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“Back off,” he told the reporter. “All of you. When we have something to tell you, we will. Meanwhile, don’t make things worse by harassing people.” He literally dragged Dana inside and pushed the door shut. “Sorry I had to grab you like that.” He gave her a tired smile and held out his hand. “Gaylen Kleist. Grace, our dispatcher, recognized you from the other day.”
“No apology necessary,” she breathed. “I really appreciate your help. These people don’t need me to be the focus of what’s going on.”
He gave her a curious glance. “Just exactly why are you here?”
“I heard about Shannon’s disappearance, and I wanted to volunteer to help search.” She brushed her hair back from her face. “I’ve worked with a lot of SAR teams while researching my books. Things the teams and the police might miss because I search differently.”
“You get no special treatment and no information,” he told her. “And anything you learn has to be cleared with Sheriff Landry. If it turns out all you want is to dig for information, I personally will take you back to your house, help you pack, and show you the edge of town.”
And he’d have every right to do just that.
“Of course. I completely agree. Just tell me where I’m needed the most.”
He studied her for an endless moment, as if debating with himself. “All right,” he said at last. “Sheriff Landry’s out at the staging area at Hancock Road. This county’s more than six hundred square miles so we had to pick a starting place.”
“Is that close to where Shannon lives?”
“Yes. Sheriff’s thinking whoever took her might have dropped her close to home. There’s nothing out there for miles but hay fields, pasture, and trees. And the Fowler house is smack in the middle. Hardly anyone ever goes down that road except on purpose, so there wouldn’t be much danger of whoever this is being seen.”
“You think she’s already dead,” Dana guessed.
Gaylen looked at her. “Yes, and so do you. Come on. I’m just heading out there. I’ll take you with me. And hope Cole doesn’t take my head off for bringing you.” He looked at the deputies manning the phones. “You guys good? I’m heading out to Hancock Road.”
They both nodded, giving Dana a look of curiosity.
“Okay, then. Grace can get me on the radio if there’s a problem.”
“We may be rookies, but we’re not dumb,” one of the men told him. “We can handle this. And we’ll keep the media out of here.”
Gaylen’s mouth twitched with an involuntary smile as he hustled Dana out the back door and into his SUV.
“Hang on,” he told her. “I’m taking a short cut to avoid the vultures.”
In a minute, she realized what he meant. Instead of pulling out onto the highway, he drove across the field behind the building, jouncing across bumps and holes until he reached the road running parallel to the street the office was on.
“Now, I see why all of you drive SUVs,” she commented when they were back on pavement again.
“Lots of places in this county with bad roads or sometimes no roads at all. Only a four-wheel drive will do you any good if you have to reach someplace over rough terrain.” He reached for the microphone on his radio and pressed the transmit button. “Grace, patch me through to the sheriff, will you?”
In a moment, Dana heard Cole’s voice, rough-sounding through the static. “Where are you, Gaylen?”
“On my way to you. I, um, have a passenger with me who stopped in to see you. I thought you’d want me to get her away from the news vultures cluttering up your parking lot. The television folks you predicted all showed up.”
There was a crackling moment of silence before Cole spoke again. “I assume she can hear me?”
Gaylen held the microphone in front of Dana’s mouth.
“Hello, Cole. I don’t want you to think I have an ulterior motive here, but I’ve worked with SAR teams before.”
Another pause. “You told me you often see things with a different eye. Pick up things someone else might miss.”
“That’s right. Not always. I’m not a trained investigator, but I’ve learned a lot while researching my books.” She cleared her throat. “And unfortunately, I’ve found more than my share of bodies.”
“Fine. But anything you learn out here stays locked down until this case is over. Are we clear?”
“I understand.”
“All right. Gaylen, bring her right to me as soon as you get here. Tina’s arrived, and we’re about to get things organized.”
