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“Then it won’t hurt to ask if anyone else saw her leaving, right?”
Glen’s head gestured toward Demi. “She’s not gonna drop it, Whit. Might as well do as she says.”
Smiling at the two now in cahoots, he tapped Demi’s nose with his finger and headed to the stage. There he turned off the music and opened the microphone. “Hey folks. Did anyone see Norrie leave earlier? We’ve been looking for her.”
Duffy stepped forward and yelled out. “Ain’t Demi enough for you lover boy?” After the crowd burst into laughter, Whit grinned along with them, shoved a middle finger in Duffy’s direction and waited until the laughter died down. “Seriously, folks. We can’t find her, and I saw her leaving here quite some time ago. Problem is, she wasn’t wearing her outdoor clothes, and she hasn’t returned.”
Now the mood sobered, and everyone looked at each other as if asking what they knew. Suddenly the vet, Old Doc Harper, stood up. “I saw her with Doc Hillside. They were talking outside when I arrived.”
As soon as the vet finished his comment, Sheriff Dawson shot up from his table. “You sure it was Loretta?”
“Yeah. I met up with her outside on the steps. She moved back to let me in. I opened the door wider for her and asked her if she was joining us. She said no, she was looking for someone. Then I saw Norrie heading toward us and figured she’d been looking for her.”
Sheriff Dawson got up, spoke quietly with his wife, and then nodded his head toward Whit. Without a word, Whit shadowed the man outside and Demi grabbed her coat to follow. Glen reached out to hold her back, but she wouldn’t let him. “I want to help.”
“Okay. But don’t get mad if the sheriff refuses to let us get involved.” Glen lifted his coat too and led her to the door. “He’s worked with Whit before, but when there’s real trouble, he calls on the Stewart cop shop for backup.”
“Well tonight he’s gonna have to accept our help cause I’m not willing to sit still while Norrie could be in trouble.”
Chapter Thirty-four
Whit knew Demi. That woman wouldn’t take no easily. When Sheriff Dawson told her to go back inside, she stood her ground. “Norrie’s my best friend. I want to help. If she’s lost, you’ll need all the volunteers you can get.”
It took a few moments for the older man to make up his mind but finally he seemed to come to a decision. “Fine. Let’s go to my office.” Once there, they crowded into the small space where Demi took a seat in front of the old desk and the sheriff sat in his chair.
“When Loretta Hillside arrived here, she came to see me. Told me about a problem she had with a stalker from down south. It’s what made her leave Los Angeles and take this job.”
Whit’s voice was all business. “Is this a man or a woman?”
“It’s a man. Seems Loretta had a relationship with his sister and this wacko took a real dislike to their friendship. He did everything to break it up, including ramming into Loretta’s car, forcing her off the road. What he didn’t know was his sister was with her and was killed in the accident. Of course, they arrested him, Loretta became the prosecution’s main witness, and they put him away.”
“So that should be the end of it.”
“Nope. He had another brother who now figures he has two reasons to hate our doctor. He blames her for his sister’s death, and his brother’s incarceration. This family is wealthy and can afford to hire special investigators. Loretta was terrified they’d find her.”
“So you figure the guy might have shown up here? But what’s that got to do with Norrie?”
“Hell if I know. But Doc says he saw Norrie go to see Loretta. I’m thinking they might be together. Look, I could just be farting in the wind, but when strange things happen, you look toward what you know.”
“Makes sense. You’re saying the hater might be here and both the women could be in danger. If that’s true, someone has to have seen him. A stranger sticks out like a celebrity around here. What’s the maniac’s name? Do you have a photo of him?”
“Yeah. Here it is.” He handed over a picture he’d folded and carried in his pocket. “I’ve kept it close in case I saw him.” Moving to the printer, he took a few copies and passed them out. “Man’s name is Philip Crane. Look, it’s just a guess. But we’ll need to make a thorough search before we jump to any conclusions. Just keep it to yourself for now. I’m going to check the clinic. Whit, you come with me. Glen, Demi go back to the dance and ask if anyone has seen any strangers in town lately. I’ll call to the Stewart RCMP and see if they’ve got any strangers in their town.”
Demi and Glen went back to the dance and Glen took the stage. She could tell it was hard for him to do. To stand up in a spotlight in front of the same people who at one time wouldn’t have stopped by his drunken body to give him the time of day.
Now he stood tall and cleared his voice, sounding strong. “Hey everyone. We still haven’t found Norrie, but the Sheriff thinks we might have a lead. Anyone remember seeing any new faces in town recently. I know the storm has kept most of us stranded in our homes, but we’re thinking someone followed Doc Hillside here with the intention of harming her.”
Demi heard the shocked exclamations, followed by a low rumble as everyone began talking at once. She watched as Glen took control to quiet the crowd again. “We need to start a search. Those of you who can still walk, maybe let’s begin with the houses and businesses in town. We can report back here after you get an all-clear.” Clive stomped forward. After pulling a map of the town from his jacket, he spread it out over the counter. “Listen up. We don’t want anyone doubling up on the search so come get your assigned locations here. Let’s do this properly.”
Soon, Glen had joined Clive, and both were deep into it with all the others. Feeling useless, Demi decided she would go back and check Norrie’s house again. As she walked over, blessing the warmth of her parka and the fur hood, she let her mind wander back to all the wonderful times she’d had with her new friend.
Norrie had been a lifesaver for Demi and imagining a world without her couldn’t be borne. Every muscle, every nerve in her body tightened with a frustrated refusal to accept the possibility. From Norrie’s house, she went to other places she thought likely to draw her friend but with no luck.
As time went on and she didn’t see Whit or Glen at the Glacier Inn mixing with the other searchers, she headed to the café for some breakfast. Mingling with folks who were as baffled as she was about the missing women, her mood became even more gloomy.
With the morning beginning to lighten, she decided the best thing she could do was to head back to the cabin for a short time and make sure the generator hadn’t shut off during the night. Even though they had the new one, she still remembered the hardships when they’d lost their old power source.
Plus, she’d heard plenty of horror stories where places had been frozen, lines made useless, and plants… even animals were found dead. With the picture of Pearl in her mind, she texted Whit of her intentions. Then she started Blue and let the truck run for some time to warm it up before driving carefully out of town. All the way home, her mind toured the what ifs until she could hardly breathe.
