Chapter 25 – Chris
“Mornin’, boss!” Ricky says when I walk into the station the following Monday morning.
“Morning, Ricky.” I pick up the mail in my inbox. It’s my first full day back to work after dislocating my shoulder.
“There are donuts in the break room,” Darlene says, pointing across the room. “Jace brought them in fresh from Estes Park this morning.”
“What was Jace doing in Estes Park?” He lives in Bryce.
Darlene grins. “He’s got a new girlfriend. Looks like they had a sleepover last night.”
“Speaking of sleepovers,” Ricky says, “I happened to drive by Jennie’s house early this morning on my way to work, and I spotted your loaner parked in her driveway. Is there something you want to tell us?”
I bite back a grin. “Nope.”
I join Ricky in the break room, and we each polish off a glazed donut while we’re waiting for the coffeemaker to work its magic.
Darlene pops her head through the open doorway. “Better get those ropes out, boss. The goats are in Mrs. McPherson’s flower garden again.”
Yeah, it’s good to be back.
After wrangling half a dozen goats and returning them to their rightful owner, Ricky, Jace, and I head back to the station. I’m hoping to get good news today on my SUV. It’s taken this long for the insurance adjuster to get out to Micah’s Auto Repair to get a look at it.
* * *
As it turns out, my SUV is totaled. I was afraid of that, but I’d been holding on to the hope it could be repaired. It looks like I’ll have to put in a requisition for a replacement vehicle. In the meanwhile, I have my loaner cruiser to drive.
I resume my normal patrol schedule. I’ve got eyes and ears out on Braggart, but so far, he’s been quiet.
No one has spotted him in town, which is fine with me.
I’m hoping his fancy attorney put the fear of God in him and explained that if he violated that restraining order, his ass would end up back in jail.
And this time, he wouldn’t find it so easy to get bail.
Life at home with Jennie is wonderful. Maybe we’re still in the so-called honeymoon stage, but it’s been going really well. I get to go to bed with her each night and wake up with her every morning. We take turns cooking breakfast and doing the dishes.
I manage to drive her to and from the diner most of the time. When I can’t, one of our friends stands in for me.
I notice she’s been wearing the pendant consistently, which makes me happy. I’m debating whether or not to suggest to Jennie that we put one of these pendants on Granny. Then, if she goes on another walkabout, we’ll be able to track her easily.
* * *
I’m sitting at my desk when my phone chimes with a notification. When I check the screen, my heart stops. It’s an automated alert from Jennie’s panic button.
“Fuck!”
Immediately, I check her location, and according to the app, she’s at the diner. I grab my duty belt and race out of my office.
“Where are you off to in such a hurry?” Jace asks as I rush past him to the exit.
“Jennie’s panic alarm just went off!” I tell him. “I’m going over to the diner to check on her. Be on stand-by in case I need you.”
“Will do,” Jace says as he follows me out the door. “It probably got pushed on accident!” he hollers as I run to my cruiser. “I’m sure she’s fine!”
On my way to the diner, I call Jennie’s phone. It rings several times before I hear, “Hi, this is Jennie. Please leave me a message.”
Damn it! My anxiety is climbing with every second that passes.
I text her.
Me: Jennie? Everything ok?
But there’s no answer.
So I call her phone again. Same thing. It rings a few times and then I hear her voicemail greeting.
My pulse is racing now, and I’m trying to shove back the panic. Panicking won’t help the situation. Usually I’m pretty calm when I’m stressed, but this is Jennie!
When I arrive at the diner, I pull up at the back door and run inside. I check her newly furnished office, which is empty. I check the storage room, then the kitchen. “Have you seen Jennie?” I ask the kitchen staff. Both cooks and the dishwasher are here, up to their elbows in work.
“Yeah,” Chad says as he pulls a tray of plates and silverware out of the dishwasher. “She was taking out the trash.”
The trash dumpster is right outside the back door. I would have seen her. “When was this?”
Chad shrugs. “I dunno. Just a few minutes ago, I think. I’m not sure. I haven’t seen her come back in, so she should still be out back.”
“She’s not,” I say. Then I head for the dining room. It’s packed with customers, and I see Cara and Michelle waiting on customers, but no Jennie.
I snag Michelle’s arm. “Have you seen Jennie?”
“She said she was going to take out the trash. Why?”
Fuck!
I race back outside and search the area between the back door and the dumpster. There, on the ground, is Jennie’s pendant. My hand shakes as I pick it up. The chain is broken, as if someone ripped it from her neck. Damn it! I can’t track her location.
I call her again, and I’m not really surprised when I hear her phone ringing in the dumpster.
My blood turns to ice as I force myself to lift the dumpster lid. Please, God, I’m begging you. In my line of work, I’ve seen everything.
The back door of the diner opens, and Chad pokes his head out. “What are you looking for?”
Ignoring Chad and my roiling stomach, I force myself to look inside the dumpster. If her body is in here, my life is over.
My eyes burn as I stare down at a couple of black plastic trash bags. Her phone is lying right on top. And there’s nothing else.
Air rushes back into my lungs, and my knees nearly give out. I grasp the edge of the dumpster to keep from dropping to my ass on the pavement. My stomach drops as reality sinks in, and I feel sick.
Someone took her.
Braggart, that motherfucking dipshit of an asshole, took her!
“Sheriff?” Chad asks, frowning with concern. “You okay, man? You look like shit.”
I scrub my hands over my face as I try to get my breathing under control. I need to remain calm. Otherwise, I can’t help her. I estimate she’s been missing for approximately ten minutes. There’s still time to find her before he has a chance to hurt her.
I radio the station and instruct Darlene to have both Jace and Ricky meet me at the Braggart ranch pronto. “Also, put out an APB on David Braggart, and issue a missing persons alert for Jennie Lopez.”
“Shit, Chris,” Darlene says. “Okay. I’m on it.”
I get back in my cruiser, lights flashing, siren blaring, as I race toward the Braggart ranch.
I’m coming, Jennie. Just hang on, sweetheart. I’m coming.