What if he married the right one? she thought. Would that balance him? Or was he unbalanceable?
She would probably never have an answer to that question because all he’d promised was a summer fling ending in a public breakup.
* * *
Will parked his SUV in the lot behind the sheriff’s office and exited the vehicle. He looked at the spectacular blue sky and the towering Montana mountains and dragged in a deep breath of clean, fresh air, then grinned. This was the best he’d felt in probably years, a little carefree and a lot relaxed.
Sex with April no doubt had something to do with the relaxation. That particular tension had been gnawing at him since seeing her again. But it was even more than that. It was talking to her, being around her. Laughing. He hadn’t realized how much he’d missed that. And dinner last night with Kim and her fiancé had been fun, and fun had been in short supply for a while now.
When he walked inside the office, Eddie and Clarice were already there. “Morning,” he said.
“Hey, Sheriff.” Clarice looked at him more closely. “You look perky today.”
“Do I?”
“Yes, sir. Does it have anything to do with April Kennedy?”
“And why would you ask that?”
“Word around town is that the two of you were seen at Bar None last night,” the clerk explained.
He really should have expected this. After all, his sister was the one who’d warned him to make sure the first time he saw April again was private and away from prying eyes. For some reason, today he couldn’t muster the will to care that it was all over Blackwater Lake that he and April were dating. And under the conditions of their arrangement the more public their relationship, the more satisfaction April would get out of ending things.
“We were there last night,” he admitted. “Had a great time with my sister and Luke. But you probably already know that, too.”
His dispatcher smiled broadly. “That was brought to my attention, yes.”
“Okay, then.”
“I just made a pot of coffee, Sheriff,” she said.
“I could use a cup.” There was a table in the back of the room where the pot was kept along with supplies to keep it full. He walked back and grabbed one of the mugs sitting rim down and poured the hot black liquid into it. Clarice made it a point to wash up the mugs every day before she left and that was much appreciated.
Will walked back to her desk and leaned a hip on the corner. “What’s up? Anything going on this morning that I should know about?”
“Pretty quiet. Got a complaint from out at the Harris place. During the night the barn was spray painted with words I refuse to repeat even though I know you’ve heard them all. Seems every summer we have to be the graffiti police. Eddie’s going to check it out.”
“Probably kids,” the deputy said, joining him by the desk. “But I’ll go out there and file a report.”
“We’ll need pictures. Do you want me to give April a call?” He wouldn’t mind talking to her. Just hearing her voice always made him smile. Interesting because when she took pictures, she never told the subject to smile but clicked away while chatting with them, just capturing honest emotion.
“Sheriff?”
Will looked at the deputy. “Hmm?”
“I said I don’t think it’s necessary to bother April. This is the third call we’ve had with the same complaint. So far there’s been no real evidence, but I’ll take a couple pictures with my cell phone for the report. Just to be thorough. Unless someone catches them in the act...” Eddie shrugged.
Will nodded, then sipped his coffee. “Everything quiet at the campground out by the lake?”
During the summer there’d been a number of noise complaints. It was inevitable what with the campers living in close quarters. Usually too much alcohol was involved. But he’d instituted regular patrols because there was something sobering about a black-and-white sighting.
“Haven’t had any calls, although it’s still early,” Clarice said. “But I think the drive-throughs make people stop and think. So far this summer the number of complaints from out there are down.”
“Good.” He looked at Eddie. “So when you’re finished at the Harris place you’ll swing by the campground?”
“Sure thing.”
“Okay. Then I’ll go catch up on paperwork—”
The ringing phone interrupted and Clarice answered. “Blackwater Lake Sheriff’s Office, Clarice speaking. How can I help you?” She listened for several moments and the expression on her face changed from carefree to concerned. “How long since anyone has seen her? How old is she?” She jotted some notes then said, “I’ll send someone right over.”
“What’s wrong?” Will asked.
“That was Mimi from the front desk at Blackwater Lake Lodge. There’s a kid missing. Six-year-old girl. Been about an hour and a half since her parents saw her.”
“Do you want me to go to the lodge first, Sheriff?” Eddie asked.
“No. I’ll go.” He set his half-empty mug down on Clarice’s desk. “By the time I get there she’ll probably turn up.”
But when he got there, she still hadn’t been found. Will interviewed the parents and each thought she’d been with the other. He believed them. Another thorough search of the property under his supervision was conducted without success.
Then he considered his options as a law-enforcement officer. This wasn’t a custody dispute situation and after interviewing the staff there was no evidence of anyone or anything suspicious. That meant he couldn’t make a case that the little girl was in imminent danger, which would meet the criteria for issuing an Amber Alert.
For now he would keep the search confined to the town of Blackwater Lake and the immediate area surrounding it. The parents had a recent picture of the little girl, Riley Shelton, and a description of the clothes she was wearing when last seen. Will assured them that everything possible would be done to locate their daughter. He didn’t use the word promise because a long time ago he’d learned that too many things were out of his control and he wouldn’t give them false hope.
When he returned to the office, Clarice took the picture and description to April so she could scan it and make up fliers to distribute around town. Will made phone calls and organized volunteers to search.
Fifteen minutes after that call his father walked into the office. “Hey, Will.”
“What are you doing here, Dad?”
“Cabot Dixon called me and said there’s a little girl missing up at the lodge.”
“Yeah.” Things sure didn’t move that fast in Chicago.
“I’m here because you need all hands on deck. I’m on medical leave, not an invalid.”
Will nodded. “Glad to have you on this.”
After that, men, women, teenagers, anyone who could showed up at the office. Will organized them into groups of two and three. He had maps of the surrounding area broken up into grids and assigned one to each group. Clarice made sure each one had a cell phone and water.
The office door opened and April came in with a stack of papers and put them on the dispatcher’s desk. “Here are the fliers.”
Will picked one up and looked at the blue-eyed, blonde, freckle-faced little girl last seen wearing denim shorts and a lavender T-shirt with two characters from the movie Frozen on the front. “These are great.”
“I already put one up in the window of my shop. Is there anything else I can do?” she asked.
He looked around the room, which was now nearly filled with volunteers who were grabbing up the fliers. “I’m going to assign one of the volunteers to take some of these and distribute them to the business owners around town. Then I’ll head out and keep looking. I think we’ve got it covered for now.”
“Those poor parents must be frantic with wor
ry.”
“Yeah.” Will had seen that look too many times. Chicago or Blackwater Lake, it didn’t matter. The fear was the same. But he would rather see that than grief and despair if they didn’t locate this child.
Her eyes were full of concern. “I can’t even imagine how they feel.”
“I know.”
“You’ll find that little girl. I’m sure of it.” She put a hand on his arm.
The warmth of her fingers felt good, reassuring, but he wasn’t so sure about the success of this operation. Where he worked, too many kids didn’t get a break. It was hard not to think the worst.
“We’ll do our best,” he said.
She nodded. “I’m thinking good thoughts.”
“Okay. Thanks.” He took a flier. “I have to brief the volunteers before they head out, then get to my search area.”
“Good luck.” She gave him a reassuring smile, then left the office.
Will stood by the dispatcher’s desk and looked around the nearly filled-to-capacity room. “I need everyone’s attention.”
Almost instantly chatter stopped and you could have heard a pin drop. “You all have your assignments. I need you to call in every hour whether you have news or not. Clarice will be here coordinating communication. Everyone stay together. We don’t want anyone else lost out there.”
“What if we find her?” one of the teenage girls asked.
“Call into the office and let Clarice know your position. She’ll dispatch emergency personnel to you.” He looked around again. “Any other questions?” When everyone shook their heads he said, “Thank you all for your help. Now, let’s get out there and find Riley.”
Will headed back out to the lodge and one more time searched the grounds immediately around the building, then expanded his perimeter, driving slowly. She was so little, he thought, and could be almost anywhere. He was alert to any flash of color and fervently wished she’d put on something that morning the color of the vests that construction and road employees wore to be visible.
He parked the SUV at the lodge and followed the paths on the grounds, trying to guess which way a curious six-year-old would go. What would attract her attention?
Just beyond the lodge property trails there was a clearing in the dense trees and underbrush. From here you could see some of the tallest mountains in Montana, where the very top had snow all year round. Will remembered Riley’s mom telling him what she was wearing that morning, nerves compelling her to add that the characters were sisters from her favorite movie. One of them froze everything and went to the snowy mountains in order not to hurt anyone.
What if...
After calling dispatch to check in with Clarice and give her his position, he started walking toward the mountain. The trees quickly closed in and a child could easily become disoriented. Will had hiked and camped in here with his dad and knew the area well.
Every ten minutes he stopped and called out. “Riley? I’m a police officer. Can you hear me?” Then he’d carefully listen for a response.
For about an hour he kept at it, then checked in with the office for an update. Clarice had no news and the bad feeling that he always carried around with him got a little bit worse. That drove him on.
“Riley?” He listened. “It’s Sheriff Fletcher. Can you hear me?” He stopped talking and listened again. There was a noise off to his right that didn’t belong in the woods. He moved slowly in that direction. “Riley? I’m here to help you.”
He heard the sound again. It was like whimpering, and exhilaration pumped his adrenaline. “Riley, honey, make some noise. Let me know where you are. I want to take you back to your mom and dad.”
“Over here.”
The words were faint and Will had trouble judging the direction. “Louder, honey. Shake the bushes so I can see where you are.”
He heard her and moved steadily toward the sound. Finally he saw a flash of lavender and blond hair through the trees. Thank God. She was shaking a blackberry bush for all she was worth.
He moved beside her and went down on one knee. “Hey, Riley. My name is Will. Good job with that bush and helping me find you.”
“I’m scared.” Her mouth trembled.
“I bet you are. Don’t worry. I’m here to help you.” He gave her a quick once-over. “Are you hurt?”
“A little.” She pointed to scratches on her shins. There were some on her face, too, along with streaks where tears had tracked through the dirt. “I want my mommy.”
“You got it, kiddo. But first, are you thirsty?”
“And hungry.”
“I don’t have food, but you’ll be back at the lodge pretty soon and we’ll get you something to eat. Here’s some water.” He took an unopened water bottle from the holder at his waist. When she’d had enough, she handed it back. He smiled at her, trying to put her at ease. “I like your shirt.”
She nodded and looked down at her front, pointing to the blonde character wearing a long sparkly turquoise dress. “That’s Elsa. She made everything frozen and thought she hurt her sister, Anna, so she went to the mountains where she couldn’t hurt anyone ever again.”
“Is that what you were doing when you wandered away? Trying to get to the snow on the mountain?”
She hesitated, then nodded. “I hurt my brother, then I felt bad. I didn’t think it was far, but then I walked and walked. My legs are really tired.”
“Do you want to ride on my shoulders?” he asked.
She nodded. “I really want my mom.”
“Roger that.”
He called Clarice and instructed her to notify the parents that he was bringing Riley back to the lodge. Then he wanted her to notify fire department search and rescue and have them standing by to check her out, although she seemed to be in good condition. After that she should call the volunteers back in and cancel the missing child alert.
After finishing his orders and hanging up, he held out his arms. “Come on. I’ll give you a lift.”
The walk back, even with the little girl on his shoulders, was completed in half the time. As he approached, he noticed a crowd gathered on the lodge’s rear lawn. The group included the Sheltons, the hotel’s general manager, some of the volunteers including his dad and a photographer from the Blackwater Lake Gazette.
Will handed Riley into her mother’s waiting arms and her father shook his hand. When that wasn’t enough thanks for bringing his child back safely, the man bro-hugged him. Really, no words needed to be spoken; the expression in their eyes said how grateful they were to him for bringing their child back safe and sound.
It felt good, really good, to get a positive outcome. In Chicago detectives were called in when someone broke the law. At that point there was no prevention and all he could do was try and find justice. Nothing wrong with that, but today it didn’t compare to what he was feeling. It had been a very long time since he’d experienced this kind of job satisfaction.
He didn’t know what it meant and deliberately refused to analyze the feeling too closely, but all he could think about was talking to April. He wanted to tell her about his really good, totally awesome day, share the excitement with her.
The way he used to.
Chapter Ten
April got home from work later than usual. It had been an exciting day, in the best possible way. Crisis averted and all was well in Blackwater Lake.
After changing out of her work jeans, putting on pink shorts and a white spaghetti-strapped top, she walked barefoot to the kitchen. “Now my biggest problem is what to have for dinner,” she said to herself.
She opened the refrigerator, hoping to find something for a meal, which would, in fact, be a miracle since she hadn’t bought groceries in a while. Or maybe the food elves had provided provisions, but no such luck. There was some celery in the crisper along w
ith nasty-looking lettuce, fuzzy tomatoes and a shriveled-up cucumber. That eliminated salad as a possibility. But she did have a half dozen eggs, some mushrooms and cheese that could be rescued.
The freezer wasn’t very bountiful. Just vegetables that were more ice than anything else. A container of ice cream with about two tablespoons left and a bag of frozen peas she kept for muscle aches after a run.
She had two choices besides going to the grocery store, which wouldn’t happen tonight. One—a trip to the Fletchers where she might throw herself on their mercy. Two—dry cereal because there was no milk. Will was probably at home, which was both good and bad news for the same reason.
She wanted to see him, but getting too attached was a bad idea. For her own good she was confined to quarters and needed to fend for herself.
“I guess it’s dry cereal.” She sighed and went to the pantry, pulling out the box of Cheerios. “Mental note—tomorrow grocery shopping.”
She opened the top flaps of the box and unrolled the plastic inner bag, then grabbed a handful of toasted oats in the shape of an O. There was a knock on the kitchen’s sliding glass door and she looked over. Will was standing there. The rush of pleasure she felt at the sight of him put a hitch in her breathing that nearly made her choke on the cereal. It was a really good idea to keep her distance, but she didn’t have the willpower to send him away.
Spineless? She preferred to think of it as being neighborly.
Box in hand, she walked over to the door and unlocked it, then slid it open. He had a brown bag in his hands with the logo of the Harvest Café.
“Hi.” She smiled and knew that the joy of it came from deep inside. “This is getting to be a habit.”
Not necessarily a good one. It would be too easy to get used to seeing him every day.
“What is?”
“You coming to my back door with food to rescue me from starvation.”
“And not a moment too soon,” he said, eyeing the big yellow box in her hands.
How to Land Her Lawman Page 12