Page 22 of Bring Them Home

“Neither did you, though Trent and I have a vested interest.” She told him the victim was tied to a missing family case they picked up last night. “He was the husband and father. The mother and daughter are still missing.” She hoped they were still alive but held back saying as much. For one, she couldn’t trust her emotions to keep her voice steady. Two, wasn’t desiring a good outcome a given?

“Let’s hope you find them in time.”

“Yeah. So Trent and I are going to talk with the farmer who found the victim, but we’ll be back afterward to get your thoughts.”

“We’ve been warned.” Rideout smiled and winked at her.

Hilarious! She pulled out her phone and stopped next to the passenger door of their car, listening to the line ring. “Just calling Malone,” she told Trent as she put it on speaker. She saw the roof of the Manning farmhouse, and it wouldn’t take more than ten minutes to walk there, but it was time she didn’t want to spare.

“So was it Paul Archer?” Malone answered.

He must have seen her name on the caller ID. “Yes.”

There was a brief pocket of silence, then he said, “We knew there was that chance.”

“It’s not good either. Vultures have gotten to the body, who knows what else, and it’s obscuring cause of death. Rideout’s just arrived, and hopefully he can make something of it. CSIs have called out the Department of Wildlife Resources to consult on the birds. They can help with the investigation in a few ways—tracking down any scattered bones and telling us how long the remains have been exposed to scavengers.”

“Interesting. In all my years, I’ve never had a case involve them.”

“Be thankful for that. Trent and I are going to speak with the man who found Archer. Could you have officers bring in Phillip Daily? I’ll text you his information.”

“You bet I can.”

“Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it. What’s your ETA back to Central, do you figure?”

“I’ll send you a text when we’re on our way.”

“Sounds good.” With that, Malone hung up.

“I’m taking it you want to drive down there?” Trent nudged his head toward the house. “Either that or you’re using the car for support to remain standing.”

“Both?”

“We’ll get through this. So will Zoe.”

Trent unlocked the car, and they both got in.

As he got them moving down the road toward the farmhouse, she looked over at Trent. “If Daily’s behind this, the chances are good that Valerie and Brooke are still alive. He could have killed the husband to get him out of the way.” She had to cling to the fact they were alive to save, otherwise she’d lose her sanity. To think otherwise was just too much.

“I mean, it’s possible, but why not just take the wife and girl? And that’s assuming he wanted an instant family.”

“Which we won’t know until we talk to him and feel him out. For us to be right about any of this, then it would stand to reason that Valerie had ended things with him, which he didn’t take well.”

“And Detective Briggs said there wasn’t anything he found that indicated their relationship ended.”

“There’s that and who he could have roped into this. We know there’s at least one other person.” There were still questions that needed answers, but one step at a time. They would know more once they spoke with him.

Trent pulled into the long gravel driveway of the farmhouse. Tiger lilies were in full bloom in the garden bed surrounding the house. Their vibrant orange stood out in contrast to the century-old red brick that was washed out from time.

They got out and made for the door, but it was opened before they knocked.

“Shelley Manning, we’re Detectives Steele and Stenson.” Amanda ran with the assumption she was Rhett’s wife, given her looks and presumed age. Her hair was silver and pulled back into a loose bun. Deep-set wrinkles spiked out from her blue eyes, and fine lines were engraved in her cheeks. “Could we speak with your husband, Rhett?”

Shelley twisted her hands together in obvious discomfort. Her lips also tweaked while her eyes filled with tears. “He’s having a hard time, but yes, come this way.” She stepped back to let them inside.

The house was muggy, but fresh air from outside blew through the opened windows, bringing the pleasant smell of grass but the sour hint of manure.