25
Rowan watched Noelle stride up the gravel road to where she and Thor had waited for almost an hour.
She’s not happy.
Which was understandable, considering that the frustrating cases Noelle and Evan had been handling had now grown darker with the possible abduction of Zack. Beside Noelle were two more deputies and a forensics tech to collect the footprints and tire tracks Rowan and Deputy Hartley had found on the side of the gravel road.
Earlier, Thor had trotted up and down the road when Rowan and the deputy finally reached it, doing wide sweeps, trying to find Zack’s scent again. Rowan had a gut feeling the boy was gone. She tried to pinpoint where Thor had lost the scent, and she spotted a set of tire tracks that crossed over all other tracks where a vehicle appeared to have turned around.
Evan kept swirling around in her mind, but she hadn’t asked Deputy Hartley to request that someone contact Evan. Zack was missing; nothing else mattered.
“Doesn’t look good?” Noelle asked instead of greeting Rowan. She did give Thor a head rub.
“No,” said Rowan. “We tracked him more than a mile from the Kerr farm. Thor had his scent until we reached the road.”
“Hartley told me about the larger shoe prints,” Noelle said grimly. “We’ll need to see those too.” She included the forensics tech with a gesture.
Rowan recognized the woman as the tech who’d also worked the scene at Sophia’s home. She stretched her memory to recall her name. “Thanks for coming, Cynthia.” Rowan had met the competent woman on scenes a few times over the years.
Cynthia nodded. “If you don’t mind, Detective, I’ll get started on the road.” She had a 35-millimeter camera in hand. At Noelle’s nod, she started photographing the area.
“Say, Noelle.” Rowan hesitated, knowing this was the wrong time but unable to stop herself. “I haven’t been able to reach Evan for hours—I’ve been out of range, but even before that he was quiet. Have you talked to him recently?”
A strange look crossed Noelle’s face. “You talked to him this morning, right?”
“Only at my parents’ before he left for work.”
Noelle looked away, and her expression blanked. “Shit.”
Unease stirred in Rowan’s stomach. “You haven’t heard from him?”
“I saw him when I got to work this morning,” Noelle said slowly, avoiding Rowan’s eyes. “I really think he should be the one to talk to you—”
Rowan grabbed her arm. “What happened? Was he injured?” Her heart was in her throat.
“No! He’s fine—well, he’s not injured.” Discomfort filled Noelle’s gaze. “This really isn’t my place—”
“Tell me what happened.” Rowan had relaxed only a fraction when Noelle said he wasn’t injured.
Something is up.
“I’m sure he’s tried to contact you and just couldn’t get through,” Noelle said. “I texted him a few times around lunch and didn’t hear back, but that was understandable.”
“Understandable how ?” Rowan tightened her grip on Noelle’s arm, and the detective pointedly looked at it, making Rowan abruptly let go.
“Shit,” Noelle said again. “Rowan, he really should talk to you. I’m not sure how this happened exactly, but Evan was suspended this morning. He was leaving when I arrived and said they’d taken his work phone, so I assume they took his gun—”
“What? He was suspended?” That hadn’t been on Rowan’s list of fears. “What happened?”
Noelle looked around. Anywhere but at Rowan. “I assume you heard they found his prints in places they shouldn’t have been in Rod’s home, so they had him give new prints?”
“No. He didn’t tell me that.”
Why didn’t he tell me?
“Well, the prints came back the same. And his prints were at Sophia’s—where I didn’t see him touch anything ungloved—and he told me he’d been accused of stealing evidence.”
Rowan struggled to speak. “Don’t they know anything about Evan? He’d never do that!”
This can’t be true.
“You’re preaching to the choir,” said Noelle. “He said—” She pressed her lips together and looked at the ground.
Something she doesn’t want to tell me.
“What did he say?” Rowan whispered. Her mind was spinning.
Is this why Evan didn’t return my texts earlier?
Frustration filled Noelle’s face. “He said he felt targeted. The auto body shooting. The fire. The fingerprints and now the suspension. He said it felt personal.”
Rowan froze. “What are you implying?”
The woman turned away and walked in a small circle before returning, stepping close to Rowan and speaking in a low voice. “He thinks someone with access to the investigation is targeting him. And he wondered if Rod had been targeted for the same thing.” Noelle’s gaze was distraught. “I know how ridiculous this sounds.”
Rowan stared at her, Noelle’s words circling in her head as she tried to make sense of what she’d been told.
Evan thinks someone in law enforcement burned our house down. And shot at him.
“That can’t be right,” she whispered.
“I know. It’s crazy.” Noelle glanced around at the deputies. “Evan was pretty emotional when I saw him, so he might’ve been talking out of his ass. But like I said, he didn’t return my texts, and it sounds like he didn’t return yours either. Would he go radio silent until he was ready to talk about what happened?”
Rowan thought. “I don’t know. My first impulse is to say definitely not. But this is huge, so I’m not sure what he would do. His sister said she couldn’t reach him either when Zack disappeared.”
“Probably by the time you get in range, your phone will blow up with texts from him,” said Noelle.
Rowan eyed her, positive the detective didn’t believe a word she’d just said.
The sound of tires on gravel made the women look over their shoulders. A black SUV parked and two people got out.
“That’s Mercy,” said Rowan at the same time that Noelle said, “The FBI are here.”
FBI special agents Mercy Kilpatrick and Eddie Peterson approached. Rowan had first met Mercy more than a year ago, when the agent had vanished while working undercover. The agent and her husband had been friends with Evan before that and since then had met several times with Evan and Rowan socially.
After a quick debrief with the agents, it was decided Rowan would go with Agents Kilpatrick and Peterson back to the Kerr home, and Noelle would stay at the scene. Rowan and the two agents climbed into the FBI vehicle, and Mercy casually asked, “How’s Evan holding up through all this?”
Rowan sucked in a breath and poured out her fears to the agents.
Several minutes later they drove down the twisting drive to the Kerr home.
“Any texts yet?” Agent Peterson asked Rowan. The two agents had been stunned by her recap of the last few days.
“No.” She now had cell service. Rowan hit REDIAL and her call went to voicemail. Again. “Fuck! This isn’t like him.”
“We’ll make some calls,” Mercy said. “See if we can locate his vehicle or find out where he last used his phone.”
“Thank you,” said Rowan, relief rushing over her.
Has he vanished like Sophia and Zack?
“You don’t track each other’s phones?” asked Mercy.
“Lord, no. Do you?”
“Yep.” Mercy stared straight ahead, and Rowan recalled how distraught her husband, Truman, had been when the agent vanished and nearly died at the hands of a local militia. From the passenger seat, Eddie reached out and gently squeezed Mercy’s shoulder as she drove. He’d witnessed Truman’s anguish too.
I guess tracking is understandable for them.
“After this, I’m tempted to add tracking,” said Rowan. “It doesn’t feel right that he’d go silent to lick his wounds.”
“Evan doesn’t seem like that type of person,” agreed Mercy. “I’d think he’d jump in and get his hands dirty instead of keeping his head down for a bit.”
“That sounds like him,” said Rowan. The agent parked, and the three of them stepped out. “But getting suspended has to hurt. Evan’s job is a large part of his identity. To hear that his department didn’t find him trustworthy—I don’t know what that would do to his psyche.”
“I can’t imagine,” said Mercy.
“Evan bleeds blue,” said Eddie. “He’s a cop through and through.”
“Do you think he’s been taken?” Rowan steadied her voice. “Like Sophia and Zack? Am I jumping to conclusions?”
Mercy exchanged a look with Eddie. “Evan just experienced something crushing. Maybe it’s affected him more than we believe it would, and he’s keeping quiet for a bit. But it doesn’t hurt for us to put some things in motion.”
“I’ll make some calls and be right in,” said Eddie, pulling out his phone. “We’ll find him,” he said, meeting Rowan’s gaze.
She and Mercy approached the Kerrs’ front door, and it was abruptly thrown open by Charlotte, Oreo under one arm. “Did you find Zack?” Her eyes were wide.
“Not yet,” said Rowan, her heart breaking at the concern in the girl’s face.
“Are you here to help, Agent Kilpatrick?” Charlotte asked. Rowan knew she’d worked with the agent last summer.
“Yes,” said Mercy, holding out her hand for Oreo to sniff. “Don’t worry. We’ll find him.”
Bridget appeared, her face hopeful when she saw the agent. “Mercy! I’m so glad you’re here.” Her face fell a bit as she took in their expressions.
“They haven’t found Zack,” Charlotte announced. “Yet.”
“Please come in. Both of you.”
“Have you heard from Evan?” Rowan asked as they entered the home.
“No,” said Bridget. “But I left him another message, that Thor had followed Zack’s scent and that you’d found tracks.” Her smile faded. “What’s going on?”
“Not sure,” said Rowan, trying to stay calm. “I’ll be right back.” She stepped back out of the home and called her mother. And then called both of her sisters. No one had heard from Evan, but his truck was no longer at her parents’.
Sweat beaded on the back of Rowan’s neck as she stared at his contact photo on her phone. She kept imagining Evan dead in a vehicle trunk. “Where the fuck are you?” she whispered.
His phone at his ear, Agent Peterson was pacing near the SUV. One hand gestured emphatically as he spoke.
Thank God they can help.
“Zack,” she said out loud, reminding herself of the true issue at hand. She pulled herself together and went back into the house to find Mercy speaking with the kids, Bridget, and her husband, Victor.
“I’m going to talk to Bridget out back,” said Mercy. “When Eddie comes in, he’ll talk to you, Victor.”
“What about us?” demanded Charlotte. “Theodore and I spent the most time with Zack. Don’t you want to interview us?”
“You’re next,” promised Mercy. “Does anyone have a picture of Zack?”
Bridget looked at Victor and they shook their heads.
“I do,” stated Charlotte. She set down the dog and then slid a cell phone from her jeans pocket. She showed them a photo of Zack glaring at the camera and holding a shovel of manure. “He didn’t want me to take his picture right then,” she said. “But I thought it was funny. He kept saying how bad it smelled. I thought he was going to gag at first.”
“Perfect,” said Mercy. “Thank you, Charlotte. Can you text it to me?”
Pleased, Charlotte cut a smug glance at her brother, who rolled his eyes.
Mercy motioned for Rowan to follow her and Bridget out the back door. Outside there was a wood picnic table in the sun, and the three of them took a seat.
“Why are you separating Victor and me?” asked Bridget.
“This allows each of you to give your perspective without the influence of the other person,” said Mercy. “Different people remember things different ways. We want to hear it all. First I’d like to know how someone found Zack here. I know how off the grid your family is, Bridget. Did Zack call someone? A friend, maybe?”
“We took away his phone,” said Bridget. “Evan had asked us to hold it in case his mother tried to call. We let Zack use it each evening for a little bit under close supervision. I know he called Evan, and he also called his mother’s cell a number of times.”
“Sophia’s phone is in custody,” said Rowan.
“He knows,” said Bridget with a sad smile. “I think he couldn’t help himself.”
That poor kid.
“Maybe Evan or I was followed here,” said Rowan, hating the thought that they had led a possible killer to the boy. “I drove Zack here the first time, and then Evan and I came out again the next day.”
“I hate to say it, but that seems the most likely scenario,” said Bridget. “We haven’t left the ranch or had any visitors since Zack came.”
Mercy made a note. “Bridget, can you walk me through what Zack did today?”
“Do you really need me for this?” The question burst out of Rowan. She hated to be rude, but she was unable to sit still and wanted to find Evan. “I told you all of Thor’s findings, and Noelle knows a lot more than I do about Zack and his mother.”
Mercy pressed her lips together. “You’re right. I’ll check in with you later.” There was assurance in Mercy’s gaze that she hadn’t forgotten about Evan. But it did little to calm the churning in Rowan’s stomach.
She said her goodbyes and nearly sprinted for her vehicle, Thor at her side.
Where can I look for Evan?