Chapter Eleven
Carter was washing the Jeeps, shirt off and barefoot in shorts, humming to himself as he scrubbed and rinsed.
He was thinking about the two tours he had led that day.
In the morning, he had hosted a pair of couples who were traveling Colorado together.
The husbands had been friends in high school and the couples had known each other for forty years and traveled all over the world.
Yet they had still been thrilled to see the mountains and waterfalls around Eagle Mountain, laughing at all of Carter’s corny jokes and teasing the younger couple who were also on the tour.
In the afternoon, one family on the tour had been from Mexico.
Carter had tried out some of the Spanish he was learning, then explained he was taking a course for first responders.
This led to dozens of questions about his work with search and rescue, as well as more Spanish lessons as the family’s two teenagers offered the Spanish words for everything they encountered on the tour.
All in all, it had been a good day. Interesting people, good weather, no breakdowns and good tips.
“Carter?”
He turned and was startled to see Mira standing a short distance away. She didn’t look at all happy. In fact, he thought she might be close to tears. He dropped the water hose and hurried to her. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Sheriff’s deputies arrested Mitch Anders this afternoon,” she said. “One of them was your brother Aaron. They said he had something to do with Bryce’s kidnapping.”
“Who is Mitch Anders?”
“He’s a coach at the school. And he’s the man my friend Shayla is interested in. She was with him when he was arrested and she’s terribly upset.”
“And they think he’s the kidnapper?”
“He couldn’t be,” Mira said. “He was at the school that afternoon. I talked to him.”
“If he was there when someone was grabbing Bryce, he can’t be the kidnapper,” Carter agreed.
“He came to tell me and Shayla about the kidnapping,” she said.
“He had heard the news from his father, who lives with him. So that was after the kidnapping. And after Bryce escaped, because he mentioned search and rescue had been called out. But I’m sure he was at school before that.
He has sports to coach.” She shook her head.
“I don’t know what to think. He seems like such a nice guy but I’ve been wrong before. ”
“Come sit down,” Carter said. He paused to turn the water off at the faucet, then led her to a bench in the shade next to the garage. “Tell me what happened.”
She told him about the barbecue, about Shayla introducing her and Mitch to her mother, and then the deputies—including Aaron—arriving and arresting Mitch. “Shayla had just arranged to go to the movies this afternoon with him,” she said. “They handcuffed him and led him away. She is devastated.”
“I remember Shayla. I met her the day of the bomb threat.”
“That’s right, you did. Can you call your brother and find out what kind of evidence they have against Mitch?”
He shook his head. “Aaron won’t tell me. I don’t think he legally can.”
She slumped over, chin in hand, elbows on her knees. “I feel so bad for Shayla.”
“Maybe if we go to the sheriff’s department, we can find out something there,” he said.
“They’re not going to let us in just because we’re nosy,” she said.
“But we’ll have a reason to be there,” he said. “You can tell the sheriff about talking to Mitch at the school that afternoon. And I got a note today from the anonymous busybody.”
She sat up straight and stared at him. “When? Where? What did it say?”
“It was taped to the front door. My mom found it when she opened up this morning. I’ve got it here.
” He stood and retrieved his shirt from the gatepost where he had draped it and fished the folded envelope from the pocket.
He handed the letter to her, then slipped on the shirt, but didn’t button it.
She examined the envelope, then took out the letter and read it. “Are you illegally parking?” she asked.
“I’m not really parking, just stopping there a few minutes so people can take pictures.”
She returned the letter to him. “It’s like the ones other people have received—nagging them about something they really have done. Mine is the only one accusing me—or at least insinuating—that I’ve done something wrong when I didn’t do anything at all.”
“I still want to show the sheriff this note. He can add it to his collection. If he gets enough notes to compare, maybe he’ll find something that will help identify the writer.”
He hadn’t expected her to be cheered by his news, exactly, but she looked even more dismayed. “What is it?” he asked. “You don’t want to talk to the sheriff?”
“It’s not that. I got another message yesterday. Not a note, but someone sneaked into my classroom while I was at lunch and wrote ‘kid killer’ in red marker on my whiteboard.”
He sat beside her once more. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t tell anyone—except the deputy who came and took a report, and the principal. I just… I want this all to go away. I don’t want to have to deal with it.”
He rubbed her back. “It’s awful,” he said. “I’m sorry. We don’t have to go to the sheriff. We can do something to get your mind off of this. Go for a hike. Or I could give you a personal Jeep tour.”
A smile flickered across her lips, but quickly faded. She straightened her shoulders. “Let’s go to the sheriff. Maybe we’ll find out something that will help Mitch or Shayla.”
He began buttoning up the shirt. “Let me put on some shoes and we can head over there.”
He was aware of her watching as he did up the shirt buttons. Too bad she wasn’t the one undoing them. His gaze flickered over the hint of cleavage at the neck of her sundress. It had buttons down the front, too. He’d enjoy unfastening them. One at a time. Slowly revealing her beautiful body.
Get it together, he scolded himself. Now wasn’t the time. She was seriously upset about her friend and he needed to focus on helping her.
Fortunately, Aaron wasn’t in sight when they arrived at the station.
Carter knew his brother would see past any story Carter concocted and send him on his way.
Inside, they found office manager Adelaide Kinkaid, a feisty sixty-something who had no patience for fools, but a soft spot for handsome young men.
Or so Carter had heard. “Good afternoon, Adelaide.” He offered his most charming smile. “You’re looking lovely this afternoon.”
She gave him a sour look. “Your brother is busy processing a new arrest,” she said. Her gaze flickered to Mira. “Is there something I can help you with?”
“We need to see the sheriff,” Carter said.
“The sheriff is busy, too.”
“I need to show him this.” Carter held up the envelope. “Another poison pen letter. He’ll want it for his files.”
“You can give the letter to me and I’ll make sure he gets it.” She held out her hand.
“Mira needs to talk to him, too,” Carter said.
“Why do you need to see him?” Adelaide asked Mira.
“I have evidence. It’s related to Mitch Anders. I know he was arrested this afternoon in connection with Bryce’s kidnapping.”
“Just a moment.” Adelaide stood and disappeared through a door behind her.
“You said the magic word,” Carter said. “Evidence.”
“It may not help us find out what they’ve got on Mitch.”
Adelaide reappeared. “The sheriff can give you a few minutes.”
Travis looked up from his desk when they entered his office. “Adelaide said you want to tell me something about Mitch Anders?”
“Yes. The afternoon Bryce was kidnapped, Mitch is the one who told me and Shayla Green about the kidnapping. He came into my classroom and told us Bryce had been taken.”
“What time was this?” Travis picked up a pad and pen and began making notes.
“Just after four thirty. I know because I had planned to leave school at four and Shayla interrupted me, so I stayed a little later.”
“What time was Bryce taken?” Carter asked.
Travis ignored him. “Did Mitch say how he had learned about the kidnapping?”
“He said his dad had told him. His dad listens to the police scanner and had learned about the crime there.” She frowned.
“I’m trying to remember exactly what he said.
Something about one of their neighbors being a 911 dispatcher.
He—the dad—talked to her and she told him Bryce’s name and that someone had seen a kid they thought was him up at the Galloway Basin parking area, and that search and rescue had been called out. ”
Carter was scrolling through his phone. “The call for search and rescue came at 4:05,” he said.
Travis nodded. “Did you see Mitch before he came to your classroom?” he asked.
“He was monitoring the pickup line out front when school let out at three,” she said.
“Thank you for sharing this information,” Travis said. “We’ll get back to you if we have more questions.”
“I have something for you, too,” Carter said. He handed over the envelope. “Someone stuck that to the door of the tour office this morning. My mom found it when she opened up.”
Travis scanned the letter. “Do you have any idea who sent it?” he asked.
“None,” Carter said.
“I’ll add it to the file.”
“Why do you think Mitch had anything to do with Bryce’s kidnapping?” Mira asked.
“I can’t share that at this time.” He stood. “Now, you need to go.”
Carter followed her out of the sheriff’s office, through the lobby and onto the sidewalk. “I need to check on Shayla,” Mira said.
“Do you want me to come with you?” he asked.
“No thanks.”
He started to turn away, hiding his disappointment. She put out her hand and touched his arm. “Thank you,” she said. “For all your help. And for being patient with me.”
“Patient?”
“I like you. But it’s hard for me to trust people. I have my reasons.” She leaned in, the citrus and vanilla scent of her momentarily stunning him. She kissed him, the softest brush of her lips against his cheek.
Then she was gone, walking away, leaving him in a fog of desire and hope.