Wife Wanted in Dry Creek

by Janet Tronstad

  She wished it had been different, but she knew she’d done the right thing. She liked Conrad, but she was a little bit of a loner at the best of times. She didn’t make casual friends. She didn’t trust easily. It wasn’t fair to ask anyone to walk beside her until she knew more about the cancer. Her old boyfriend had certainly agreed with that. Maybe after she saw the doctor again, she could come back here and set things right.

  Conrad couldn’t believe what he’d done. It might sting that Katrina didn’t want to go out with him, but he should be more gracious than that. He was a grown man, not a little kid. His only excuse was that his uncle’s prayer request had churned up expectations in him that he shouldn’t be thinking about.

  “Conrad!” He heard the shout and looked up.

  Sheriff Wall was jogging toward him with a scowl on his face and a hand on his head to keep his hat from blowing off. Half-frozen rain was coming at both of them and, outside of his name, Conrad couldn’t hear anything else the lawman was saying. Then the sheriff pointed at something behind him.

  Conrad turned around. Ah, yes, the sheriff was worried about Katrina escaping.

  “I’m sorry,” Conrad said, as the lawman got closer. “She’ll be here in a minute.”

  Sure enough, Katrina was walking down the asphalt road with more dignity than he possessed. Her long black hair was flying. A lesser woman would be bowed by the wind, but not her. She had taken off her high heels and was walking barefoot in the rain.

  Conrad turned back to see the sheriff looking at him.

  “What’s wrong with you?” the lawman demanded. “You don’t know who this woman is. She could be anyone. And you’re out in the middle of the street kissing her like you’re a couple of teenagers.”

  “She doesn’t want to have anything to do with me,” Conrad confessed miserably.

  “Well—” the sheriff said gruffly and then cleared his throat.

  “I more or less asked her out and she said no,” Conrad continued just in case the man didn’t get the full picture.

  “At least one of you has some sense then,” the sheriff finally said. His voice did have some reluctant sympathy, though. “I heard about that prayer request of yours. My wife has it stuck to our refrigerator door with a magnet.”

  Conrad grimaced. “That was my uncle’s doings.”

  “Yeah, well,” the sheriff said and then gave him a short pat on the back. “I think you should pick a woman who isn’t in the middle of a theft investigation—or worse.”

  Conrad felt icy cold. “What do you mean worse?”

  The sheriff nodded grimly. “Here she comes. I’ll tell you both when we get back inside. No sense in us catching pneumonia out here talking.”

  No one had said much when Katrina came up to the two men. The wind was miserable by then and everyone had their heads down. The sheriff pointed to the gas station and they all started walking against the wind to get there.

  Katrina was exhausted. After a few steps, Conrad put his arm around her and helped her along. She didn’t really need his help, but his shoulders provided some shelter for her and she wasn’t about to refuse his kindness.

  The sheriff was the first one to step inside the gas station office.

  “Your aunt and uncle have the boys?” he turned to ask Conrad. Rain was still running down the man’s face, but he had a serious look to him and he didn’t even wipe the drops away.

  Conrad nodded. “We thought it would be best.”

  “They have toys,” Katrina added.

  “They’ll be well taken care of,” the lawman said and then he stood there.

  “Have you heard from Leanne or Walker?” Katrina asked, beginning to worry. It was clear something had changed since the sheriff had talked to her earlier, but she couldn’t imagine what it could be. “They called back, didn’t they?”

  “No,” the sheriff said. “But I had one of the men from the tribal police go over and check their house. I thought maybe they were just outside or something.”

  “Leanne doesn’t spend much time outside. It’s too early for her garden.”

  “Yeah, well, she wasn’t there,” the sheriff said. “Walker wasn’t there, either.”

  Katrina swallowed. Maybe that was good news. “They’ve been having problems. They could have gone away for the day and—”

  “Someone broke into the house,” the lawman continued. He kept looking at Katrina like he was judging her response. “A window was smashed and everything was messed up inside.”

  “They didn’t have a fight, did they?” Katrina asked. She’d worried about Leanne marrying Walker, but she’d never thought of physical violence. She’d known he intended to live on the reservation and she didn’t think her sister would do well there.

  “The man said it didn’t look like a fight. The furniture wasn’t broken. Mostly drawers were upended and the clothes in the closets were thrown on the bed. No real damage done though. Usually, in a fight, a lamp gets broken or something.”

  “Could they have been packing?” Conrad asked.

  The sheriff shook his head. “Everyone’s things were gone through. The boys. The wife. The husband. It was more like a search, but that’s not all.”

  Katrina couldn’t stand it any longer. “What is it?”

  She felt her breath catch in her throat again.

  The sheriff was looking at her, his eyes blank of any emotion. “There were traces of blood on the doorjamb. Someone could have cut themselves breaking into the house. Or someone could have grabbed the jamb on their way out of the house if they were injured.”

  “No,” Katrina groaned.

  “Do you mind if I look at your hands?” the sheriff asked.

  “What?” Katrina asked.

  “Your hands,” the man repeated.

  Numbly, she held them up.

  “To the elbow, please,” the sheriff asked and she took her jacket off.

  Conrad held out his hands and she gave the garment to him. His dark eyes followed her movements and she couldn’t figure out what he thought. The light was low in the office and not much more was coming through the windows. It was raining steady outside. The faint smell of coffee hung in the air.

  Katrina pushed up the sleeves on the ivory pullover she was wearing. Then she spread her fingers wide and let the sheriff take a good long look. Then she turned them over.

  “I’d never hurt my sister,” she whispered when he finally finished examining her. “She’s my only family.”

  The sheriff wasn’t moved by her words. “An awful lot of violence happens in families. And you said yourself the two of you had your problems. You mentioned you haven’t been in close contact for a long time.”

  “Yes, but—” Katrina looked over at Conrad. “Truly, I wouldn’t.”

  He nodded and turned to the sheriff. “If you want to ask more questions, I think we should wait until we can get a lawyer here.”

  “A lawyer!” Katrina protested. “I don’t need a lawyer.”

  The sheriff turned toward the window. “There’s a forensics team on the way to the house now. They’re going to try to get a handle on the bloodstain. If it doesn’t match either of the two adults living in the house and it doesn’t match yours, we might be able to eliminate you from consideration. The tribal council has samples of their blood and will confirm or deny for us.”

  “I have nothing to hide,” Katrina said. “You’re welcome to take a blood sample from me.”

  The sheriff nodded. “I’ll do that. I have a kit in the car. I’m inclined to believe you for now, though. Mostly because of the boys. They gave me a pretty thorough accounting of when you left this morning. They didn’t mention you going back to the house afterward and boys like that would notice a broken window.”

  “But what’s going to happen?” Katrina asked. “You need to be looking for Leanne. She wouldn’t have just disappeared. The boys and I were supposed to be home by five o’clock. She was making chicken for dinner. I saw her take it out of the freezer.�
�

  “We’re already looking for her,” the sheriff said.

  “You and the boys will stay with me at my uncle’s house,” Conrad said as he stepped forward. “Just as long as you need to until this works out.”

  “Like I said, we’ll know more soon, I’m sure. It helps that we know where your sister’s car is,” the sheriff said.

  Katrina looked at the lawman. “She must have taken my car. A beige Lexus with a moon roof. I got the model with extra horsepower. Maybe if she’s in the car, she’s running for help.”

  The sheriff took a notepad out of his pocket. “There were no vehicles at the site. Give me the description and I will pass it along to highway patrol.”

  Katrina nodded. She began with the license plate number and finished up with the decal she had in the window saying she was a member of the Huntington Rose Society. She’d joined before she got cancer and never had planted the rose bush she’d meant to.

  “Leanne knew we were coming down I-90 this way. Maybe if we put something out on the road she’d know to take this exit if she drove by looking for us.”

  “I have an old piece of plywood. I can put a sign out with the boys’ first names on it,” Conrad offered.

  “Sounds good,” the sheriff said as he finished with his notes. There was nothing more to say.

  “Why don’t I take you over to my uncle’s house,” Conrad said, then looked at the sheriff.

  The lawman nodded. “Just be sure—” He stopped to sigh. “Well, you know the drill.”

  “Yeah,” Conrad said as he took her arm again.

  Katrina was content to be led. If her sister was in danger, she felt as though she should be doing something, but what could she do? She and her sister had seen their share of tragedy as children and she’d never been sure if that drew them closer together or pushed them further apart. Whichever it had done, it had intensified their relationship. What pained her sister, hurt Katrina. That’s part of the reason she hadn’t been able to be too close when her sister married Walker. She didn’t want to feel the distress she knew was coming when Leanne became unhappy living on the reservation.

  The cold rain hit Katrina in the face when she left the sheltered area around the gas station pumps. She moved closer to Conrad’s warmth. Her sister accused her of shying away from strong emotions. She willingly admitted it. Her emotions were too messy. She had to stay away from them—it’s what kept her in balance.

  “You forgot your Closed sign,” she murmured to Conrad as he put an arm around her shoulder. “People won’t know you’re not here.”

  “Shh, it’s okay,” Conrad said. They came to the end of the concrete and he moved his arm away from her. She didn’t have time to miss it, though, because then he lifted her effortlessly as he had done before and settled her against his chest. He carried her through the rain to a white picket fence. The gate opened easily and he walked up to a plain two-story house with dormant rose bushes on each side of the front porch. They reminded her of the Huntington roses she hadn’t planted.

  And then she suddenly realized the condition she was in. “I can’t go to your aunt’s. I don’t have any shoes on—no clean ones anyway.”

  Conrad gave a soft laugh. “My aunt Edith is perfectly able to cope with missing shoes.”

  “But the sheriff—”

  “She can cope with that, too.”

  He knocked on the door and moments later Edith opened it with a smile. Warm air and the smell of ginger welcomed them inside.

  “It feels like home,” Katrina said with a sigh. She felt hope for the first time in hours. Maybe things would turn out all right. If only the sheriff could find her sister. And Conrad would continue being nice to her. And Edith turned out to be everything her smile promised.

  Chapter Six

  It was four o’clock before the sheriff came to the door. By that time, Katrina had stood at the kitchen counter in hand-knitted slippers and squeezed out scrolls of yellow frosting hair on thirty-seven gingerbread men who were lined up on a white dish towel. Once Edith found out she was from Los Angeles, the older woman suggested they make their cookies into beach surfer men. Katrina had to admit they were cute. Edith had even made gingerbread surfboards for them to carry and the two women had giggled together as they frosted them in beach colors.

  The ring of the doorbell changed all that, though. Edith dried her hands on her apron to go answer the door, but then they could both hear the door open without her. Conrad had been working, but he apparently closed his gas station early because he was walking in with the sheriff. The voices of both men could be heard as they came through the living room.

  Katrina felt her stomach knot up. “I suppose they’ve heard something about that blood.”

  “You’ll be fine.” Edith reached out to hold Katrina’s hand. “I know you told the sheriff everything you knew, but it’s not too late to say you want to have a lawyer with you.”

  Katrina squeezed the older woman’s hand. Sitting in this kitchen had made Katrina miss her mother. She’d been twelve when both her parents died. Before that, they had always been too busy with church work to spend much time with anything domestic. She’d never made gingerbread men or sat and discussed what kind of curtains someone should make for their dining room. Maybe, she thought to herself, she was really missing the mother she’d always wanted to have.

  “I’m fine without a lawyer,” Katrina said and then added shyly, “But I’d like you to sit with me.”

  Edith’s eyes brightened and she blinked. “Of course, dear.”

  Then she took off her apron. “We’ll go sit in the dining room.”

  There were no curtains on the windows, but the shades were drawn so it was darker than the other rooms. Edith switched on an overhead light and the room was filled with a warm glow. A large mahogany table sat in the middle of the room with six matching chairs arranged around it. A natural lace runner ran the length of the table and a vase stood in the middle with blue plastic flowers. Along the left wall, there was a glass-topped buffet and on the right a large photo of a young blonde girl Edith had said earlier was her daughter, Doris, taken some forty years ago.

  Edith had no sooner turned on the light than the sheriff and Conrad came through the archway leading from the living room. The sheriff took off his Stetson and Conrad started taking off his jacket.

  The lawman looked serious so Katrina figured this was not a good report.

  “Please, have a seat,” Edith said to everyone.

  The sheriff sat on one side of the table and Katrina was pleased that Conrad sat on the side with her and Edith. He sat to her left; Edith to her right. Katrina took a deep breath. Her nephews were upstairs watching a cartoon video with Charley so she didn’t need to worry about them. She was not surprised when Edith reached out and took a hand, but then when Conrad took her other hand she almost burst into tears.

  The lawman took her cell phone out of his pocket and handed it back to her.

  He didn’t say anything, though.

  Everyone was silent for a few moments.

  “Do you mind if we pray first?” Edith asked the sheriff and then looked at Katrina with a worried face. “I won’t if you’d rather not, but—”

  “No, it’s fine,” Katrina mumbled. She didn’t think it would make any difference, but if it made Edith feel as if she was doing everything she could, Katrina would not stop her. She barely got her eyes closed before the older woman began.

  “Our Father,” Edith said with so much intimate warmth in her voice Katrina almost opened her eyes to see if someone had entered the small room. “We need Your help for our beloved Katrina and her sister and brother-in-law. We pray for Your protection to surround them, Father, wherever they are today. Give the sheriff and his colleagues what they need to know to unravel the troubles at the Rain Tree household. Be with us all as only You can be. In the name of Jesus, Our Precious Lord and Savior, amen.”

  No one said anything as they opened their eyes and settled back into w
here they were.

  Finally, the sheriff cleared his throat. “They ran the tests on the blood from the doorjamb. It’s not yours.” He looked at Katrina. “And it doesn’t seem to match either Leanne’s or Walker’s, either.”

  Katrina took a deep breath. “So I’m cleared?”

  “Let’s just say you are continuing to be less of a person of interest in the case—if there is a case,” the sheriff said with a small smile. “We’re not any closer to figuring out what happened, though.”

  “There haven’t been any reports on my car?” Katrina asked. “I have a feeling if we find the car we will find Leanne.”

  “I put up that sign we talked about,” Conrad said. “Right by the Dry Creek exit. But no one strange has driven into town.”

  “And it takes time to locate a car using an all-points bulletin,” the sheriff said.

  “Not around here it doesn’t,” Katrina muttered. “When I drove Leanne’s car into Dry Creek, these people were all over it. It can’t have been reported stolen for more than a few hours at that time.”

  “Well, not every town has a neighborhood watch like those men at the hardware store,” the sheriff said with a quick grin before turning serious again. “I wish they did. In the meantime, I’m wondering if you’d let me look in Leanne’s car. Maybe there’s a clue there. Even something as simple as a gas receipt might help.”

  Katrina nodded. “Of course. The keys are at Conrad’s station where he keeps the keys of the cars he’s working on. There’s a yellow disc at the top of the key chain that advertises some hotel.”

  “Maybe—” the sheriff began.

  But Katrina was already shaking her head. “That hotel is in Texas and the key chain is old. Leanne would have told me if she was going that far away. There’s really nothing else in the car except for Zach’s car seat.”

  The sheriff shrugged. “Well, it was worth a try.”

  Conrad cleared his throat. “I’ll look in the glove compartment when I go over to the station. Sometimes people keep old receipts there. Is the department treating this as a missing person’s case then?”