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He suspected the girls with names starting with D were a good place to begin.
The young woman at the front desk of the evenings was Marin. She’d called Fred’s brother Daddy. She had two sisters, she had told him. Meyra from the diner was one of them.
Another worked for PAVAD. That was a specialized branch of the FBI that all in law enforcement knew about now. It wasn’t easy to get into. He’d heard that from friends of his who had tried and failed. Fred Brown’s niece had.
More power to her. That was one hell of an accomplishment.
There were bound to be more Talleys visible this evening. Sean wanted to meet them.
When he made it down the lobby, there was a crowd forming. And panic on the faces of the women who worked at the inn. Marin was pacing, almost beside herself. Sean was used to taking control in stressful situations. He stepped up to her, flashed his badge again. He wrapped his fingers around her thin elbow.
“Marin.” Her name almost rolled off his tongue. She was an amazingly beautiful woman, especially when a man got even closer. She had the same porcelain skin that Dylan and Dorie possessed. The same cheekbones, too. That resemblance had his breath catching, just a little. He should have seen it before. “Marin, what is wrong? Is there something I can help with?”
She looked at him. From eyes so pure a blue they had to be unreal. He had to wonder, if he had seen this Talley first, would Dusty have captivated him so quickly? It was a question he would have to ask himself later.
“My cousin Dusty, the one who works at the vet clinic, she’s missing, Marshal Sutton. And we are trying to find her now. The sheriff has called out search parties.”
“Missing? What on earth happened?” He looked for the man or woman who would be in charge. “Tell me. I may be able to help. Every pair of eyes and hands can help. I’ve the training to help, as well.”
Technically, he was supposed to stay out of any local law enforcement matters unless he—or his assignment—were in imminent danger. But Dusty was his assignment’s daughter. Sean would use his best judgment. If his supervisors didn’t like it, well, his career could handle the reprimand just fine.
And there was no way in utter hell Sean was going to let something happen to one of LaDonna Brown’s daughters. Even one of the ones left behind.
40
He hadn't stopped looking.There were no signs of Dusty anywhere. She would have been close. She had been three-quarters of a mile from Fletcher’s place. She could easily have walked there if something had happened. It wasn’t snowing that hard.She would have known she could go to Fletcher. Or go to Chandler’s restaurant right next door.
She could have walkedhome,too.
Daisy and Meyra had searched every room. In case she had, and someone had donesomethingto her.
She wasn’t at the inn. Anywhere. There had been men searching the woods behind the inn, too. Where it butted up against that ranch Brandt Barratt had recently bought and was remodeling. She could have walked behind Fletcher’s place, and right through Brandt’s place, and made it to the backside of the inn in under an hour. But she hadn’t.
Everyone had searched the area around her truck repeatedly. No sign of her anywhere.They had search parties, volunteers from the neighborhood around the inn, and the town. And every Tyler they could gather.
More Tylers were on their way.
Ben fought the panic. He knew exactly what could happen to a beautiful young defenseless woman like Dusty. There were monsters in the world—he wrote about them each and every day. And darkness like that could leave a mark on a man's soul.
That she could be out there, broken and hurting andneedinghim sickened him.Where the hell was she?
“We need to get out there and keep looking,” he snapped at the deputy next to him. Sage just blinked up at him. She'd stopped by where he stood to ask if Dusty was dating anyone that he knew of.
Dusty wasn't datinganyone.He'd backed off, to give her space to process that damned kiss.
But he got it. Romantic partners were the prime suspects when a woman like Dusty went missing. Hell, if he was writing this,he’dbe the prime suspect, and he knew it. He wanted her, she hadn’t agreed—yet—and he was basically right there in her damned home.
“They're bringing dogs out to help, Ben,” Sage said. “To see if they can follow her scent.”
Search dogs could search in snow. Very well. Ben knew that. He knew it. They’d find her. It hadn’t been that long. Maybe two hours now? Three? He’d searched himself. Around her truck. Between her truck and his brother’s place. Nothing. Not so much as a footprint.
Ben just nodded, though it wasn't his place to call the shots at all. Or even be the one the sheriff kept in the loop. In cases like this they would talk to one family representative, to keep information straight. And save time.
Time that could mean the difference for survival.
It wasn't him. It was her uncle. Of course, it was. He was always the man in charge.
Gerald Talley had everyone under his command, it seemed. Ben wanted to know what was going on, he was going to have to stay close to Dusty's uncle. But it grated on him. He wanted to be out there, looking for her.
