In Plain Sight

Sergeant Lon Previn was a strong man with muscles all over his body.Except for his beard, which was so thick that it seemed to have grown muscles too--a muscle-like beard.

"I'll just get it straight," Previn said to Nash, returning from his patrol. "The only reason I'm talking to you now is because Collier told me to deal with you. He moved."

Nash looked at him: "I have to say, you are really aggressive."

"That's because you're going around suggesting that I killed Harlow to save my position from the D.A.."

"Uh, no. I assure you, that wasn't my intention," Nash said. "But now that you've brought it up, have you ever thought about it?"

"No, I swear I really didn't." Previn frowned at Nash, frowning his black curly eyebrows, "But as far as I know, Harlow is not a good person, I know a few things about him .”

"I'm all ears."

Previn opened his mouth, then closed it again. "All ears, don't come here."

Nash spread his hands. "If you know something, tell me quickly, and it may lead to the disappearance of Inspector Harlow."

"Let me tell you, Detective. Everyone knows what happened to Harlow, they just don't want to say it."

Nash tried to keep his voice steady. "What happened to him?"

"He drove somewhere and shot himself."

"Well, what is the basis of your judgment? Why, in your opinion, did Lieutenant Colonel Harlow commit suicide?"

"Because he's gay, everyone here knows it." Previn raised his lips, "You must know it too."

Nash's gaze seemed to penetrate Previn. "Does this bother you?"

"Don't try to bring it back to me. You asked, so I'll tell you, I just think Harlow caused it all, but I don't blame him."

As a law enforcement officer, Nash has experienced too much, and he has long been out of control. It is difficult for ordinary things to touch his nerves.Even so, he hadn't seen such blatant discrimination for a long time.Not because there are no such people in his work environment, but because he is very good at pretending to be straight.He doesn't hide his sexuality.In addition to suits and sunglasses, all good first-line agents will use plain personalities to disguise themselves and protect themselves.When investigating a case, protecting one's private life is the first line of defense against cruel, insane, and even outrageously intelligent criminals.

But what about Glenn?Glenn had to endure the attitude and the vitriol in silence every single day.

Nash said: "Are we doing a movie from the 50s? I don't understand why homosexuality is a motive for suicide."

Of course that's not true.He had never seen statistics on suicides by gay police officers, but he felt they had a higher suicide rate than the average, which was shocking enough: 91 percent of suicides were men, and 63 percent of the victims were single.

"Maybe you don't live where there are people like that, but Harlow grew up here," Previn said.

"In this place where men don't even spare sheep?"

① Laugh at the people in this place for being backward and uncivilized, even doing sheep.

"Just be pissed off, you won't last a year here."

"I might surprise you."

"You won't last until then."

"So that's your argument? Inspector Harlow disappeared, then shot himself, just because he was gay? Assuming that's true, how could he not have left a suicide note? And why did he kill himself at that time?"

Previn stared at him contemptuously for a moment, then turned and left.He turned his head and said, "I guess you can answer that question better than anyone."

Glenn's bank records held little clue.There was no activity on his debit and credit cards, and no cash was withdrawn.His expenses and savings are within reasonable limits, so money disputes should not be the reason for his disappearance.

"Has anyone searched Bear Lake?" Nash asked Ryan Walker after dinner that night.

"I drove myself Monday night, but Glenn couldn't have driven that far," Walker said.

"Why? There are hours before he goes to work."

"You don't fish, do you?"

"No fishing."

"Anyway...you heard me right. There shouldn't be time before Glenn goes fishing."

Nash never "takes for granted" what others say.He stared at Walker disapprovingly. What had he overlooked?Walker knows something, what is it?

Walker's bloodshot eyes were sunken, and his complexion was very bad.He looked exhausted, just like his own desperate face in the bathroom mirror a few minutes earlier.In fact, he and Walker share a similar build: tall, lean, blond, blue-eyed, and clean-shaven.

Nash said slowly, "Sunday night, why did you answer the phone call from Glenn's house?"

Walker blushed: "Because he didn't go to work, so I drove over to find him." He said defensively, "It doesn't look like him to be so abnormal, so I thought he was sick."

His brain must have been short-circuited, otherwise how could he understand it after such a long time?Nash asked: "Why you?"

"Why can't it be me?" Walker's face flushed, his blue eyes looking defiant.He seemed to be having a strong psychological struggle, as if he was about to explode the next moment: "I have the key."

"you……"

It sounds bland, and maybe Walker just meant to say that he would help water his plants while camping at Glenn.But even one sentence can be interpreted in many ways, and Walker's expression confirms that he only wants to express one meaning.

Nash was extremely shocked. He had never thought of this possibility before.During the week he spent with Glenn, he was completely unaware that there was another man in Glenn's life.

"That's right," Walker said with a strong sense of satisfaction in his calm tone. "I have the key."

He was wrong, he was wrong from the beginning, everything was wrong.There was nothing special about Glenn and his relationship.What happens between them is nothing more than two single, horny people being attracted to each other.Sex, that's all.It was no different from his previous affairs.

However, when Nash remembered the two people saying goodbye at the airport, he remembered Glenn's face at that time, and remembered Glenn holding his hand tightly for the last time. "Does Glenn know you still have his keys?"

Walker's eyes widened, and the look of contempt faded from his face. "Don't know," he admitted.

"very good."

"Whatever you think, you're wrong. Glenn doesn't care. We've seen each other for a few nights."

Nash had to fight back the jealousy in his heart because it was pointless and would only get in the way of his investigation. "What happened between you?"

"Glenn decides—"

"No, I mean the day Glenn disappeared," Nash interrupted.

"Nothing, I didn't see him that night." Walker said with difficulty: "I was on duty all afternoon. You can ask other people. Sheriff Collier called me and said that Glenn didn't come to work. Then I went to his house and there was no way I could have hurt Glenn."

"It's a pity I can't ask him in person," Nash said.

***

First thing Thursday morning, the phone company narrowed down the location of Glenn's cell phone, which was a cell tower in northwest Utah.By lunch time Glenn's car was also located and parked at the Greyhound bus station in Trenton.State troopers found Glenn's phone under the passenger seat, and while Glenn's car keys were in the starter, there was no indication of where Glenn was.

② American coach company name.

A criminal investigation team checked every part of the car, and initial inspections found nothing.The body of the car appeared to be clean, with no traces of violence, but there were some traces of marijuana.

No one had seen the car at the bus station, and no one knew how long it had been there.Surveillance captured nothing because footage of the car driving in was overwritten by later recordings - suggesting the car had been parked in the parking lot for more than 56 hours.

On Thursday night, Sheriff Collier summoned Nash to his office. "We appreciate your help, Agent West. But your mission is accomplished."

"I don't believe Glenn is going to leave on the Greyhound bus."

"It's hard to believe," Collier agreed, "but again, weirder things have happened than this, and we all know people who sometimes just choose to disappear without a trace."

"He's not that kind of person."

"I know much more about Glenn than you do, Agent West, and I cannot rule out the possibility that Glenn disappeared voluntarily."

Nash wants to say, you know him longer, but I know him better than you.But he's not sure that's really the case.One thing he was sure of, no one ever really and completely knew a person.

But you can still get to the point, and Nash believes he knows Glenn's point: "Your theory is he got on that bus after smoking a pot?"

"I don't know what the marijuana is for, and I agree it doesn't sound like something Glenn would do. But the identification team found no evidence of mischief. The keys are in the car, and his phone is—"

"So, you really want to give up the investigation?" Nash felt the veins popping on his forehead.His veins might burst trying to hold back the fear and anger these days.

"No, we don't want to give up," Collier retorted sharply, and he also became impatient, "but obviously this case can't be solved in a short time, and I don't think it's okay for you to stay here and harass my subordinates every day." would be of any help."

"Harassment?" Nash's throat burst into anger, "Is that what they said about me?"

Collier was about to say something, but stopped, he put his hands on the table, and said almost kindly: "Listen Nash, I know this is a private case, I know you have tried to provide assistance, maybe your help is indeed It worked. But right now, we haven't made any progress compared to Sunday night's results, so unless you're going to move to Bear Lake and focus on investigating this... I think you can start packing your bags and going home."

Nash was so tired that he couldn't think well.When was the last time he had a good night's sleep?Before he met Glenn, it felt like a lifetime ago.

He stared at Collier, who had sympathy and uncomfortable clarity in his dark eyes.

Nash had so much to say, he wanted to explain, to plead, to convince them that they had to keep searching, that they couldn't give up... the irony was how many times he'd sat in Collier's position with those desperate, sad , Frightened people confront?Just because everyone knows that their lover will never come back, but they are the only ones who are unwilling to accept this fact.

He had nothing to say to Collier, because Collier already knew everything Nash wanted to say.

Nash nodded.