes, so they were stuck at home.  By noon, both were becoming concerned about Nick’s whereabouts.  If he’d taken his own car, they wouldn’t even have wondered where he was.  They’d have known that he was downtown Portland at one of the clubs.  That’s where Nick felt most at home.  Except for in his recording studio.

They’d been unable to check the studio this morning because even Rosita didn’t have a key.  That was solely Nick’s domain.  Matthew sometimes wondered what would happen if there was a fire in there.  Nick had a ton of recording equipment, all of it electronic.  A short in one of the wires could easily have set off a fire.  Nick paid no attention to Matt’s concern.  He said that the equipment was always unplugged when he wasn’t there so there was no reason for Matt to worry.

Finally, at a quarter past two, Nick came racing up the driveway in the truck, stirring up a cloud of dust.  Rosita ran out of the house to meet him.

“Nicholas!  Where have you been?  The police were here and wanted to talk with you about the party last night.”

Nick answered, “First, I went out for breakfast.  Then I went down to a club near Pioneer Square.  Let me see, then I went to the nursery on Redland Road to pick up a new cherry tree.  And now I’m here.  Any more questions, sweet mother?” he asked.  “Why do the police want to talk with me?  Was my deejaying that bad last night?  Am I being charged with playing music too childish to be legal?”  Nick laughed.  Matthew could tell he was high. 

Rosita just shook her head and walked back in the house.  She picked up the phone and called the Sheriff’s Office, letting them know that Nick was home.

Fifteen minutes later,  the Sheriff’s SUV drove up.  The same two deputies got out of the vehicle, and walked over to Nick, who was busy doing nothing.

“Mr. Benson,” one of the deputies inquired, looking at Nick’s face..  “Have you been smoking pot?”

“Uh, no,” said Nick,, “although it wouldn’t be any business of yours if I had.. What makes you think that?”

“Your eyes are bloodshot.  And, yes, it is our business to ask.  We know that you arrived here less than thirty minutes ago, and driving while under the influence is still illegal.  If you haven’t been smoking week, perhaps you’d like to explain the obvious condition of your eyes.”

“Well yes sir, I would,” said Nick.  “It’s so hot and dry around here today that my eyes are full of dust.  Also, I was just over at the nursery, and my allergies are killing me.  Why?”

“Which nursery were you at?” asked one of the men.

“I don’t remember the name of it.  It’s over on Redland Road.  I went there to buy a cherry tree.  We’ve got plenty of apple trees and pear trees, but I thought this big old field needed a cherry tree.  We’re becoming regular old farmers out here in Bensonville!”

Matthew was over by the front door listening to the conversation.  He could tell that Nick was making an idiot of himself.

“Deputies,” he asked, “would you be more comfortable coming inside out of this heat?  Nick, come on in with them.  You can all sit down in the living room.”

Nick glared at his little brother with sheer hatred.  “Yeah, sure little bro’.  Let’s all go inside so I can answer their questions about the big party last night.”  He gave the deputies a grin that usually endeared him to people, but his current audience was immune to Nick’s charm.  The deputies knew they weren’t going to get the truth from him.

Sitting down on the couch, they immediately began their line of questioning.

“Mr. Benson, did you see Tiffany Stuart at the party last night?”

“I don’t know Tiffany Stuart.  How would I know if I saw her or not?” retorted Nick.

“We were told earlier by your brother that he introduced you to Ms. Stuart.”

Again, Nick glared at Matthew.  “He introduced me to a lot of little girls last night.  They all looked alike.  I couldn’t tell one from the other.  Which one was Tiffany, Matt?”

Now it was Matthew’s turn to glare.  “You know which one she was.  She had the long dark hair with a gold streak in it.  She was wearing a yellow sundress.  I could tell you thought she was pretty by the way you smiled at her.”

“That’s ridiculous!” snapped Nick angrily.  “I smile at all women.  It makes them feel special,’” he said in a disgusted tone.  “Why are you asking me about this person, Tiffany, anyway?  What did she say about me?”

“She didn’t say anything, Mr. Benson,” stated one of the deputies in an official voice.  “She’s missing.  She never came home after the party last night.”

“Well way to go, Matthew,” retorted Nick.  “The first time you have a party, and someone goes missing.  Guess you’re batting a thousand, huh?”

Matthew got up and walked away.  He knew that the conversation with his brother was going to get ugly, and he didn’t want to be a part of it.  He didn’t really believe that Nick had anything to do with Tiffany’s disappearance, but at least he could be respectful about answering the deputies’ questions.  Nobody knew where Matt’s best friend was.  Her parents were worried sick.  And Nick didn’t care.  For the first time, Matthew thought to himself, “I wonder if Nick is crazy?”  Then he shrugged off the thought.

The deputies finally left after getting nowhere with Nick.  They didn’t have any evidence against him.  They just had a hunch.  Tomorrow they’d get a search warrant for the premises since this was the last place that Tiffany had been seen.  Until then, though, Nick Benson was off the hook.