“You’ve been inside already,” Kingman stated. “What did you touch?”
“Only the back door handle, barehanded. After I entered, I put a dish cloth over my fingers before opening the living room door. I didn’t go into the room.” He resisted smirking as he added, “So I didn’t leave any trace evidence.”
Kingman barely nodded before going around to the back of the house, disappearing from sight. Moments after he had, Garry drove up, veering off the drive onto the grass to park next to the sheriff’s car. He joined Wylie, leaning against the hood beside him.
“Kingman wasn’t too happy when I called him,” he said.
“He was less than enthusiastic when he talked to me,” Wylie replied. “Made it real clear I was to keep my nose out of things, to quote him.”
Garry lifted an eyebrow. “Are you going to?”
“Sure. He’s undoubtedly competent or he wouldn’t be the sheriff. Abrasive as hell, but that’s neither here nor there.”
Headlights flashed as a patrol car turned into the driveway. It parked behind the sheriff’s vehicle and two men got out, one of them carrying what Wylie presumed was a crime scene kit.
“He went in the back way,” Wylie called out, getting nods in return before they walked around the house.
“Now, we wait,” Garry said with a sigh.
“You don’t have to,” Wylie told him. “If they know what they’re doing it could be a while.”
“Yeah, I do. She’s my favorite waitress. I need to know what happened to her.”
“They won’t find out tonight unless they get lucky. From what I saw, it looks like someone came in, probably surprised her, there was a struggle which he won, and he took her…wherever. I’d say she was still alive when he did, because there wasn’t enough blood for him to have killed her here, if that’s what he had in mind.”
“You think he’ll kill her somewhere else,” Garry replied tightly.
“Worst case scenario, yes. If not, she’s definitely been kidnapped.”
“God damn it!”
The front door opened and Kingman appeared, walking over to where they waited. “Mr. Lewis,” he said to Wylie, “Why did you come out here?”
“Garry asked me to, because Nelly hadn’t shown up for work and he was worried.”
“It wasn’t like her not to call if she couldn’t come in for some reason,” Garry said. “I told you that already.”
Kingman looked between them as if he wasn’t certain he believed them. Addressing Garry, he said, “From what we’ve found so far, she was probably attacked by person or persons unknown sometime last night. That’s based on the fact it appears that she was eating supper when it happened and the blood on the floor is thoroughly dry. We’ll send samples of it to the crime lab we use to find out if all of it is hers or if some of it belongs to the man who took her.”
“Took, not murdered?” Garry asked.
“There isn’t enough blood to warrant our thinking she was killed in the house.”
Wylie resisted smirking, as he’d already said that to Garry. “There’s some blood on the front stoop, too.”
“I saw,” Kingman replied, although Wylie was certain he hadn’t. “I’ll have my men check it.”
“Have you found any fingerprints?” Garry asked.
“Yes,” Kingman said succinctly.
“Then you might be able to figure out who took her,” Wylie said.
“Whether we can or not is none of your business, Mr. Lewis.”
Wylie’s mouth tightened and he might have said something he knew he shouldn’t if Garry hadn’t put a hand on his shoulder. Taking a deep breath, he replied, “Duly noted. Is it okay if I leave?”
“In a minute.” Without elaborating, Kingman returned to the house.
Moments later, the man who had been carrying the crime scene kit came out, and over to Wylie. “The sheriff wants your prints, for comparison,” he said, laying out what he needed on the hood of the car. As soon as he’s taken them, he asked Garry, “Have you ever been here?” When Garry nodded, the man said he’d need his prints, too. Garry agreed, the man got them, and then told them they were free to go.
“Meet me back at the restaurant?” Garry asked.
Wylie checked the time before replying with a brief grin, “Or at your house. The restaurant closes in half an hour.”
“It’s that late? Shit. Okay, I’ll see you as soon as I get home.”
Chapter 6
Wylie left his car in his driveway and walked down to Garry’s house. He knew the front door was probably unlocked, but the sharp barks from the dog when he stepped onto the porch deterred him from going inside. The last thing he needed was to fend off a critter in protective mode.
Settling in one of the porch chairs, resting his elbows on his knees, he thought about what he’d seen at Nelly’s house. “Damned all, when it comes down to it. I should have been nosier.” Not that he didn’t trust the sheriff and his people to do their job, but in his opinion it didn’t hurt to have another pair of eyes on the scene.
The table was on its side. Did she turn it over, trying to get away from him when he grabbed her? Why didn’t she see or hear him approaching? Because he came in through the kitchen and her back was to the door? If he drove up, she should have heard his car, so he didn’t. He parked on the road and carried her there after he, what, knocked her out? She fought back, though. The overturned armchair is proof of that. What did he hit her with? There wasn’t a broken vase or lamp that I saw. My fault for not going all the way into the room. If there was one, Kingman would have found it. Not that I’ll ask him. He smiled dryly at that thought.
Leaning back, he closed his eyes. They flew open when he felt someone shake his shoulder and heard Garry saying, “Falling asleep on the job?”
“Damn, what time is it?”
“An hour later than it was the last time I saw you,” Garry replied. “Why didn’t you go inside?”
“Because of your attack dog.”
Garry snorted as he opened the door. “He’d have licked you to death to show he was glad to have company.”
As if to prove his point, his dog, a medium-sized black and white border collie, bounced over to greet them as soon as they were inside. When Wylie held out his hand, the dog slathered his tongue over it.
“Sit, Ziggy,” Garry ordered. The dog obeyed, although it was obvious it was the last thing he wanted to do. “Good boy. Out?” Garry asked him.
Wylie was certain the dog would make a beeline for the door, but he didn’t. Unbelievably, he nodded his head. Garry winked at Wylie then told Ziggy, “Go.”
The dog dashed out of the room, heading, Wylie presumed, to the back door, with Garry right behind him. A moment later, Garry returned. “Do you know how long it took me to teach him that trick?”
“Years?” Wylie guessed.
“Nope. Two weeks. He’s one smart dog when he wants to be.” He gestured toward the sofa. “Sit.”
Wylie did, and then smirked. “Don’t I get a ‘Good boy’?”
“Nope, you get a beer if you want one, or coffee, and then…” Garry’s expression darkened. “We talk about what happened to Nelly.”
“For that, I definitely need a beer, please.”
Garry got two bottles, handed one to Wylie, then sat at the other end of the sofa.
“First question, I suppose, is who took her?” Wylie said. “Any ideas about that?”
“For sure not someone who lives here,” Garry replied adamantly. “No one I know would do that. End of story.
“I’ll take your word for it, for now. What about a tourist? Someone she waited on—I guess it would have been Sunday night since you were closed yesterday. A guy who might have fixated on her?”
“Hard to tell. She didn’t say anything about someone who came on to her or creeped her out and she would have. She always told me if a customer was a problem. All my waitresses do. I insist on it so I can keep an eye on whomever.”
“Okay, a
lthough the guy might not have been obvious about it. Do you have security cameras set up in there?”
Garry snorted. “This is a small town. I have an alarm system, most of the businesses do in case of a robbery, but that’s it.”
Wylie nodded. “Too bad. If you had cameras, we might have been able to spot someone who seemed a bit too interested in her when she wasn’t looking. Next guess, it was a transient or a hiker. I know for a fact, from what Gramps told me, that this area is a beacon for backpackers because of its scenic beauty.”
“If it was someone like that, the sheriff will never find him. Especially if he took her somewhere out of town to…shit, to rape and kill her, I guess. Damn it!”
“This ex-boyfriend you mentioned? You’re certain their split was amicable?”
“Sheriff Kingman asked the same thing when he stopped by the restaurant, right before we closed. I told him what I’ll tell you, unless she was an expert actress, it was. She didn’t seem terribly upset about it.”
“Then we can write him off, I suppose,” Wylie replied.
“You don’t sound certain.”
“What I am is frustrated. We’ve come up with a few theories.” He ticked them off on his fingers. “A local, and don’t count that out, a tourist who fixated one her, a hiker slash transient who saw a woman alone and decided they wanted her, and, slim possibility, her ex-boyfriend. None of them are provable with what we know at the moment. ‘We’ being you and I. For all we know Kingman’s already figured it out and knows where she is, dead or alive.”
“You’re right.” Garry sighed and then brightened. “You’re a trained detective.”
“I am not getting involved. First, as the good sheriff pointed out, my license isn’t valid in this state. Second, I gave all that up before I moved here.”
Garry lifted an eyebrow. “Then why are you looking at this as if it was a case you were hired to solve?”
“Habit? I like Nelly. I hate the idea someone took her—violently from what I saw at her house. The problem is, even if I was going to delve deeper, I don’t have the resources it takes and for sure Kingman’s not going to tell me if he found anything.”
“You’ve got a working brain. Use it.”
Wylie smiled wryly. “I’m glad you’ve got faith in my abilities.”
“Let’s put it this way, you’re probably the closest thing to an investigator we’ve got. Not to put Kingman down, but as far as I know he’s never been involved in something like this. He can handle the occasional minor crimes that crop up, but a kidnapping and possible murder? I don’t see it happening.”
“It’s not something I’ve ever handled, either. We were a small-time agency. Runaways, embezzlers, shoplifters.” Wylie shook his head. “Fifty percent of our business was doing background checks. I’m not equipped for this, Garry. Honestly, I’m not. Coming up with theories? Sure. Proving one of them is true? Not happening.”
“At least think about it, for Nelly’s sake?”
“Maybe. Right now, though, I should go home. We both need sleep, and I have to be up at the crack of dawn to let Carl and his son in so they can start work on the floor.”
“Oh, boy. What are you doing while that’s happening?”
“Planting my garden.”
“That works.”
“Yep. I’ll see you sometime tomorrow, I’m sure,” Wylie said as he stood and walked to the door. When he opened it, a blur of black and white dashed past him to leap up on the sofa.
“I knew I was forgetting something. Closing the side gate,” Garry said, laughing as he petted Ziggy. He joined Wylie on the porch, firmly closing the door behind him. “Think about it?”
“You forgetting about the gate?” Wylie teased.
Garry rolled his eyes. “No. You know what I…” His phone rang before he could finish. He answered, listened for a moment, and then said, “Count me in. What time?” A moment later he hung up. “That was the sheriff. He’s organizing a search party for Nelly, starting as soon as there’s enough daylight to see.”
“Okay. I’ll be there, too. Where?”
“Everyone’s supposed to meet in front of her place. You can ride over with me if you want.”
“I do. I’ve got the feeling Carl’s going to call as soon as the sheriff gets in touch with him to say he and his son will be there, too.”
“Knowing him, probably. All right, I’ll pick you up around five. Get some sleep.”
“You, too. See you then.”
* * * *
The search on Wednesday went about as Wylie expected it would. The group that assembled in front of Nelly’s house was large and male, some of the men with hunting dogs. Sheriff Kingman frowned when he saw Wylie with Garry but didn’t try to tell him his help wasn’t needed. He could have. Justifying it by pointing out I was new to the town and didn’t know the territory. Not that it was true. During his infrequent visits with his grandfather, they had occasionally spent time hiking the paths that ran through the trees covering the low hills. They had even done some fishing in the river at the bottom of the deep ravine that wove through the hills north and east of town.
“We’re looking for Nelly, alive or dead,” Kingman said once he had everyone’s attention. “We’re also looking for whoever abducted her and any signs of which way he went after taking her out of her house. You’ll be broken into groups, including one dog in each. If the dog lets you know they’ve scented something, find out what.”
“Does he think we’re all stupid?” Wylie whispered to Garry.
“He does tend to state the obvious,” Garry murmured. “It’s just him acting as if he knows more than any three other people put together.”
Carl, who had shown up with Owen, his son, overhead them and chuckled. “He does do that, a bit too much for my taste. I ignore him whenever possible.”
Having run through the basics, Kingman laid a map on the hood of his car and called out names, four at a time, beckoning them to join him so that he could show them the area they were to search and give each dog handler a piece of Nelly’s clothing. Wylie ended up with Garry and two men he hadn’t met. One, Mr. Daniels, was a local farmer who had brought his Labrador retriever with him. The dog seemed very easy-going as the quartet walked to their designated area. The moment Daniels held one of Nelly’s socks under its nose and said “Find” the dog was all business.
Unfortunately, that didn’t translate into the Lab picking up a trail. While it tried, Wylie and his companions looked for clues that indicated Nelly and her abductor were or had been in the area. As Kingman had said to the group, “It’s very possible, not to say probable, that the man who kidnapped her carried her away. We found a few drops of blood going from the front door of her house to the path and then into the trees at the edge of the yard, indicating he started going west. He could have had a car parked close by, or he could have taken her deep into the woods, possibly to a hunting cabin, or one of the caves along the ravine, or—” He shrugged.
It was well after one when Wylie’s group decided to head back.
“If my dog hasn’t caught her scent, she ain’t around where we’re looking,” Mr. Daniels said—and the others agreed.
They got back to the staging area by Nelly’s house to find that two other groups had come to the same conclusion.
“It’s like he walked into the woods and vanished,” one man said after they exchanged information, or lack thereof.
By two o’clock, everyone was back, looking tired and disconsolate. Sheriff Kingman sent them home, telling them he would reconvene the search if anything new developed.
“If he tossed her body in the river, it could be miles from here by now,” Frank, the owner of the hardware store and one of Kingman’s volunteer deputies, said.
“Or he did take her to his car, and now he’s got her at one of the farms, or even somewhere here in town,” Wylie suggested.
That rated his outraged looks from most of the men, although a couple of them nodded as if they’d had the
same thought.
“We’re good, law-abiding people,” Kingman spat out. “Not a one of us would do something to her, so get that idea out of your head right now, Mister Lewis.”
Wylie didn’t retract his statement, but he didn’t push it, either, even though he knew there was a slim possibility he was right.
“Ready to head back?” Garry asked him.
“Sure am, before some of the guys decide to lynch me,” Wylie replied with a humorless smile.
“We’ll keep you safe,” Carl said, joining them. “Owen and I are headed to your place to get started, Wylie, unless you want us to hold off until tomorrow.”
Wylie nodded. “Why don’t you. If you were up as early as Garry and I were, you’re probably dead on your feet.”
Carl grinned. “Are you saying I’m getting too old for this sort of shit?”
“As if. You’ve got more energy than…that battery bunny. Still, after spending half the day tramping through the woods, I think we all could use a rest.”
“Lucky you,” Garry muttered. “Me? I have a restaurant to run.” He sighed. “I’ve got a feeling tonight is going to be hard on all my people, worrying about Nelly and all.”
“Then close,” Wylie said.
“I considered it, but at least if we’re open it’ll give them something to do to keep their minds off her being missing, if that makes sense.”
“It does,” Wylie replied. “Sort of misery loves company, I suppose.”
“Exactly.”
The drive back into town was done mostly in silence. When Garry dropped Wylie off at home, Wylie leaned in through the window to say, “Call me if you hear anything?”
“Maybe I’ll call whether I do or not. Like you said, misery and all that.”
“Good. Or stop by after you close.”
“I might do that,” Garry replied before driving away.
Wylie realized that he hoped Garry would. He liked the man. Liked being around him. I think we’re becoming good friends. For a moment he wondered if it would become something more, and decided it didn’t matter. If it does, it could be interesting. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t. That’s life.
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