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Chapter 20
The sheriff’s cruiser rolled to a stop beside Brody’s truck, and Jacobs swung out of it. Walked toward Brody. “Sorry, Jones. My deputy got to the highway fast, but that dark truck never went by.”
“I think I have a name to go with that truck now, Pete,” Brody said, still hollowed out from finding those pictures and then fighting with Lainey. “Come in. I have something to show you.”
A few minutes later, Pete Jacobs stared at the photos, his jaw working. “Damn it all to hell,” he said after a too-lengthy silence. “Someone from the compound got in touch with me right after it closed. Said he’d found those mounds in the desert and suspected they might be burial sites. The bodies have been identified and returned to their families, but no one had any idea how they’d gotten there. Or who killed them.”
He shook his head as he stared at the photos. “Looks like Art Larsen is the man we’re looking for. Along with the person who took the photos.”
“Pretty sure that was Ron Martin,” Brody said. He stuck his head out the door of his office when he heard Lainey’s footsteps on the stairs. “Lainey can tell you about that.”
Lainey walked into the office, ignoring Brody to focus on Jacobs. “Those were in Ron’s belongings,” she said. She described how she’d cleaned out his file cabinet and put everything it held into the banker’s boxes. “I haven’t gone through all the contents yet. But when Brody and I found those pictures, we called you immediately.”
“I’ll send a deputy over to Larsen’s house. If he’s not there, the deputy will sit on the place. When Larsen goes home, we’ll get him.”
“Don’t think he’s going home,” Brody said. He exchanged a look with Lainey, who understood what he was asking and gave him a short nod. She looked away immediately, but Brody took a deep breath. Let it out. They still had a connection, even after their fight.
His gaze on Lainey, Brody said, “Larsen’s daughter Phoebe was living at the abandoned compound. Lainey spotted her there, called me, and we managed to find her. She’d been there for several weeks.” He clenched his teeth for a moment. Saw sympathy in Lainey’s eyes, which made him take a deep breath. Square his shoulders. “Phoebe said someone else was there, too, but she never saw him or her. Now I’m guessing it might be Art.”
“Good guess,” Jacob said, a muscle in his jaw jumping, as if he were angry as hell. “I’ll go over there with my deputies and take a look around.” He narrowed his gaze at Brody. “The Larsen girl still living at that compound?”
While Brody was figuring out how to respond, Lainey said, “No. She’s living here with Brody. And me. After hearing a prowler around my house and getting a less than satisfactory response from Stu Stevens, Brody invited me to stay out here and I took him up on it. We found Phoebe almost two weeks ago.”
“And you reported it to DCFS?” Jacobs asked.
Once again, Lainey jumped in before Brody could answer. “We’re going to do that today. She seems happy here and has no desire to go back to her house. Her father had left her alone there with no money and no food, so she hiked out to the compound to find him. She never did, but she stayed to scavenge the food in the kitchen. She said she heard footsteps most nights.”
Jacobs’ jaw clenched. He shook his head. “Poor kid. I should take her into custody and deliver her to DCFS, but I’ll trust you two to report to them. You need to get an emergency guardianship, although it doesn’t sound like Larsen is much interested in his kid.”
“That was our plan,” Lainey said. “I’ll have them call you about Larsen’s status. If he’s in jail, he won’t be able to get to Phoebe. And it should make the guardianship process simpler.”
“You shouldn’t have any trouble getting a judge to award you custody,” Jacobs said. “Not with what Larsen’ll be facing.”
“Next thing on our agenda,” Lainey assured him.
Brody hated that it was, but Lainey was right. He might want to focus on his and Lainey’s issues, but they needed to protect Phoebe, and this was the best way to do it. The last thing Larsen would be thinking about was his daughter. He had far too many other things to worry about.
But he didn’t want to take any chances with Phoebe. He slid his gaze to Lainey, whose determination was obvious in her narrowed gaze and stubborn chin.
Jacobs went out to his car to get an evidence envelope, then he slid in the file folder containing the photos, sealed it, signed and dated it. “I’m going to put this in the evidence safe. I’m the only one with the combination, and it’s going to stay there until we have Larsen in custody.” He drew a deep breath. “Thank God you found those photos.” He looked from Brody to Lainey and back to Brody. “The three of you should stay holed up here at the ranch until we have Larsen in custody.”
“We will, as soon as we fetch her from her friend’s house in Helena,” Lainey said. “She had a sleepover last night.”
Jacobs nodded. “Probably safest place for her besides the Flying J. Larsen would have no idea where to look for her.”
“I’ll have my hands keep an eye on things when we leave to pick up Phoebe,” Brody said.
“Good idea. If they see Larsen, tell them to stay away from him and call me. He’s probably desperate to get his hands on those pictures.”
“Will do.” Brody walked out to the porch with Jacobs, and said, “You’ll let us know when Larsen is in custody, won’t you?”
“Count on it,” he said as he slid into his car. He drove carefully down the driveway, waited for the gate to open, then turned toward Helena. He disappeared around the curve, just as Larsen had early this morning.
Brody had no doubt it had been Larsen. He’d been looking for the photos, or possibly a hostage he could exchange for them.
Once Jacobs had disappeared, Brody turned back toward the house. He wasn’t eager to resume the argument he’d been having with Lainey, but now it was just the two of them again. Bracing himself, he walked in the door. Headed for the office, where he found Lainey finishing looking through her banker’s box.
She looked up when he entered the room. “I’m looking to make sure we haven’t missed anything in Ron’s papers,” she said, her voice cool. Impersonal. “If there’s something else incriminating, we need to get it to Jacobs.”
