It took a little while, but I did finally nod off from sheer exhaustion. When I woke up in the morning, I felt refreshed. But just because I was ready to tackle the case again didn’t mean that there were any new leads to explore.
Instead, the schedule for my morning was watching the chief of police give a press conference regarding Angela’s disappearance. The chief detailed what little facts were available. He then took some questions from the local media, most of which he didn’t have answers to.
Just before the press conference wrapped up, the chief made a plea to the public. “If anyone has seen Ms. Hummel, or has any idea where she might be, please call our tip line. Any assistance you can provide is greatly appreciated.”
***
Just as I suspected, despite the chief’s plea, the tip line did not explode with phone calls. But even though I had no delusions about the phone ringing off the hook, it was surprising just how quiet the line remained. For a stretch of about half an hour, I worried that the chief might have given out the wrong phone number. Or that perhaps the line wasn’t connected.
Neither of my fears proved to be true. Instead, something more disturbing was occurring. No one in town had any leads to speak of. That said, I kept telling myself it was still early in the investigation.
But as time ticked by, my anxiety level rose.
Finally, a few hours later, a phone call came in.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t a tip from one of the locals.
As a matter of fact, the call wasn’t for the tip line, but rather my cell phone. I checked the caller identification screen and saw Gavin’s name listed.
“Uh-oh,” I said.
David’s eyes widened as he glanced over at me. “What’s the matter?”
“It’s Gavin,” I said. “He’s probably calling for an update.”
“I wish we had one to give him.”
I groaned. “There is a lot of things I’m wishing right now. But none of them have come true.”
I answered the phone just before it had a chance to go to voice mail.
“Hello,” I said.
“Sabrina, please tell me you have some good news,” Gavin replied.
Given everything that Gavin was grappling with, I didn’t exactly expect small talk from him. But I also wasn’t prepared for how quickly he cut straight to the heart of the matter.
His abruptness left me tongue-tied for a moment.
When I didn’t immediately respond to his question, he spoke up again with distress in his voice. “Your silence…does it mean that you have bad news for me?”
“No,” I said.
I could hear him breathe a sigh of relief over the phone.
Unfortunately, my tongue continued to do me no favors.
Another silence took hold of the conversation.
Gavin gave me a few seconds to collect my thoughts before speaking up again. “What news do you have for me then?”
“To be honest, I don’t really have any news for you, good or bad,” I said.
Gavin’s voice cracked as he replied, “Isn’t the fact that you don’t have any news inherently a bad thing?”
“Not necessarily.”
“How do you figure?”
“Sure we haven’t found Angela alive,” I said. “But we also haven’t found her dead either.”
“Good point.”
“As long as we don’t find a body, there’s always a chance that she is still alive.”
“How good of a chance are you talking?”
“I can’t really give you numbers.”
“Because you don’t know that percentage? Or because it’s so low that you don’t want to tell me?”
“All I can really say is that David and I are doing the best we can.”
“I know you are,” Gavin said. “Do you at least have any leads?”
“We’re hoping that one of the locals might have seen something,” I said.
Desperation filled Gavin’s voice. “Has the tip line been getting a lot of calls?”
I hated to lie to him, but in his fragile state, I also didn’t want to tell him that the phones had been eerily quiet.
“A few,” I said.
Gavin let out a sigh.
I mustered as much encouragement as I could. “Gavin, it’s still early.”
“Are you just saying that to try and make me feel better? Or do you really believe it?” he asked.
“Look. We both want to find Angela as soon as possible. But these things take time.”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
“I still have hope,” I said.
Gavin’s mood recovered a little. “It’s good to hear that.”
“Just keep on praying.”
“Trust me. I’ve been praying like never before.”
“So have I,” I said.
Gavin and I both got quiet. Before the silence turned awkward, I spoke up.
“I hate to hang up on you, but I really need to get back to work,” I said.
“I understand,” Gavin said. “Good luck.”
Chapter Twenty-One
A few hours later, David and I finally got a lead. But it didn’t come from the tip line. Instead, David got a call over his police radio. According to the deputy on the other end of the line, Henry Moore had checked out of his motel room and had attempted to leave town.
Before Henry was able to get too far, the deputy pulled him over. Deputy Schneider was currently detaining Henry so David could question him.
David and I dashed over to Route 32. When we arrived at the scene, we saw Henry sitting in the back of Schneider’s squad car. David said a few words to the deputy, then Schneider stepped back and let us speak with Henry.
“Let me out of here,” Henry said.
It was almost comical the way that suspects made demands even though they weren’t in a position of power.
“You aren’t going anywhere,” David said.
Henry snarled. “You have a lot of nerve.”
“You only have yourself to blame.”
Henry’s eyebrows rose. “What are you talking about? You’re the one holding me against my will.”
“Only because you decided to make a break for it,” David said.
Henry shook his head. “You’ve got it all wrong. I wasn’t making a break for it. I was—”
David held his hand up. “You can phrase it however you want. The point is, you disobeyed a direct order.”
Henry groaned. “You’re blowing this way out of proportion. I was just heading home. I have a life to get back to.”
“You know who else had a life? Angela Hummel. And now she’s nowhere to be found. So until we find out what happened to her, your life plans are just going to have to be put on hold.”
“I already told you, I had nothing to do with her disappearance.”
“You keep saying that, but you have no way of proving it.”
“By that logic, you also can’t prove that I had any involvement in her going missing.”
“This drive of yours sure doesn’t help your case.”
“What ever happened to being innocent until proven guilty?”
David scoffed. “You’re going to quote the law to me?”
Henry nodded. “Absolutely. What right do you have to keep me locked up back here like this?”
“As a police detective, I have every right to detain a suspect for questioning.”
“I can’t believe this,” Henry snapped.
“And I can’t believe you had such a hard time following simple orders. I thought I was very clear before about not leaving town.”
“I can’t stay in Treasure Cove forever.”
“Mr. Moore, you have an interesting way with words. Angela just went missing yesterday.”
“I understand that.”
“Then you should also be able to understand that leaving town like this looks awfully suspicious.”
“If I was a resident of Treasure Cove, I can see why you’d feel that way.
But I’m an out-of-towner.”
“All the more reason to keep you within city limits.”
“You don’t get it. I only have so many vacation days.”
“It just so happens that I have far more pressing issues on my mind than the number of vacation days you have.”
“I meant that my boss is expecting me back at work tomorrow.”
“I could always call him up and explain the situation to him.”
“Don’t you dare.”
“I’d watch your tone if I were you.”
Henry refrained from snapping, but he continued to have a sour demeanor. “How long are you planning on holding me?”
“That is yet to be determined.”
“This is ridiculous.”
David shook his head. “No. It’s prudent. I can’t have you trying to skip town on me again.”
“For the last time, I was just heading back to Oak Ridge.”
“At least that’s your story.”
“Come on. Do you really think I’d lie about that?”
“You’d be amazed what suspects have lied to me about over the years.”
“Fine. If you’re not convinced that I was going to Oak Ridge, then where did you think I was headed?” Henry asked.
“Who is to say that you weren’t going to try to make a break for the border?”
“Me.”
David folded his arms. “You aren’t exactly the most reliable source.”
Henry groaned. “So what do you want from me? I’ve already answered your questions. There’s only so many ways I can try to convince you that I had nothing to do with Angela’s disappearance.”
“I’ll tell you what I want. For you to follow my orders. To stay in Treasure Cove.”
“For how long?”
“However long it takes to crack this case.”
Henry shook his head. “This isn’t fair—”
“You know what’s really unfair? The fact that Angela disappeared into thin air and no one knows what happened to her,” David said.
“I meant that it’s unfair of you to hold me like this.”
“Want me to let you go? Then listen up,” David said. “Here are the conditions of your release. You are to go back to Treasure Cove and stay there until Angela is found. And to make certain that you do so, Deputy Schneider is going to watch every move that you make. Got it?”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Once Henry agreed to David’s terms, my husband let him go. Henry ended up heading back to the motor lodge, with Deputy Schneider shadowing him.
As for David and I, our investigative options were dwindling. We could always return to the police station and pour over the case file again, but we practically had the thing memorized. We could also question each of the suspects once more, but it didn’t seem likely that we would get any additional information from them.
Ultimately, we decided to take a little break to regroup.
I found myself craving some caffeine, so I suggested that we head over to my family’s coffee shop.
When we entered Daley Buzz, my mother, Elizabeth, and my grandmother, Betsy, were sitting at a table. They immediately dropped whatever topic they had been discussing and turned their attention to me and David.
“What are you two doing here?” my mother asked.
“Isn’t it obvious?” I said.
My mother shook her head. “It’s not as obvious as you seem to think. Are you here because of desperation or inspiration?”
“I’m here because a latte is calling my name,” I said.
My mother stared me down. “Honey, you didn’t answer my question. The reason you’re craving a latte in the middle of the day like this—is it because desperation has set in?”
David turned to me. “You can’t get anything by your mother, can you?”
I shook my head. “Nope.”
David looked at my mom. “Your instincts never fail to impress me. You would have made a great detective.”
“I disagree. I don’t have the stomach for that kind of work. Honestly, it’s tough enough for me to keep from freaking out when I know that you two are working on a case,” my mother said.
“Mom, please tell me you aren’t going to try to convince me to sit on the sidelines,” I said.
“Don’t worry. Those weren’t my plans,” my mom said.
I breathed a sigh of relief. “Good. I’m glad those days are behind us.”
“That’s because you wore me down. It turns out you’re awfully stubborn,” my mom said.
“I prefer to call myself determined,” I said.
“That sounds like something your grandmother would say,” my mother replied.
My grandmother twiddled her thumbs. “I may have uttered a phrase like that a few times in the past.”
My mother laughed. “Mom, who are you kidding? You’re more stubborn than anyone I’ve ever met.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” my grandmother replied.
“There’s the Betsy Daley bravado I’m used to,” my mother said.
“Hey, if I wasn’t such a determined woman, this coffee shop wouldn’t exist,” my grandmother said. “It took a dogged determination to turn this place into a success.”
“I can’t argue with that,” my mom said.
“Good. Arguing is overrated anyway. Especially at my age,” my grandmother said.
“To be fair, is there any age when arguing is underrated?” my mother asked.
My grandmother shook her head. “Absolutely not. That said, why don’t we just save some time from now on and operate under the assumption that I’m always right?”
My mother smiled. “Ah, Mom. Even at ninety-eight, your sense of humor is as sharp as ever.”
I cut in. “As much as I enjoy some good jokes, my taste buds are getting impatient.”
My mother held her pointer finger up. “Wait a minute. You haven’t given us an update on the case yet.”
I grimaced. “Can we hold off on that for right now?”
“Uh-oh. Things must be going worse than I thought,” my mom said.
“I didn’t say that,” I replied.
“Not verbally. Then again, you didn’t have to. I can see it in your eyes,” my mom said.
David looked at my mother. “Your instincts really are amazing.”
My grandmother took a deep breath. “If things are going as awful as they appear to be, I will pray for you both tonight.”
“Thanks,” I said.
“It’s the least I can do,” my grandmother said. “Cases like this cut far too close to the bone. I don’t know how you’ve managed to keep yourself together so well.”
My mom stared deep into my eyes. “Actually, that’s what I’m worried about. On the outside, you look fine. But unless I’m wrong, on the inside, you’re on the verge of falling apart. Am I correct?”
I took a deep breath, but didn’t answer her.
“Sabrina, it’s okay. Ever since I heard the news about Angela going missing, I’ve been thinking about your sister. So I know how tough this must be for you,” my mom said.
I looked at the ground. “It certainly isn’t easy.”
“Honey, you don’t have to put on a good face for us,” my mother said. “You can be brutally honest.”
I shook my head. “That’s where you’re wrong. I can’t let my true emotions slip out.”
My mom gave me a blank stare. “Why not?”
“Because if I fall apart, I might not be able to put myself back together again,” I said.
“I understand that. But there’s also a danger in keeping your emotions bottled up,” my mom said.
“Yes. For too long. I just need to keep a lid on things until we can figure out what happened to Angela,” I said.
“Are you sure that’s the best course of action?” my mom asked.
I nodded. “Yes. The search for Angela deserves my full attention. No matter how much this case reminds me of Jess. I need to maintain my resolve.”
>
“That’s admirable of you to do,” my mom said.
“I’m not sure admirable is the right word.”
“Sure it is,” my mother said. “You’re doing something I could never do. I’m barely holding myself together and I’m not even working on this case.”
“Speaking of the investigation, if David and I are going to make any progress in finding Angela, we’re going to need that caffeine boost, sooner rather than later,” I said.
“Right. Of course,” my mother said. “In that case, I won’t keep you from your latte any longer.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
It appeared that luck was not on our side. After finishing our drinks, David radioed the police station. According to the dispatcher, the tip line had received no calls.
Unfortunately, the line would continue to remain silent. And the rest of the investigation wasn’t going much better. David and I spent the next few hours in various states of frustration. Finally, at around two o’clock, a sense of desperation really set in.
If I wasn’t already irritable enough, my stomach decided to start rumbling right then. Since David and I weren’t making any progress on the case, we decided to grab a bite to eat. Luigi’s Pizzeria was right around the block, so we drove over there.
Much to my surprise, a quiet meal wasn’t in the cards for David and me. Instead, as we entered the pizzeria, we saw Gavin sitting a table, eating alone.
He looked like he needed some comforting, so we did our best to buoy his spirit.
“I just feel so helpless,” Gavin said.
“You shouldn’t feel that way. You’ve been a big help to us,” I said.
“Oh yeah?” he asked.
I nodded.
“Absolutely,” I said.
“If I’ve been so helpful, then why haven’t you found Angela yet?” he asked.
“Because this is a very complicated case. Even with all our expertise, David and I have no answers right now,” I said.
“Which is all the more reason for me to feel helpless,” Gavin said.
“Look. I know it’s easy to give into despair, but you just have to keep believing that everything will work out,” I said.
“Is that what you did when your sister went missing?” Gavin asked.
Mysteries of Treasure Cove Cozy Mystery Boxed Set Page 43
