The pair walked up the steps to the small and well maintained brick city hall building. Mike took a quick glance around and noticed that even the tuckpointing was bright white without a piece missing. He had to admit he was impressed with the orderliness of the town.
"It's just to the left," Steve said as they walked through the front door.
"You remember how to get to the police station from your childhood?" Mike asked.
"Uh, no. Sergeant Miller told me where to meet," Steve replied with a puzzled look and a slight grin.
As they walked into the small police station, the sergeant rose from his seat at a table in the reception area. "You must be the detectives from San Francisco."
"We are," Steve said as he made his way to the sergeant to shake hands. "Inspector Steve Keller and this is my partner, Lieutenant Mike Stone, Homicide San Francisco Police."
"Officer Miller, but please just call me Pete. Amador County Police. We can use one of the offices here."
The trio entered the small conference room and got settled. Steve noticed that Pete Miller was about forty, blonde with neatly trimmed hair and looked well suited for his uniform. There was not a thread out of place and officer came across as very professional.
"To get you caught up: unfortunately, we did get confirmation on the dental records this morning and that information was relayed to his widow. Needless to say, it's a very sad day for the town. Mr. Goldman had just celebrated twenty-five years with our local school. He was made superintendent two years ago. He, his wife and kids were a model family."
Noting the genuine sadness of the officer, Mike asked, "I am sorry to hear that. What can you tell us about how the missing person's report. How long had Mr. Goldman been missing?"
Pete nodded his head. "Well, as you can tell – and Steve, as you may remember – this is a small town and folks here aren't prone to just taking off. If something goes awry, reactions are quick. Mrs. Goldman reported that her husband received a phone call last Thursday evening. He said that he had a situation at the high school. He never returned."
"Would it have been unusual for him to be out all night with school business?" Mike asked as he opened the file he brought and grabbed a pen.
"As superintendent, Mr. Goldman was on call for many potential issues at any of the schools. If there was a problem with one of the buildings or if there was a band or sports team trip where the kids got back late, for example, he was there," Pete replied.
"Was there anything like that going on Thursday night?" Steve asked.
"That's the rub. There was nothing going on at the high school. Everything was in order and no one was seen coming or going."
"When did Mrs. Goldman notify you of her suspicion that her husband was missing?" Mike asked.
"Well, she came into the office here on Friday morning and spoke to one of the deputies here. It wasn't unusual for him to get out late and sometimes not make it back until after she went to sleep. She tried reaching him at his office but got no answer. She said that she drove down to the school but didn't see his car there."
"Has his car been found?" Mike asked making note.
"No, we never found the car. After hearing her concerns, she and the deputy visited the high school office again to ask the office staff and the night facility manager if they called him to come in," Pete answered.
"And what did the school personnel say?" Steve asked.
"No one at the school had any reason to call him in the off hours and no call to his house was made."
