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Kane entered the numbers and the door clicked open. He smiled at Jenna. “People use what’s familiar to them. Usually their birthdate, one of their kids’ or the date they married. It’s a mistake criminals have been taking advantage of for a very long time.”
“Yet you know.” Jenna peered into the safe and then looked at him. “Is there something I need to know?”
Chuckling, Kane shrugged. “Tons but if I told you… Well, you know the rest.”
“Interesting.” Jenna fished out a passport and a large manila envelope stuffed with bills. She stood and tipped them out onto the bed. “That has to be twenty thousand. Who carries that amount of cash with them?” She looked at Kane, both eyebrows raised. “This case has just got interesting.”
FIVE
Jenna led the way into Aunt Betty’s Café, glad to be out of the cold. The wind had picked up and had seeped into every opening in her clothes. She thought it would be cold but hadn’t bargained for it to be freezing. Sometimes when the snow came the temperature rose a little. Not this time. Ice was forming on top of the snow, and even with salt covering the sidewalk, there were icy patches. She’d be wearing thermal underwear from now on. Winter promised to be harsh this year and she made a mental note to ask Kane if he’d ordered extra supplies. Road closures meant no deliveries, and the horses needed to be fed and kept comfortable. She ordered her meal and followed Kane to the table at the back reserved for the sheriff’s office to join Rio and Rowley. Both had their phones pressed against their ears. She smiled inwardly. It was so nice to see the office running so smoothly. She removed her gloves and coat and sat down beside Kane. After waiting for the deputies to finish their calls, she poured a cup of coffee from the pot on the table and added the fixings. “How did it go? Find any information on Maisy Jones?”
“Yeah, I found her family. I have Maisy’s number. I called a few times but it went to voicemail. I’ll send it to you.” Rio’s eyes narrowed and his mouth formed a thin line as his fingers moved over his phone. He looked back at Jenna. “Maisy recently split from her partner. She’d been living with him for a few years. She told her mom she needed to get away. Emptied the bank account and told her mom she planned to work at one of the ski resorts. She missed out on a local job, tried at Glacial Heights, but because of the early season, they were fully staffed. She secured a bartender position at the Triple Z Bar and, would you believe, drove here in that old truck to take the job.”
“That has to be a twelve-hour drive.” Kane frowned. “What was she running from? Why didn’t she want to be traced?”
“What makes you believe she doesn’t want to be traced?” Rowley leaned back in his chair.
“She’s using cash.” Kane sipped his coffee. “You know people’s movements can be traced every time they use their cards. Maybe she was running from her ex.” He turned his attention to Rio. “Did her mom mention anything about the split? Was he violent toward her?”
“I asked but she doesn’t know. They argued is all she said. She thought he was cheating on Maisy but doesn’t know for sure.” Rio turned his coffee cup around in his fingertips. “I followed up with the Nampa Police Department. I asked if they could go and check if he’s in town. If he is, he can’t be involved in her disappearance.”
Jenna smiled as Susie Hartwig delivered the meals and slices of pie for Rio and Rowley. “Thanks, Susie.” She waited for her to leave and looked at Rio. “Maisy left the Triple Z at midnight on Monday. It’s Wednesday afternoon. Her ex could have easily abducted her, killed her and be back home by now. Get back on the phone and explain the situation. See if they can trace his whereabouts since Maisy left town. Have them check his vehicle.”
“I’m on it.” Rio stood and headed outside to make the call.
“That would be a reason she’d get a ride.” Kane bit into his burger, chewed and washed it down with coffee. “She might be mad with her ex but it would be better than freezing to death.”
Jenna nodded and turned to Rowley. “We need a timeline. Did anyone see her before she arrived at the Triple Z Bar?”
“I spoke to everyone here and looked over the CCTV footage.” Rowley swallowed a forkful of pie. “She came in before five and left about five-thirty. We know she arrived in time for her shift at six.” He sighed. “That was the first time they saw her. Wendy recalls her purse. It’s distinctive. It’s a shoulder bag—my wife has something similar—about ten inches wide, with a flap on one side. Blue with a big yellow flower with a smile.”
“Yeah, the motel guy mentioned it.” Kane started on his peach pie. “I figure we have enough probable cause to get a trace warrant on her phone. She could be in trouble.”
The horrible realization that something bad had happened to Maisy Jones drained Jenna’s appetite and she pushed her plate away. “I’ll do the paperwork as soon as I get to the office.”
“I’ll do it.” Rowley pulled on his gloves. “I’m done here and there’s Rio. We’ll head back to the office.”
Jenna nodded. “Okay.” She looked at Rio as he stopped at the table. “What have you got for me, Rio?”
“The detective in Nampa said they can’t locate Zander Hastings. Originally from Kentucky, he is a self-defense instructor and a fitness fanatic.” Rio leaned on the back of a chair. “He’s a no-show at his fitness center, and no one has seen him since last Thursday.” He sighed. “After giving the detective our information, they’re going to hunt down his movements.”
Glad of an efficient team, Jenna nodded. “Okay, get that paperwork over to the judge and lean on him for a warrant. We’re heading to the ME’s office to drop by the evidence we collected today. We might need Maisy’s DNA.” She leaned back and sighed as they pulled on coats and headed for the door. She turned to Kane. “Oh, that reminds me, have we stocked up enough provisions for a long winter? It’s come early this year.”
“I have everything under control. We have a barn filled with hay and straw, and sacks of everything else, including dog food. It arrived by truck last Saturday when you were out with Sandy and the twins. Now eat.” Kane pushed the untouched pie in front of her. “It’s too cold to drop calories. You’ve been feeling better since you started the protein shakes, haven’t you? Not so many headaches?”
Watching Kane wave to Susie for another slice of pie, Jenna picked up her fork. “Yeah, much better. You should drink them too.”
“I don’t need to. I’ll just eat more.” Kane shrugged. “Last winter, I dropped weight way too fast. That’s my problem. I can’t keep the weight on. I can lose it real fast and then my energy and strength suffer. This year, I decided to build more muscle bulk.”
Smiling, Jenna dug into the pie. “Okay, I’ll eat the pie.” She frowned. “I don’t know where to start looking for Maisy. She could be anywhere, even out of the county if she took a ride with a killer. I hope the warrant will come through today. My gut is telling me we need to move on finding her ASAP.”
SIX
Blackwater
Special Agent Ty Carter stepped inside the neat compact ranch house in the beautiful suburb known as Paradise Falls and scanned the crime scene. Charlie Bridger; his wife, Clare; and eight-year-old son, Gavin, had vanished without a trace. A half-eaten meal sat on the kitchen table alongside two phones. The keys to the white Buick Encore in the garage sat in a dish by the kitchen door. Coats and hats hung in the mudroom. It was as if they’d been abducted by aliens. He turned to Agent Jo Carter and shrugged. “I figure we’re wastin’ our time here. I’ve been through the house twice now and there are no traces of anyone being here, apart from an overturned chair.”
“Not even so much as a footprint.” Jo shook her head. “What concerns me more than anything is that, whatever happened to them, they left in such a rush they didn’t put a coat on their little boy. It’s freezing outside and even under duress a mother would insist on getting him a coat.”
