Page 89 of Bring Them Home

“I know. It feels less and less likely we’ll find them alive.”

“It does, but we can’t dwell on that. So I was thinking while rereading the Paul Archer file that Hernandez’s house isn’t that far down the road from where his body was dumped.”

She sat up straighter, curious where he was going with this. “Right…?”

“Why don’t we go back out to Haymarket, have a look around? We’re at a standstill anyhow.”

“K-9 searched the Manning property.”

“It might be worth revisiting. It’s possible he had them taken there after killing Abigail. We don’t need to assume they’re dead either. He might be holding them someplace where he doesn’t think they’ll be found.”

She found it hard to decide which would be worse.

When she didn’t respond, Trent met her eye. “Want to go for a drive?”

She sprung up from her chair. There was no way they could get the K-9 unit out to search the entire countryside. It wasn’t even realistic. That would be a fishing expedition. There was just too much ground to cover. But for two detectives seeing through a hunch…? She and Trent didn’t need approval to go out and take a look, and it was better than sticking around here feeling powerless.

FORTY-FIVE

Amanda’s father took her fishing once. He even rented a boat and did everything right. She hated all of it. The smell of the fish, the blazing sun burning her fair skin and making her freckles stand out worse than ever—she didn’t tan, she freckled—but the worst part was sliding the worm onto the hook. And the only reason she was thinking about any of this was because of what Russell Holden had said. The warrant was denied for Hernandez’s residence because the judge said it sounded like a fishing expedition. Why does that sound familiar? Then it hit. The phrase had come up during the investigation on another occasion.

Trent pulled to the side of the road in front of the Mannings’ farm.

“So I was just thinking about fishing…”

“I didn’t take you as the type.”

She smiled at him and shook her head. “In relation to the case. Hernandez’s lawyer accused us of fishing for evidence against his client, and the judge who denied the search warrant for Hernandez’s house did so because he thought it was a fishing expedition. We know the lawyer is in Hernandez’s pocket. The same must apply to the judge. I mean what are the chances both men would use the same language?”

“Fair point.”

“Then there’s that judge who dismissed Abigail’s statement against Hernandez. Did you notice that the marshal never answered my question about which judge he approached for the search warrant? What if it was the person from years ago?”

“He shook his head when you asked if they were one and the same.”

“Which I initially took as a response, but it could have been another dismissal. I just wish I could trust him.” She waved a hand to mark the end of the conversation she started. “Though I may be seeing things that aren’t there.” She got out of the car and drew in a deep breath of countryside. Vegetation, something sweet, and something not so sweet… Cow patties… “So what is the plan? We just wander around?”

“I think we should pop in and ask the Mannings if we can have a look around their property first.”

“Solid starting point.”

They walked up the Mannings’ long driveway. She was searching the sky on the lookout for circling vultures. The odd one flew past overhead, but that behavior didn’t flag.

Rhett was standing on the porch outside the door by the time they climbed the steps. “Detectives, what brings you here?”

“How are you doing?” Amanda asked him.

“Truth be told, not that great. I’ve had a few nightmares since…”

“Completely understandable.” Dead bodies often haunted her subconscious at night, and she’d been in Homicide for years. Though for her, she figured it was her mind working to unravel the riddle.

“Did you find who did that to that fella?”

“We’re getting closer. Detective Stenson and I were wondering if we have your permission to look over your property.”

“What for?”

She didn’t want to tell him they thought other bodies might have been hidden here. “We think it’s possible something was missed the other day that might help the investigation.”