Hunting Hour

by Margaret Mizushima

  “Any word?” Tess asked.

  “No.”

  “I’ve had two more calls from Gus Tilley. I’ve been able to answer his questions about his animals, but he seems anxious to talk directly to you. I’ve put him off but wanted to warn you that he might show up on your doorstep.”

  “Does he have an emergency?”

  “No. Just follow-up questions about Dodger and his horse, Lucy. Actually, he’s repeating the same questions over and over. Something’s not right about him, Cole. He’s acting odd.”

  Cole felt a wave of irritation; he didn’t have the reserves to worry about a client. It was dark outside, and Sophie was still missing. His head felt like it was going to explode. He brushed his fingers through his hair and kneaded his scalp.

  As if sensing that his silence meant he was at his wit’s end, Tess went on. “I know you can’t deal with him right now, so I’ll try to keep him pacified. I just wanted you to know what was going on.”

  “Thanks, Tess. I appreciate that.”

  “Tom and I are finishing up our route in the search. We’re heading back into Timber Creek to check in at the sheriff’s station. Is there anything else I can do to help? Do you want me to come over?”

  “No, but if you can keep screening calls, I’d be forever grateful.”

  “Of course. I plan to keep taking calls tonight. But will you contact me if you hear anything at all about Sophie?”

  “You’ll be first on my list.”

  “And call me anytime if there’s something more I can do.”

  He sensed she was battling her own anxiety. She’d grown close to both of his kids since they’d been helping out at the clinic. Cole agreed that he would.

  Detective Stella LoSasso had come in while he was on the phone, and after he disconnected, she ended her quiet conversation with the sheriff. “I need to speak with you, Dr. Walker,” she said.

  “Sure.”

  “Shall we sit?” She gestured toward the kitchen table and chairs.

  “I need to stand.”

  “All right.” She adopted a relaxed stance, leaning a hip against the cabinet facing him. “What do you know about Sophie’s activities starting with yesterday? Tell me everything you can.”

  He forced his sluggish mind clear back to the day before. It seemed like a lifetime ago. Looking at Mrs. Gibbs for reinforcement, he began to outline what he could remember about the day. “We had breakfast as usual, then she went off to school.”

  “Did she ride the bus?”

  “Yes.”

  “And the bus picks her up at the end of the lane, where it also drops her off?”

  “Yes.”

  “Do you take her to the bus stop or does she walk?”

  “She walks with her sister almost every morning. But I drove them both to the bus stop this morning, because they wanted to see the chicks at the clinic before they left.”

  “So it’s routine for her to walk to and from the bus stop every day?”

  Cole could see what she was getting at. “It’s almost always routine for them to walk in the mornings, unless it’s too cold or wet. But in the afternoons, I usually try to meet the bus.”

  “So it was unusual for you to miss meeting the bus today?”

  Cole searched for judgment in her eyes, but all he saw there was a keen interest in obtaining information. “Yes. I’ve been meeting the bus almost every day for the last four or five months.”

  “But not every day. It’s intermittent?”

  “It’s more likely that I’m there when the girls get home than not, if you’re wanting to know our routine.”

  “I am. You said ‘when the girls get home.’ Is it typical that both girls come home on the bus together?”

  “Yes, until lately. Angela has been staying at school to work on the yearbook. Do you think someone was waiting out there and planning to take Sophie?”

  “That’s what I’m trying to determine. If you’re almost always there or she’s almost always with her sister, a planned kidnapping seems unlikely. It makes more sense that it was an abduction of opportunity.”

  Her words touched him with an icy chill, and he suppressed a shudder.

  “Getting back to yesterday,” LoSasso said, “did you meet the bus yesterday afternoon?”

  He looked at Mrs. Gibbs as he searched for the answer, and she nodded.

  “Yes,” he said. “I had to think for a moment, but I remember now.”

  “Any field trips or anything different about school yesterday?”

  “No, none that I’m aware of.”

  “Okay, so you met the bus and then you drove her home?”

  “Yes. After she ate a snack, I drove her to the feed store to buy baby chicks for her birthday.”

  LoSasso narrowed her eyes and glanced at the sheriff. “Who was at the store?”

  “There were a few customers. There was a lady I didn’t know and a young boy who left as we came in. I think the boy had been looking at the chicks. Moses Randall might be able to tell you who they are.”

  “So Mr. Randall was there also. Anyone else?”

  Cole searched his memory. “Just one of his employees.”

  “Mrs. Banks?”

  “No, a kid that helps him. Maybe twenty-something. I don’t know his name.”

  “Did anyone seem to be watching Sophie or interacting with her in a way that caught your attention?”

  Again, Cole tried to recall if anything had set off alarm bells, but he came up short. “No. Both Moses and his helper talked to Sophie, but it was just about the chickens and what we needed to buy.”

  “Then you came home? Any other stops?”

  “We went directly to the clinic to get the chicks settled in.”

  “And where did Sophie go from there?”

  Cole thought about it, and a concern began to gnaw at him. “She stayed at the clinic actually. There was one client she interacted with who seemed taken with a story she was telling him.”

  “Tell me about that.”

  He remembered Gus Tilley sitting cross-legged on the floor, hanging onto each of Sophie’s words as she spun her tale. Although yesterday he’d thought nothing of it, the memory of his client’s infatuation, coupled with Tess’s statement that the man was acting odder than usual, caused a tremor to pass through him. Trying to stay calm, he began to relay the information to the detective in an objective manner, as much as was possible, wanting her to draw her own conclusions.

  He’d never want to accuse an innocent man of anything. But his baby was missing, it was dark outside, and he’d never gone to bed before without knowing exactly where his children were and what they were doing.

  “The client’s name is Gus Tilley,” he said. “I think we should go talk to him. He lives in the mountains west of town, and I can show you the way.”

  The detective’s cell phone rang. She looked at her caller ID and answered it, listening for a moment, while Cole felt an urgency to get going.

  “Please stay where you are and keep him there with you,” she said. “I need to talk with him.” She listened again before speaking. “That’s your right if you want to, but I’ll be there within twenty minutes.”

  After disconnecting the call, she turned to Cole. “This is a priority lead on Sophie that I need to follow. Get me Tilley’s address, and we’ll follow up there if nothing turns up on this one.”

  “Where are you going?”

  “I can’t say, Dr. Walker. But I promise that if we find Sophie, you’ll be the first to know.”

  Cole felt like he was being left at the gate.

  Chapter 18

  It was dusk as Mattie and Stella drove through the wide wrought-iron arch that marked the entryway to the Waverly Ranch. As they pulled up to the ranch house, attorney Justin McClelland stepped out onto the well-lit porch, followed by Jack Waverly. Brooks was nowhere in sight.

  “Waverly said he was going to call his attorney,” Stella muttered. “Looks like he’s as good as his word.”
>
  A frown punctuating his unibrow, McClelland met them as they exited the Explorer and moved to stand under the yard light. “Are you harassing this family, Detective?”

  “No harassment, Counselor. I need to talk with Brooks is all.”

  “You got away with that lineup without me. I want you to know right now for the record that you’re not to speak with Brooks again without me present.”

  “That’s his right if that’s what he and his parents want. Mr. Waverly was present at the lineup.” Stella looked at Jack, and he stared back at her, his mouth set in a grim line and his hands in his pockets.

  Using the too-sweet version of her smile, Stella looked back at McClelland. “Now that we have that settled, let me talk to Brooks.”

  Jack turned on his heel and retreated to the house. They waited in silence until he came back, this time accompanied by his son, his typically handsome face spoiled by a sullen expression.

  Stella didn’t bother with pleasantries. “Where were you this afternoon at three o’clock, Brooks?”

  The kid threw a look at McClelland, who nodded at him. “I was on my way to Hightower on an errand for my dad.”

  “And you didn’t get home until a half hour ago?”

  “It took a while to find everything.”

  “Do you have a receipt?”

  Brooks shrugged. “I think so. It’s probably in the car with the supplies.”

  “I’d like to see it.”

  Brooks turned toward the silver 4Runner parked at the edge of the yard but hesitated when McClelland spoke.

  “Wait, Brooks. What’s your reason for seeing the receipt, Detective?”

  Stella looked at McClelland and then Jack Waverly. “I’d like your permission to search the car Brooks was driving this afternoon, Mr. Waverly. I understand it was this Toyota right here.”

  McClelland answered for Jack. “No permission granted.”

  It gave Mattie intense satisfaction to see Stella pull the warrant out from the inside pocket of her jacket.

  “All right. I’ll execute this warrant then,” Stella said, handing it to McClelland. “As you can see, it gives us the right to search the vehicle with our K-9, and it includes the vehicle’s contents as well.”

  The attorney’s frown darkened as he scanned the document. He nodded briefly at Jack and strode toward the Toyota.

  “Wait right there, Justin,” Stella said in a cutting tone. “Please step away and let Deputy Cobb work unimpeded.”

  He threw up his hands and went to stand beside Jack.

  Mattie’s anxiety had built while she’d watched the exchange, and she was relieved to be able to get back in action. She hurried to the Explorer’s tailgate to get Robo. He’d been watching and seemed more than ready to go to work. It took her mere seconds to put on his equipment, and he jumped out, circling around her, looking up for his next instruction.

  Her heart thudded as she prepped him and let him sniff the scent article. This was it. This would tell them what they were dealing with. Had Brooks Waverly taken Sophie, or had a stranger taken her? It was a toss-up as to which was worse.

  “What is this, Detective?” Mattie heard McClelland say. “What’s she looking for?”

  She tuned him out and focused on Robo. Opening the 4Runner door on the passenger side, she asked him to search and directed him to sniff the interior of the door before gesturing him into the car. The car was immaculate and free of clutter. He jumped in and whiffed both front seats and the floor, then jumped to the back. Mattie opened the back door, keeping an eye on him as he sniffed the bench seat and then the floor. Then he clambered into the rear compartment and circled, giving a box filled with packaged automotive parts a cursory sniff before moving back through the car to check where he’d been.

  Mattie’s hopes fell as she realized he wasn’t going to give her a hit. Without a hit, they’d have to stop. There’d be no searching the rest of the property.

  After Robo came back to her to signal he was finished, she opened the SUV’s tailgate and retrieved the receipt Stella wanted. She shook her head as Stella approached and handed it to her. The detective made eye contact and lifted one shoulder to acknowledge her disappointment. Feeling let down, Mattie hugged Robo to her knees and told him he’d done a good job.

  Stella went back to the men with the receipt, holding it up so that she could read it under the bright light. “You were driving to Hightower at three o’clock this afternoon, but you didn’t check out at the store until five twenty. It only takes a half hour to get to Hightower, Brooks. What were you doing all that time?”

  Brooks flushed and shot a glance at his dad. “Like I said. It took a while to find everything.”

  “Two hours?”

  “Don’t answer that, Brooks,” McClelland said. “I insist you tell me what’s going on, Detective, or this interview is over.”

  “We have a missing child, Justin. One child dead two days ago and now another girl missing.”

  McClelland let his surprise show before he recovered. “My client has nothing to do with your first case, Detective, and I’m willing to go out on a limb here and say he has nothing to do with your second one either.”

  “I have a runner’s cap that Brooks lost near the Banks crime scene, and now he has a huge chunk of unaccounted for time right when our second child goes missing. So, Justin, do you see why I’m not willing to take your word for it?”

  “Who is the missing girl?” Jack asked.

  “Sophie Walker.”

  Jack looked surprised. “Doc Walker’s daughter?”

  “The younger one.”

  “Did you find evidence of her being in that car?” Justin said, gesturing toward the 4Runner.

  Stella shrugged.

  “I guess not, or you would’ve made an arrest. Your work here is done. I’m ending this interview until I have a chance to speak with my clients.”

  Stella backed away, her disgust evident. “Then go to it, Counselor, but I’ll tell you when our work is done. Deputy Cobb and I are going over this vehicle with a fine-tooth comb, and we won’t be leaving until we’re sure Sophie Walker hasn’t been in it.”

  *

  Mattie felt sick at heart as she drove Stella back to the station. They’d found nothing at the Waverly place that would lead them to Sophie.

  “My gut tells me the person who took Sophie is also Candace’s killer,” Stella said.

  “Brody and I think so too.”

  “And if Candace’s death was accidental, we have hope that Sophie is still alive.”

  Mattie nodded, unable to speak, thinking of sweet Sophie with her big grin and boisterous spirit.

  “We need to keep an eye on Brooks Waverly,” Stella said. “I’m not sure how we’re going to do it.”

  “Maybe Johnson?”

  “I’ll talk to the sheriff. I’m just not sure how we can stake out that place.”

  Even an unmarked car would be conspicuous parked on a highway with nothing but open meadowland on both sides.

  “Might have to be satisfied with setting up a speed check between Timber Creek and watching for the Waverly vehicles that way,” Mattie suggested.

  “At least that would tell us if and when Brooks drives into town. I don’t know what he was doing during that two-hour block of time, but I’ll see if I can find out what time he actually arrived at that store.”

  “It’s a concern,” Mattie was saying when her cell phone rang. It was Jim Madsen, and she connected the call.

  “I just passed the sign that said I’m ten miles from Timber Creek,” he said.

  She gave him directions to Cole’s lane. “There’s a sign out by the highway that says Timber Creek Veterinary Clinic. It’ll be visible in your headlights.”

  “I’ll be there soon.”

  “We’ll meet you there.” Mattie flipped on her overheads and picked up speed as she spoke to Stella. “Sergeant Madsen will arrive with a bloodhound within the next few minutes.”

  “Do you think th
is dog can come up with something when Robo couldn’t?”

  “I don’t know, but bloodhounds have more scent cells than German shepherds. Let me call Brody and tell him Madsen’s almost here.”

  Mattie hoped Jim’s dog would be able to find Sophie’s scent coming from the vehicle that had snatched her away. She knew that while most dogs had around 150 to 200 million olfactory receptors, some believed a bloodhound could have up to 300 million. The breed’s large, wet flews and folds of skin around their nose and ears helped scoop up scent particles in the air or on the ground. Bloodhounds could sometimes track a human scent trail that was over a week old.

  By the time they arrived at the entry to Cole’s lane, Brody was already parked there with his lights flashing. Even as Mattie pulled in to park, an unmarked SUV drove up beside her. The combined lights on top of her vehicle and Brody’s created an eerie blue-and-red strobe that let her see Jim Madsen give her a brief salute as he parked.

  “I’ll tell the sheriff we’re all here,” Stella said, reaching for her phone.

  Mattie nodded and left the car. Robo bounced from side to side in his compartment, checking out Jim’s SUV. He’d evidently spotted the other dog. The bloodhound’s nose pressed up against the side window of his own compartment as he sat calmly and stared at Robo, placid and apparently less excitable than her dog. His soulful eyes in his droopy face shifted to stare at her for a moment, and then moved back to watch Robo. She wondered what difference there would be in handling this calm, collected animal rather than the raw bundle of energy that made up her German shepherd.

  She met Jim outside his car with her hand extended. “Thanks for coming, Sergeant.”

  A burly man with a shaved head that sported a police badge tattoo above his right ear, Jim Madsen reached to shake hands. Hers disappeared inside his big paw as he squeezed it. “I hope we can help,” he said in his Southern drawl.

  Mattie introduced Stella and Brody and then began to explain their plan. “Brody and I can light you up in front and back if that’s the way you want to work this.”

  Brody joined in with more detail. “We’ll also pull in a couple other vehicles to stop traffic and give you a buffer to work in. We can keep you inside a clear zone of about a mile.”