Chapter 25
Anger and fear fueled Dax as he stalked over Chip Kemp’s front yard, not caring about the rain dripping down his back or his brother urging him to calm down.
“You can’t storm up there and go off on this guy,” Madden said, jogging to stay in step with him.
“I can do whatever the hell I want. My gut knows Chip’s hands are dirty. Besides, what else should I do? Sit around and wait?” He hopped onto the porch and pounded his fist against the door. “Open up, Chip.”
“You think he saved Vanessa from a car accident to bring her to his house and what? Sit at the kitchen table? Break bread?”
“I don’t know,” Dax yelled into the wind. “But I have no other idea where she could be or who she’s with. So, either shut up or help me figure this out.”
Before Madden could respond, the door swung open. Chip stood on the other side, his face red and twisted in fury. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“Where’s Vanessa?”
“How should I know?”
Dax shoved past him and rushed inside. “Vanessa? Are you here?” He hurried past an empty living room to the kitchen.
“Get out of my house before I call the police,” Chip shouted. “Vanessa isn’t here, and why you’d think she was is beyond me.”
Dax spun to face the older man, jabbing his index finger into his chest. “Because she’s gone. Went off with a man after climbing out of a rolled-over truck on the side of a damn mountain.”
“And you think it’s me? That I lured your little girlfriend away and brought her home to hang out with my wife and daughter?”
Dax threw his hands in the air. Desperation pushed him closer into Chip’s face.
“You’ve been a pain since she’s been to town.
Making her feel horrible. Heaping guilt and your unwarranted anger on her shoulders.
You’re nothing but a bully, and I won’t stand around and let you hurt her. Now, where is she?”
Madden clapped a hand on his shoulder and eased him back. “Chip, it’s been a rough day, and now Vanessa is missing. We believe she is in extreme danger. Sorry to barge in like this, but you’ve been the only person whose name keeps coming up.”
“I can’t make myself any clearer. I haven’t done a damn thing to that girl. I didn’t break into the house. I didn’t run her off a road. I didn’t poison the damn goats.” He ticked each offense off on a finger as he spoke. “What do I have to do to get you people to listen to me?”
Dax shoved a hand through his wet hair and fought the urge to tear through the house.
Diane appeared at the top of the stairs. “What’s all the commotion about?”
Dax turned pleading eyes her way. Chip had treated Vanessa like dirt under his feet, but her aunt had showed kindness. A genuine excitement at getting to know her niece. “Vanessa’s gone.” His voice caught on the last word.
“What do you mean by ‘gone’?” she asked as she glided down the stairs.
“She was in a car accident. When we got there, she’d vanished. Mrs. Steele spotted a black truck leaving the scene, and we believe she was in that truck,” Madden said.
“Probably the same truck that ran me off the road yesterday,” Dax stormed.
Diane stopped, her mouth wide in horror. “Oh my God. This is horrible. Chip, who would want to hurt that poor girl?”
Chip ground his teeth together. “Like I’ve been trying to explain, I don’t know. I’m not involved in this mess.”
“But you were involved in one before, weren’t you?” Dax asked, studying Chip’s pinched expression. “You mentioned earlier that you didn’t want to clean up another one.”
Frowning, Diane bounced her gaze between the men. “What is he talking about, Chip?”
Dax ignored her and kept pushing. “Would someone follow Vanessa up that mountain? Would they be concerned she went to speak with Mrs. Steele?”
The vein at Chip’s temple jumped.
“Who’d want to run her out of town?” Dax stepped forward, pressing into Chip’s personal space. “Who owns a black full-sized truck?”
“I’m sure a lot of people in this town own a black truck,” Chip said. “All I know is that I don’t.”
“Doesn’t Ethan borrow his stepson’s black RAM from time to time?” Diane asked. “It’s been parked behind the butcher shop the last week or so.”
Chip shot her a warning look that had Dax fisting the neck of the older man’s shirt.
“What is she talking about?” Dax asked.
Chip kept this mouth shut and raw hatred shone from his green eyes.
“Diane, what’s the stepson’s name?” Madden asked. “I’ll tell Sanders to run down the information and see if we can find a location.”
While Madden got the information from Diane and fired off a text message to Deputy Sanders, Dax never let his gaze stray from Chip’s face.
He ran through the conversation he and Vanessa had had with Ethan.
“Vanessa and I talked to Ethan yesterday. He was pretty chatty. Mentioned something about honoring the bro code. Any idea what he was talking about?”
“No.”
“Are you sure? Between you cleaning up a mess and him honoring some code, it has me wondering about what you two could be hiding.”
“Enough.” Diane marched down the rest of the steps and wedged herself between Dax and Chip.
“I don’t know what the heck’s going on, but it’s time you start talking.
You’ve been acting strange ever since that sweet girl moved to Cloud Valley.
I thought it was because of the way her mama left town, but now I’m not so sure.
If my niece is in danger, I won’t sit back and do nothing.
And I won’t let you stand there like a goddamn statue, refusing to answer questions. So, spill it. Now.”
Chip squeezed his eyes shut for a beat, and when he opened them again, resignation sagged his shoulders. “Diane… I…” He lifted his hands and let them fall to his sides. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Try the truth.” She rested a palm along his jawline.
He laid his hand on top of hers and sighed before circling his fingers around hers then dropping their joined hands to rest between them. “It’s not an easy story to tell.”
Impatience swelled in Dax’s veins. “Just tell us how to find Vanessa.”
Chip squeezed the back of his neck. “My sister left town because she was pregnant. Most people in town think she refused to tell anyone who the father was, but Ethan and I knew.”
“It was Garrison,” Dax said.
Chip nodded.
“Why didn’t she want anyone to know?” Dax asked.
“Because the day he got her pregnant is the same day he died. Look, we were at our house. Mindy and Garrison disappeared. When Ethan and I went to find them, Mindy was struggling. Trying to tell him to stop…to stop…” He hung his head as his voice trailed off.
Bile sloshed in Dax’s gut. “He raped her?”
Diane gasped and covered her mouth with a shaky hand. “That poor thing.”
Chip cleared his throat. “Yes. I tackled him, got him off her. We started fighting and Ethan came running at him with a hammer. It just happened. He hit him too hard. We panicked and didn’t know what to do so we rolled him into the river.
Made it look like an accident. We buried the hammer and the shirt I’d been wearing in the garden, thinking no one would ever find it.
Dad never planted anything there, and I never thought he’d leave the house to Vanessa. Ethan and I were both panicked.”
“Panicked enough to kill an innocent woman?” Dax asked.
“Maybe,” Chip said.
“Where would he take her?” Madden asked.
“I swear I have no idea. I never imagined he’d take things this far. I haven’t been Vanessa’s biggest fan, but it was only because I didn’t want her uncovering the truth. I never wanted her to get hurt.”
Dax bit back a response about all the harm Chip had done. None of that mattered right now. “Does he own any property that’s off the beaten path? Frequent anywhere outside of town where he’d take her?”
Chip shook his head. “He owns his home and the business, but both places always have people around. He wouldn’t want his family to know. That’s what started this whole thing. Him wanting to keep our secret from his wife and kids.”
“I can’t believe he’d actually hurt her,” Diane said. “He’s a good man. Always so kind. So thoughtful.”
“He killed once,” Dax said. “He’ll do it again.”
“But it was an accident. He didn’t mean to kill Garrison,” Chip said.
A thought struck Dax. “He has to make it look like an accident again. He’d take her somewhere she might find herself in trouble. Madden, can you pull up the video feed from Vanessa’s outside cameras?”
“I can’t, but Reid’s at the office.” Madden punched in the information then pressed his phone to his ear. “Reid, I need you to get on the computer and look at the security feed from Vanessa Kemp’s outdoor cameras.”
Time stretched on for eternity. Dax held his breath, silently urging Reid to hurry the hell up. He didn’t know how long Vanessa had been with Ethan, but every minute was a minute too long.
“Call the sheriff’s department. Now,” Madden said then disconnected. “You were right. A black Dodge RAM drove up to Vanessa’s house a few minutes ago.”
Dax didn’t wait to hear another word before he ran out the door and prayed he wasn’t too late.
* * *
Little could shock Vanessa at this point, but pulling into her own driveway was the last thing she’d expected. “Why are we here?”
He shut off the engine and aimed the gun at her chest. “You ask too many questions. Just get outside and don’t do anything stupid.”
Saliva pooled in her mouth. She forced her jelly-like legs to climb out of the truck.
She paid attention to every detail around her.
Gravel crunched beneath her shoes. Frankie’s frantic barks from inside the house competed with the sound of wind rustling the leaves.
The rain had stopped for now. She searched for anything that could help her, give her the upper hand.
She came up completely empty.
Ethan gripped her arm and yanked her forward.
She dragged her heel against the loose stone. The least she could do was leave a trail to find her if anyone showed up.