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They walked down Main and peered inside Aunt Betty’s. “Wait here and keep looking out for her. I’ll go and ask if anyone has seen her.” Jenna ducked inside and waved at the manager, Susie Hartwig. “Has our new deputy been in this afternoon?”
“No, I did see her in the park with Dave earlier.” Susie’s forehead wrinkled into a frown.
“Yeah.” Wendy, one of the servers, wiggled her eyebrows. “She was acting weird and following Deputy Kane around waving her arms like she was trying to make a point. He walked off as cool as a cucumber and just left her standing there.”
Clearing her throat, Jenna nodded. “Did you see where she went?”
“No, I had customers to attend to.” Wendy waved a hand around the crowded diner. “It’s been busy like this all day.”
“Okay thanks. Give me a call if she shows.” Jenna pushed through the door and looked at Kane. “She’s not in there. Why didn’t you tell me she followed you to the park? I had to hear it from Wendy.”
“I handled it.” Kane shrugged. “I didn’t think it was necessary to tell you.”
“Well, it is now. She’ll be somewhere cooling her heels.” Jenna pushed a hand through her hair. “Where did you last see her?”
“Across there, in the park near the tree line.” Kane led the way across the road.
Jenna kept her eyes straight ahead. “Maybe you need to explain what happened to make her so upset she took off?”
“It wasn’t that bad.” Kane stared at her obviously uncomfortable. “When I went to walk Duke, Poppy insisted on coming with me.”
Stomach cramping, Jenna dropped into step beside him and nodded. “Okay.”
“I reprimanded her for coming on to me is all and she didn’t take it too well. I walked away and left her and she yelled after me but I kept on walking.” Kane slid his gaze over her and swallowed. “I didn’t tell you because I prefer to deal with situations as they arise.”
Inwardly sighing with relief, Jenna nodded. “What did she do? No, don’t tell me. I don’t want to know. You handled the situation and it’s over.”
“It might not be over if Wendy and others witnessed it.” Kane let out a long sigh. “It was vocal and unprofessional. Poppy was kinda loud and from the outside it could have been mistaken for a lovers’ tiff.” He shrugged. “There might be blowback from it.”
Shaking her head, Jenna turned to him. “I don’t believe for a minute that any of the townsfolk would figure you acted unprofessionally. If she comes to me with a complaint, which I doubt, I’ll deal with it.”
“As she has a habit for going over people’s heads to get what she wants, I figure Poppy would go straight to the mayor.” Kane snorted. “She has him tied around her little finger. She’s probably in his office right now convincing him to fire me.”
Jenna stopped walking and turned to him. “He’s never in his office after four, and in any case, it will never happen. POTUS placed you here. Do you honestly believe the mayor has any say in the matter?”
“Nope.” Kane stopped to scan the park. “But POTUS might transfer me somewhere else. He doesn’t want me in anyone’s spotlight.” He frowned. “You’d never find me, Jenna.”
Huffing out an agitated sigh, Jenna gripped his arm. “But you could find me.”
“Unless they sent me overseas.” Kane’s brow furrowed. “I’m fit for duty. I could be sent anywhere and most of the places wouldn’t be safe for you.” He sighed. “Best-case scenario, we find Poppy and calm her down.”
“Good luck with that.” As they walked along peering into the bushes, Jenna turned to Kane. “I’ll try calling her again.”
She made the call and, in the distance, a ringtone played out a happy tune. “That’s coming from the forest. Why would she go in there alone at dusk?”
“I’ll go see.” Instead of heading for the gate, Kane stepped over the wire fence and walked toward the sound. It stopped and he turned to Jenna. “Call her again.”
Jenna watched him, moving through the darkening shadows, fearing the worse. “Have you found her?”
“Nope, just her phone.” Kane pulled out surgical gloves from his pocket.
Jenna told Duke to stay and clambered over the fence. She hustled after Kane and stared at the phone lying discarded on a dirt trail. “See if she tried to call someone.” She raised her voice. “Poppy, where are you?”
“This can’t be good. She’d never leave her phone behind.” Kane lifted his attention from the screen and looked at Jenna. “It’s locked. Fingerprint-protected I think.”
Peering in all directions and seeing nothing but trees, Jenna pulled an evidence bag from her jacket pocket and held it open for him. “If she doesn’t show, we’ll take it to Wolfe.”
“She has to be here somewhere.” Kane was scanning the area. “There’s no sign of a struggle.” He peered into the forest. “The mist is rising, if she’s fallen or worse, we’ll never see her. I’ll go back and get Duke. Her phone will have her scent and he should be able to follow it.” He held his hand out for the phone.
