Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
“There’s Boone.” Ryan pulled into the parking space behind the sheriff some distance from Briggs Hardware.
Boone came over and leaned into Ryan’s open window.
“I confirmed he’s in there. I did a little background research on Noah.
He got into trouble when he was away in college.
Hacking into the university’s computer system to change grades of people who paid him money.
His father was able to keep him from going to jail, but he was forced to leave college.
That’s about the time he came back to Pine Haven.
” Boone’s keen gaze shifted from the hardware store to the surrounding streets before locking on Charlie.
“The sooner we get you inside the better.”
He stepped back.
Ryan faced her. “I’ll come around and get you.” He searched her pretty face. The thought of losing her to some unknown monster made him want to keep her protected. But he couldn’t hide her from what was coming.
Ryan got out and he and Boone went around to the passenger side while Charlie opened her door and rose.
It didn’t feel like it was enough to have her sandwiched between him and Boone. He kept one hand on her elbow and the other on his handgun.
Boone opened the hardware store’s door. Ryan whisked her inside and out of harm’s way.
A woman around his and Charlie’s age worked behind the counter. “Well, hi there. Can I help you find something?” The woman’s gaze narrowed as she glanced between Boone, Charlie and Ryan.
Boone took the lead. “We’re here to speak with Noah Briggs. Is he here?”
“Noah’s my husband.” She left the counter and moved past a decorated Christmas tree with tiny tools as ornaments. “What’s this about?”
“If we could speak to your husband, ma’am.” Boone wasn’t about to discuss the case with Noah’s wife.
She sniffed, clearly not liking his answer. “I’ll get him for you.” She stepped past them and to what looked like a storeroom beyond the main room.
“You think he’ll speak to us?” Charlie asked in a quiet voice.
Ryan had no idea. “If he doesn’t then he obviously has something to hide.”
Boone moved toward the storeroom and waited with his hand on his weapon.
The glass display windows on either side of the front entrance made Ryan nervous. “Let’s move away from the windows.” He guided Charlie over to where Boone stood. He couldn’t let his guard down for a minute. The previous attacks on their lives had proven as much.
“They’re coming.” Boone gave the heads up.
The woman returned with an older version of Noah in tow.
“Sheriff.” Noah’s nerves were on full display in the way he looked between the three of them as if he’d been caught doing something wrong. “My wife tells me you’d like to speak with me?”
Boone took the lead. “We would. Is there someplace where we can talk in private?”
Sweat beaded Noah’s upper lip. “Sure-sure. Right this way.” He waved his hand toward the same way he’d come while shooting his wife an anxious look. “I’ll be right back, Kate.”
Kate didn’t look at all pleased but managed a nod.
The three followed Noah down a hallway while he continued to rub his hands down his jeans. He reached for a door handle and opened it before stepping inside.
Boone followed him in, then Ryan and Charlie.
Ryan closed the door.
Noah barely waited for the door to shut. “Do you mind telling me what this is about?”
Boone didn’t waste time getting to the matter. “Abby’s disappearance. We have questions.”
Right away, Noah’s guard went up. His attention bolted from the sheriff to Charlie. “Charlie? That is you. I thought so. It’s been a while.” He seemed to want to stall in getting started with the questions.
“What do you know about Abby’s disappearance, Noah? My uncle seemed to believe you withheld information.”
Noah looked as if he’d seen a ghost. “What? That’s crazy. I don’t know anything about what happened to Abby.”
Ryan didn’t buy it. Noah was as nervous as he’d seen him. “Maybe she saw something she shouldn’t have.” He repeated what was written in the journal.
Noah’s eyes widened. “I don’t know anything about that.”
Boone stepped closer. “But you do know something. I can see it in the way you’re acting.”
Noah stared at him without blinking for the longest time before he dropped down onto the desk chair. “I may know something, but it isn’t because I was involved in her disappearance. It wasn’t me,” he stressed again, his voice anything but steady.
Ryan’s pulse quickened. Would Noah provide the missing pieces? “Tell us what you know, Noah.”
Noah closed his eyes. “You remember Shane Vallin?”
Ryan hadn’t heard the name in a long time. Shane Vallin was a local bad boy. Always getting into trouble. He dropped out of school and sold pot around town. Ryan remembered he had suddenly left town, and no one seemed to know where he went. “What about him?”
Noah pulled in a shaky breath. “He and I and Tyler Jennings used to hang out together. Sometimes, with Jason Owens.”
The judge’s son’s name settled uneasily in Ryan’s mind.
“Go on.” Boone prompted.
“Shane had some sketchy acquaintances that came into town that winter.” He paused before adding, “They were more like business associates of Shane’s.
They wanted him to start pushing more than pot.
Shane told me they scared him. I think that’s why he left Pine Haven.
” He looked between them. “Anyway, I’ve always wondered if perhaps Abby saw something drug related that she shouldn’t have. ”
And Shane’s associates silenced her?
“What else?” Charlie asked. “There has to be more.”
Noah looked at her with sympathy. “Honestly, Charlie, that’s all I know. Shane left town until recently.”
“Wait, stop.” Boone held up a hand. “You’re saying Shane’s back?”
Ryan barely remembered the troubled teen that had left Pine Haven. As far as he knew, that was the last time Shane had been in town.
“I saw him.” Noah leaned forward in his seat. “But he didn’t see me, thank goodness. He looked different. Like maybe he had gotten his life together finally.”
Ryan remembered Shane’s parents had left town a few years after Shane. As far as he knew the former resident didn’t have any family left in Pine Haven. Why would he come back?
“Any idea where we can find him? Where did you see Shane?” Boone asked.
Noah shook his head. “That’s the funny part.
He was heading into the church sanctuary.
” He shrugged. “That’s all I know, I promise.
I didn’t have anything to do with Abby’s disappearance.
She was a nice girl. I can’t believe what happened to her.
I’ve always felt bad about not mentioning Shane before. ”
Boone nodded to Ryan and Charlie. “We’ll check out your story. One more question. Where were you the night Abby went missing?”
Noah jerked his head back. “Sleeping. It was the middle of the night, right?”
Ryan remembered all the kids in school had been asked that question. Noah’s answer should be recorded somewhere in the case file.
“If you think of anything else, you give me a call.” Boone tossed his business card onto the desk before indicating they should leave.
The three stepped past a shocked Kate and out into the afternoon that was becoming increasingly crowded with tourists.
“Let’s go back to the station to discuss. I’d like to see if we can locate Shane and get his end of the story.” Boone opened the passenger door to Ryan’s cruiser, and she got inside.
“We’ll follow you there.” Ryan climbed behind the wheel and fired the engine waiting while Boone did the same. The sheriff pulled out onto the street. Ryan followed suit.
“You believe him?” Charlie asked, and he didn’t have to ask who she meant.
“He seemed sincere enough.” Ryan checked the rearview periodically to make sure they weren’t followed. “Do you remember much about Shane?” He studied her profile.
“Not really. Shane’s reputation was well established by then. We kind of avoided him, Abby and me. But I did think it interesting that Noah, who was a bit of a nerd, hung out with the school’s bad boy.”
Ryan agreed. “Yeah, they didn’t seem to fit. It’s interesting that Jason’s name is involved. We need to take a closer look at him.”
The one name that had thrown him the most was Lila’s brother Tyler. Something he hadn’t thought about before had him voicing his concern aloud. “You think Tyler’s car accident had anything to do with Shane’s dangerous friends and possibly Abby’s disappearance?”
Charlie’s wide eyes held his. “That makes so much more sense than Tyler not wearing his seatbelt. He wasn’t careless like that. I’d ridden with him before.”
Ryan turned into the available parking spot next to Boone’s. The sheriff waited next to his cruiser for them to exit their vehicle.
Inside, Sarah glanced up as they came into the station. She handed Boone a couple of messages. “Will is checking at the church for Shane.”
“Thanks. Let’s go into the conference room.” Boone headed down the hall. Once in the room, he pulled out a chair for Charlie. After she was seated Ryan claimed the seat beside her while Boone zeroed in on the coffeemaker. He held up the pot. “Anyone else?”
Both Ryan and Charlie declined.
“Yeah, you’re right. It’s the last thing I need right now. My wife is going to kill me if I develop ulcers.” He claimed the seat across from them. “So, what are your thoughts?” He directed this to Charlie.
She told him what she and Ryan had discussed. “It certainly is an explanation, but I can’t understand how Abby would run across Shane and his friends.”
“Maybe that night she snuck out they were doing something nefarious in the woods near her place. It would be well hidden.”
Charlie wasn’t convinced. “I guess. I wish Tyler were still alive. He could give us insight into whether Noah is telling the truth.”
“You don’t believe him?” Boone seemed skeptical himself.
“Not entirely. I remember Noah was kind of shy growing up. It’s a strange coupling between him and Shane.”
Ryan had to agree. “Maybe he formed an alliance with Shane because both didn’t fit in with others in school.”
“Possibly,” Charlie said, still not convinced.
Boone’s cell phone rang. He fished it out of his pocket. “It’s Will.” Answering the phone, he put it on speaker. “I’m here with Ryan and Charlie. What’d you learn about Shane?”
“I found him.”
Will’s answer took everyone by surprise.
“So soon?” Ryan couldn’t believe it had been that easy.
“Yep. He’s the church’s new youth pastor.”
Nothing prepared Ryan to hear this. “You’re kidding. Shane ‘the bad boy’ is a minister?”
Will laughed. “He is and he’s agreed to come in and speak with us. I’m just waiting for him to finish up and then we’ll be heading over.”
“Great news, Will. We’ll see you soon.” Boone ended the call. “When we speak with Shane, hopefully he can clear things up. I want to know more about Jason Owens’s involvement in what happened. Something tells me he’s not as squeaky clean as his father wants us to believe.”
Ryan agreed. “What about Junior?” The mayor’s son couldn’t be ruled out either, especially considering he had the same initial listed in Abby’s diary.
Right now, they had more suspects than they ever had and yet nothing that would help them solve the mystery of what happened to Abby all those years earlier and why Pete had to die.