by Stacy Finz
Sloane was beginning to believe that her person had never been reported missing, because he was either a transient with no family or friends, or a migrant worker whose people lived in another country and didn’t know how to contact authorities here. Those possibilities would make the case nearly impossible to solve.
But the poor man at least deserved a headstone with his name. And she wanted her three junior investigators (i.e., the pilot program) to have the satisfaction of solving the case. They’d worked so hard. Sloane glanced over at Rhys’s glass office and could tell his conversation was wrapping up.
Brady brought her a cup of coffee—her first one, since there hadn’t been time this morning. When they’d left the duplex, Aidan had still been sound asleep on her sofa bed. She and her brother had stayed up talking much of the night about Sue and Brady. He’d told her that Sue seemed to be getting serious with another school teacher, and she’d filled Aidan in on Brady’s stalker situation—the reason why they’d come home locked and loaded.
Rhys waved his hand for them to sit in his office, and Brady grabbed him a cup of coffee.
“Thanks.” Rhys warmed his hands on the mug. “Jesus Christ, Brady, what the hell have you gotten yourself into?”
Sloane didn’t like the implication of that sentence. It sounded a lot like blaming the victim. If the victim had been a woman, Rhys would have selected his words more wisely. At least she hoped he would’ve.
“Brady didn’t do anything wrong. This woman is a terror.”
“I didn’t mean to imply that he did, Sloane.”
Brady cut in. “What did Rinek say?”
“That they don’t know where this Sandra Lockhart is and that there is some indication that she may have disappeared on purpose. According to her computer searches, they think she may have been planning a road trip, though she hadn’t put in for vacation. According to her coworkers, she’s very conscientious about her job. There were also recent searches for you and for another male, who Santa Monica PD is trying to reach.”
“Rinek didn’t tell me there was anyone else.”
“This guy may be completely immaterial to the investigation.”
“What kind of road trip?” Sloane asked.
Rhys shrugged. “She’d made a list of gas stations. From the list, her trajectory is unclear. The stations are all over the map.”
It sounded bizarre to Sloane, like she had a bad case of OCD. Any smartphone could find the nearest gas station and navigate her there. “In California?”
Rhys deliberated and eventually said, “And Nevada.”
“Where in Nevada?” Brady asked.
“Beatty, Tonopah, Carson City.”
“That’s the route you would take here from Los Angeles if you wanted to go via Nevada.” And if you wanted to tack on another four hours to your drive, instead of taking I-5 across California, Sloane noted.
“Except, she also researched gas stations along the Arizona border, in El Centro, Blythe, and Lake Havasu City.” Rhys looked at their puzzled faces. “See what I mean? There’s no way to tell what she had planned. For all we know she’s a gas station buff.”
“Bottom-line it for me, Rhys.” Brady leaned forward in his chair. “Does Rinek think she’s coming here?”
“There’s no way to tell that, Brady. There hasn’t been any activity on her credit or ATM cards and no large cash withdrawals in recent weeks. It’s as if she disappeared into thin air. Our best course of action is to stay on our toes. I’ve printed her DMV picture and a photo I got off Facebook. I want to pass them around, let people in town know that we’re looking for her. That way if she shows up we’ll be notified. I also plan to have one of us regularly patrol Donner Road, and we’ve got Sloane living right next door to you. We’ve also got the inn to think about. Sometime today I’d like to gather Maddy, Nate, Sam, Lina, and Andy and have a frank conversation about this. Who knows? She may try to check in there. Everyone needs to be on alert.”
He got up from his desk. “I asked Connie to come in for a few hours today. Let me see if she’s out there and can set up something. I know Maddy is at the inn right now with Emma. She’s making sure everything is in order after last night’s party.”
After Rhys stepped out, Sloane put her hand on Brady’s leg. “This may finally be our chance to get her.”
Yeah, right he conveyed with his eyes, and it killed her to see him so deflated. She’d fallen for the man and his hurt was her hurt. And right now he was feeling a lot of pain.
Rhys came back in and sat on the corner of his desk. “We can do it at one—before the guests start checking in. Does that work?”
“Yeah,” Brady said, and Sloane nodded.
When they left the police station and got into the van, Brady said, “You don’t have to come to this, Sloane. Hang out with your brother, show him the sights.”
“I will, but I’m coming to the meeting. You’re not embarrassed, are you?”
“No, it was bound to come out anyway. All along Nate’s been suspicious of my past, thinking that someone with my experience must be hiding something to be satisfied to cook for a tiny inn. I think he’ll be relieved that I’m not wanted by the mob—or the FBI.”
“When this is over, you’ll be able to cook anywhere you want.” And she wondered where that would leave her. Because if he went away she’d miss him like crazy. Ah, who was she kidding? If he went away, he’d leave a great big hole in her heart. In just the short time she’d known Brady, he’d become everything to her. Her best friend, her sounding board, and her lover.
“Look, when we get home, you go spend some time with Aidan,” Brady said. “I want to call my sister and tell her what’s up and make a month’s worth of menus for the Lumber Baron. I don’t want to stay there if I’m putting the staff and guests at risk. At the meeting I’m gonna recommend that I take a leave of absence.”
“No one will want you to do that. We don’t even know what the deal is with this woman. It would be ridiculous to jump to conclusions, Brady.”
He reached across the console of his van, cupped her face with his hands, and kissed her. Sweet and gentle at first. Then he cradled her head and went all the way in until she was practically lying across his lap.
“What’s this for?” Sloane murmured against his lips.
“For being a good friend.”
“Is that what I am?” She lifted her face to look into his eyes.
“You are.” He didn’t say any more, just turned his key in the ignition and started the engine.
She didn’t dare press it on the way to Donner Road. A man under his kind of stress shouldn’t have to answer relationship questions. Anyway, Aidan was waiting when they got there, which didn’t leave them time to talk.
He’d commandeered Brady’s rocker and had his feet up on the railing while sipping a cup of coffee. “How’d it go?”
“Frustrating.” Sloane climbed the stairs. “They don’t know where she is or what she’s doing, other than making a list of gas stations across California and Nevada.”
“Gas stations?”
“They think she might’ve been planning a road trip,” Brady said. “But the locations of her gas stations are all over the map.”
“But the woman’s crazy, right? So you can’t apply logic to anything she does.” Sloane thought Aidan had a point. “In my line of business I’d be thinking accelerant. Amateur arsonists will often use gasoline to start fires and they’ll go to extremes to get it from places that aren’t likely to be traced back to them.”
“Eventually, she will need money and have to use one of her cards,” Sloane said. “When that happens, they’ll nab her. You ready to do some sightseeing, Aid?”
He got to his feet. “Absolutely. Let me just put the mug inside.”
Sloane hooked her arms around Brady’s neck. “Call your sister.”
He pulled her against him and she felt his warmth and solidness and the stubble on his chin when he rubbed his face against her cheek. The smell
of him—soap, shampoo, and man—made her want to burrow against his broad chest.
“Be safe,” she said in his ear.
Chapter 20
On Sunday, Griffin decided he’d waited long enough for Lina to recuperate from her party and call him. He picked up the phone and dialed her cell.
“What are you doing today?” he said by way of greeting.
“Laundry. I’ve got homework and classes in the morning. Why? What did you have in mind?”
“Breakfast at the Ponderosa.” It was the first thing that popped into his head since he hadn’t planned anything in particular. He just wanted to be with her.
“It’s noon, Griff.”
“Okay, lunch.”
He could hear her hesitate at first. “I can’t take too long, though. I want to get to my apartment in Reno before dark, and I still have a bunch of things to do in Nugget.”
He’d hoped they could spend the whole day together. “You’ve got to eat.”
“Give me twenty minutes and I’ll meet you there.”
Griffin got to the restaurant early and snagged them a quiet booth at the back of the dining room.
“How’s it going?” Mariah called from behind the bar.
“Can’t complain. Business is good. I’d just like to sell some damn houses.”
She tossed him a commiserating smile and came over to his table. “I heard you’re having an open house next weekend. That should help.”
Griff didn’t know that he’d sell anything, but at least they’d continue to get the word out. “We’ll see how it goes. How are you, Soph, and the baby doing?”
“We’re doing fine and Lilly is getting big.” She looked around the restaurant, crowded with families and tourists taking advantage of the unseasonably mild weather. “And business has never been better. We’re even thinking of hiring on a few more servers.”
“That’s great. If you hear of a good mechanic looking for work, let me know.”
“I will certainly do that. You want to order?” Mariah searched the dining room for a free waitress.
“I’m waiting for Lina, so no rush.”
“Lina, huh?” She grinned. “That was a great party Friday night.”
“Between Jake and Cecilia getting married and Lina’s birthday, we’ve been having a lot of them lately. Pretty soon it’ll be Lucky and Tawny’s wedding.”
“Always a party in Nugget.” Mariah laughed.
Lina came in the door, saw Griffin, and made her way to the back. Mariah gave her a hug and told them she’d send a waitress over shortly.
“Those Tawny’s boots?” Griffin asked Lina, who had her skintight jeans tucked into a pair of red shit-kickers. The woman looked so good, he wanted to carry her off to his bedroom.
“Are you kidding? I can’t afford her boots. I got these at Boot Barn in Reno.”
“They’re nice.”
She sat across from him and bent across the table. “Rhys told me how much my Lexus is worth. Griff, why’d you do that?”
“Because I can.” She started to argue, but he stopped her. “Just accept it graciously because I don’t want to spend my one day off talking about cars.” That shut her up. “Did you enjoy your party?”
“It was the best birthday I’ve ever had. But something bad happened later.”
Griffin stiffened, worried that someone might’ve had too much to drink and gotten into an accident.
Lina told him about Brady, his troubles in Los Angeles and how his stalker had mysteriously fallen off the radar.
“They think she’s coming here?” Griffin asked with disbelief.
“No one knows for sure. But we had a meeting at the Lumber Baron to talk safety measures. Brady wanted to take a leave of absence, Maddy and Sam started to cry, and Nate threatened to kill him if he left us in the lurch. Even Andy got all up in his grill about how we have to stick together in times like this. I think in the end Brady was pretty touched.”
“Crazy,” Griffin said. “It reminds me of that movie, Fatal Attraction.”
“I never heard of it.”
“It’s a classic. With Glenn Close and Michael Douglas.”
She shook her head. A server came to take their order. Neither one of them had to look at the menu. Lina got the Cobb salad and Griff got a tri-tip sandwich.
“So you’re going back to Reno today?”
“As soon as I finish my laundry at Maddy and Rhys’s. It’s so much nicer than having to do the quarter thing in the laundry room at the apartment. I always run out.”
He realized she had a whole life that he knew very little about. “Do you live near the friends who were at the party?”
“Mm-hmm. Mostly everyone lives near campus. Mine is a nice apartment complex with a pool and an exercise room. But I’m starting to wonder if I made a mistake living there, since I’m here most of the time. My classes are Monday, Wednesday, and only a half day Friday. I could save my family a lot of money by commuting, especially now that I have an amazing SUV.” She beamed at him like he’d hung the moon for getting it for her.
“You like living at home?”
“I have a beautiful room, my own bathroom, even a sitting room. And I get to see Emma and Samuel more. What’s not to like?”
Your overprotective big brother, Griff thought to himself. “Hey, I’m in favor of it.”
“I heard through the grapevine you’re having that open house next weekend.”
Their food came and Lina stole a fry off his plate like she used to do at the Bun Boy that first summer they’d met. He turned the plate so she could have as many fries as she wanted.
“You coming?” he asked.
“I’ll help if you want.”
“Dana’s got it pretty well covered. But having a smoking-hot woman hanging around might help business.”
She didn’t respond, just picked at her salad. “It might be awkward for both Dana and me to be there.”
“I told you there is nothing between us. You’re the only woman I’m interested in.”
She lifted her eyes from her plate. “I’m not going to lie to you, it’ll bother me. I’ve never met her and I’m sure she’s a nice woman . . . I just think it’ll be better for me not to come.”
He tilted his head. “For a jealous woman, you’ve been awfully standoffish toward me.”
She lifted her brows. “Is that what you would call Saturday night? Standoffish?” A laugh bubbled out of her and it took all his willpower not to pack her into his truck, drive home, and perform a reenactment of that night. And this time they would go all the way.
“Could we do that again sometime soon?” He dipped one of his fries in catsup and fed it to her.
“You never know.” She chewed and her lips tipped up in a flirtatious smile.
“How about after lunch? You could do your laundry at my house.”
“I want to take this slow, Griff.”
Now she wants to take it slow. “I was just kidding,” he lied. “I could come to Reno one night this week and take you out to dinner—just dinner.”
“There’s a great burger place near campus that you would love.”
“I’d rather take you somewhere nice.” She deserved to be wined and dined, unlike the last time. “We can do the burger place another time.”
“All right.” She whipped out her phone and checked the calendar. Griff snuck a peek. She had a lot of things going on. “I could do Thursday night.”
He didn’t need to check his calendar. “That’ll work. Text me your address and I’ll pick you up around six.”
They finished eating and Griffin paid the bill. Outside, it was sunny and so crisp that the air crackled. He could smell the Ponderosa sap and it reminded him of home-baked cookies. Impulsively, he took Lina’s hand and locked his fingers with hers while they walked to her truck. She pressed the key fob and the Lexus chirped twice.
“It’s running okay?” Griffin looked at the rear right tire. It appeared a little low. But on closer inspection he saw
that it was fine.
“I’ve never driven a car that ran this well. Griff, this is a crazy expensive gift you gave me and I don’t feel right about it. I want to make payments.”
“Don’t offend me, okay?”
“Remember when you used to fix the Scout for me and how I paid you in enchiladas?”
A corner of his mouth slid up. “They were the best enchiladas I ever had.”
“I could make them for you one night at Maddy and Rhys’s, like I used to.”
He cupped her chin in his hand. “I’d like that,” he said, and covered her mouth with his. She wrapped her arms around his waist and they continued to kiss right there on the square, in front of the police station.
“Rhys is in there,” she said against his lips.
“You think he’ll shoot me?”
She giggled. “I’ve got to go, Griff.”
“You never used to have to go.” He maneuvered her against the side of the SUV and boxed her in.
“That was before I was an adult with things to do.” She ducked under his arm and got into the driver’s seat. “I’ll see you Thursday night.”
She started the Lexus and Griff watched her drive away as her words sank in. She was definitely an adult now.
After breakfast service at the Lumber Baron, Brady took Aidan fishing. Sloane was tied up with her pilot-program kids, putting on the children-ID-kit fair she’d been planning. Ethel and Stu offered to let them set up shop in the parking lot of the Nugget Market and had even donated cookies, coffee, and cider to the cause. Clay brought a canopy tent to set up near the entrance and Rhys supplied a couple of folding tables from the Lumber Baron.
Before they’d completely set up, a long queue of parents began to form. Rose, Simpson, and Rudy walked up and down the line getting people started on filling out forms, and handed out stickers and balloons to the little ones.
The turnout was even better than Sloane had expected, which she chalked up to her pilot kids. They’d made posters and fliers, advertising the heck out of the event. She saw Maddy in the crowd with little Emma. And Tawny had brought Katie.
