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“My bad.” He pulled out a grin and gave her a hug. “But I’m here now.”
She looked at Tate. “I didn’t even hear you drive up. Did you get all your errands finished?”
“Most all. Cole and I are going to hide in the den and have a drink. Then I’ll twist his arm to stay for dinner.”
“Wonderful.” She smiled at him. “Your favorite. Smothered pork chops. I’ll yell when it’s ready.”
“So how’s it going?” Tate asked when they were settled in big chairs with aged bourbon.
“Not great.” Cole set his Stetson on a small table and ran his fingers through his hair. “I’ve been out talking to the high school kids again but didn’t get one more thing out of them. I’m telling you, Tate, this whole thing is making me sick.”
“I know, son. I’m just hoping you’ll catch a break.” He took a healthy sip of his drink. “But if it’s just some transient passing through, you may never get him.”
Cole made a fist and smacked his thigh. “Damn it. This time, I’ll find the bastard. We won’t have another one of these things hanging over the county.”
“You need to do something about that writer, too.” Tate took another sip of his drink. “People are upset that she’s raking all that old stuff up again.”
Cole tensed, a surge of protectiveness for Dana blindsiding him. He knew those kisses would come back to haunt him. “You know I can’t run her out of town. She hasn’t broken any laws. And maybe she’ll find something Nickels missed all those years ago.”
“She’s trouble, Cole,” he muttered over coffee. “Jed Nickels was a good lawman. We don’t need anyone stirring up old memories best left buried. Who knows if all this gave some other nut job ideas and Leanne’s just the first victim.”
“I’d hate to think that. And I know Dana would be distraught if she thought that was the case.”
“Dana, is it?” Tate looked at him with shrewd eyes. “Not getting into bed with the wrong people, are you, son?”
Cole grunted. “Not anywhere near getting into bed.”
Except that was exactly what he wanted…if he could just slay her demons. He had a gut feeling it had to do with the old child murders. But what? What was the answer to the riddle of Dana Moretti? He was determined to find the key to unlock her secrets. But at the moment, he was ass over tea kettle in this horrendous murder, and she had a wall around her ten feet high.
Except those kisses…
She could be right. That there was something everyone was trying to keep swept under the rug. That was a hard concept for him to wrap his mind around. He knew these people. None of them fit the profile of a vicious killer, nor did he think it likely the parents who still mourned their children would be willing to hide that killer.
“Cole? Am I losing you?” Tate stirred his ice cubes with a finger, the clinking sound snapping Cole out of his mental wandering. “Maybe this new homicide will scare her away.”
“Not her. She’s seen worse than this, I’m sure. Anyway, she’s fresh eyes and been through this before. She just might see something everyone else missed.”
“I’m just telling you—”
Whatever he started to say was interrupted by the ringing of Cole’s cell. “Yeah, Grace. What it is?”
“Sheriff, you better get back here right away. We got ourselves another big problem.”
Cole felt as if a stone had just dropped into his stomach. “What kind of problem?”
“Shannon Fowler’s mama, Bootsie, just called in.” Grace’s voice was with filled with tension. “The girl’s three hours late getting back from school.”
Cole knew all the parents were skittish after what happened to Leanne. “Let’s hope she’s just gone off with one of her friends. Anyway, school doesn’t get out until three, right?”
“Not today. They were supposed to be off all day, but they didn’t finish the testing yesterday, so the principal made them all come in for two hours this morning. She should have been home long before this.”
“Has Bootsie called the school?” He knew that was a stupid question. Of course, Shannon’s mother had called. Still, he had to ask it.
“Of course, she has. The buses left with all the kids more than three hours ago. Andi was in the office and called some of her friends, and they haven’t seen her, either, except to watch her get on the bus.”
“All right. I’m on my way. Round up everyone you can and have them meet me in the conference room.”
He clicked off and pushed himself out of the chair. “I’ll have to miss Adele’s smothered pork chops. We’ve got ourselves a missing teenager.”
