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“This can’t be good,” Luke mumbled under his breath. When the car came to a stop and a tall, weary-looking man stepped out, Luke greeted him. “Hey, Derek. What brings you all the way out here so early in the morning?”
“Just stopped by to see if Logan was about. He leave for work already?”
Luke felt his stomach drop at the complete lack of emotion on the sheriff’s face. The careful blankness had alarm bells firing in his chest even as he called for his son.
“Logan.” His voice was pitched loud enough that he knew his son would be able to hear him even if he were still upstairs.
“Yeah?” came his son’s disembodied voice from somewhere behind him.
“Front and center, son. Sheriff Anderson wants a word with you.” Luke never took his eyes off Derek, not liking all he couldn’t read in the other’s expression. They’d grown up together, played on the same high school football team, and still grabbed a beer or a round of pool a couple times a month. It did not bode well at all that his childhood friend was nowhere to be found within the law officer standing in front of him.
When Logan tromped down the steps in his usual bigfoot fashion, some of the tension eased. His kid was a good one; this wouldn’t be any trouble involving Logan, Luke silently assured himself. This had to be about somebody else.
“What’s goin’ on, Dad? Sheriff?” There was only open curiosity in his son’s face, and more of that tension drained from Luke’s shoulders.
“Mornin’, Logan,” Derek began. “Sorry to bother you so early in the day, but Brandi Parker didn’t make it home last night.”
“Who?” Logan only looked confused now.
“Brandi Parker. She was at the rave down in Clovis County at the Grindhouse with one of her friends last night. Word is that you and her spent a lot of time on the dance floor together.” When Logan only looked more baffled, Sheriff Anderson held out his mobile, and Luke saw over his shoulder the smiling face of a sweet-looking teenager with dark curly hair, too much eyeliner, and the glazed eyes of a stoner smiling out from the screen.
“Oh, her.” Logan shrugged and looked at first his father then the sheriff. “Yeah, we danced a couple times. But not like a lot. Not more than with anybody else. It’s a rave. Everybody dances with everybody all at the same time. I mean, it’s pretty steamy, and there’s a lot of grinding going on.” Logan’s cheeks tinged, and his shoulders hunched, clearly uncomfortable talking about dry-humping on a dance floor in front of his father. “But it’s nothing personal, ya know? I mean, it can be, if you’re going there to hook up, sure. But we—my friends and everyone I know—we just go for the experience. The music and the movements and getting lost and stuff, you know? Sorry. You probably don’t care.”
“That’s fine, son. I’m a music lover too. So, you saw Brandi? Danced with her?” At Logan’s quick nod, Derek put his phone away and continued his questions. “Did you notice who else she danced with?” Easy shrug, shake of the head.
“Did you notice any one in particular paying a lot of attention to her besides you?”
“No, sir. Like I said. It’s all everybody just dancing with everybody. I don’t know who all she danced with.”
“Did you happen to notice what time she left? Who she left with? Maybe notice if someone else left right after she did?”
Logan was shaking his head more emphatically with each question now. “I’m sorry, sir. I really wanna help you out, but other than knowing I danced with her a couple times, I can’t really tell you anything else about her.”
Luke put a calming hand on his son’s shoulder. Admittedly, it was more to soothe himself than sensing any need for comfort from him. Logan’s posture was relaxed, and Luke could feel the easy deep breaths he took. That went a long way to reassure his mind. If his kid was hiding something, no way he’d be this cool. Logan had so many tells when he was guilty it looked like he had Tourette’s.
“You mind tellin’ me when you left the dance? What time you got home?” Anderson took out a notepad and pen then looked up expectantly.
“Left about two, I guess. Dunno what time I got home. I wasn’t payin’ attention.” His shoulders shrugged and he scratched at one of his ears.
“Did you come straight home? Was anybody with you?” This time, Logan’s shoulders bunched. Luke felt ice gather in his belly and spread until he was frozen from the inside out. Why should that question bother Logan?
“Um, yeah, I came straight home.” Logan scratched at the side of his nose then tugged at his ear. “Nobody was with me though. And Dad was asleep when I got home, so….” Logan looked from the sheriff to Luke again with a guilty flush in his cheeks.
“He got home just after three this morning.” When Logan jumped and looked at him in surprise, Luke couldn’t hold back the rueful smile that tugged at the corner of his mouth and scrubbed through his son’s hair. “Yes, son. I still wait up for you. I just do it from the privacy of my own bed now, instead of pacing the living room like when you were in school.”
Logan’s eye roll was so on par with his norm that Luke felt some of that ice melt.
“And you didn’t give anyone a ride home? Take a detour?” the sheriff inquired.
“Um, no, sir.” Logan did that annoying thing he did and cracked his knuckles one-handed with his thumbs. The cracks worked like nails on a chalkboard on all his “dad nerves” and were his biggest dead giveaway.
“Well, a full hour is an awful long time to take from here to there, don’t you think?” Looked like Derek wasn’t anymore fooled than Luke was.
“Not really,” Logan hedged. “Not if you’re doing the limit.”
“Son, my momma makes that drive in half the time. Did you take a backroad home maybe? Was there a different girl you think might get in trouble if you said something? I need to know, so I can check you off my list and get on with finding Brandi and getting her home safe where she belongs.”
“I wish I could help.” All tells gone and now Logan looked as earnest as a scout. “Honest. We danced some and then I had to jet, because I had to work in the morning. Other than that, I really didn’t pay much attention to any one girl. Her included.”
