Chapter 9
Hadley tried to forget about Travis Henderson as she prepared herself for her next appointment. She went into her office and drew in several deep breaths.
Something about the man unnerved her.
Susie knocked on her door. “Your next appointment is here. And she brought a very opinionated cat.”
Hadley huffed a quiet laugh. “That sounds promising.”
“She said his name is Spicy K.”
That got a real smile out of her.
Hadley picked up her coffee and headed down the short hallway. She quickly freshened up from her campout at the kennel and then pulled on her white lab coat.
She pushed open the door to the exam room. A woman in her late forties stood near the table, one hand resting on a beige animal carrier that shifted every few seconds.
Spicy K was a wild one.
“Good morning.” Hadley smiled. “You must be Yolanda. I’m Dr. Chase.”
“Nice to meet you.” Yolanda gave her a stiff nod.
The woman was clearly going to be a hard audience.
Hadley set her coffee down and paced closer to the carrier. “Let’s see what we’ve got going on.”
“I wasn’t sure whether or not I should come here . . .” Yolanda muttered, raising her pert nose in the air as she observed her. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”
Hadley paused, wondering if the woman was simply nervous about trying a new vet. “I assure you, I have many years of experience with animals. I know it’s hard to trust someone new.”
“Maybe. I read your reviews last night.” Yolanda didn’t try to hide her distrust and skepticism.
Hadley tilted her head, confused by the hostility. “What do you mean?”
“Your reviews . . . they’re terrible. Didn’t give me much confidence.”
Though Hadley didn’t usually read reviews, she had Susie scan them on occasion. Most of her reviews—both here and in Georgia—had been positive. There were always a few disgruntled pet owners who had a grudge for some reason. But that was par for the course. Every business got those.
“I can assure you that I’ll do everything in my power to give your cat quality care.”
Yolanda grunted. “That’s not what I read. I read you’re only concerned about money. That you’re going to charge me an arm and a leg for this visit. That you’ll find things wrong that aren’t really wrong.”
Now that definitely wasn’t true. Hadley had gotten in trouble at her old practice for giving clients discounts when she knew their finances were tight. Money shouldn’t prevent an animal—or a human, for that matter—from being cared for.
She cast those thoughts aside for now.
Right now, she had to check out Spicy K. But later, she’d look at those reviews.
The gas station sat just off the highway about twenty minutes outside of town.
Max had stopped here more than once.
He pulled in behind Sheriff Sutherland’s SUV and shut off the engine.
The place was quiet, with no customers in sight. Two pumps stood out front, their paint chipped and faded, and the building itself leaned as if it had been standing there longer than anyone had intended.
Sheriff Sutherland stepped from his vehicle first. Max followed, his gaze already scanning the area.
“There.” Sheriff Sutherland nodded to something in the distance.
Max tracked his line of sight.
The pay phone stood near the edge of the lot. Even from here, Max could see that the receiver hung loose, swaying in the breeze.
Max and Sheriff Sutherland hurried across the lot. As he walked, he looked for tracks on the ground or any other signs of what had happened. Though there were both footprints and tire tracks, it was hard to tell what was what.
“Dispatch said the call cut off mid-sentence,” Sheriff Sutherland muttered. “Makes me wonder if someone grabbed Lyndee. Maybe Kenny stopped for gas, and Lyndee ran from the truck to make a call—since she didn’t have her phone.”
“Makes sense.”
“It does, but I need some solid evidence to work with. Let’s see if the clerk saw anything.”
They headed into the building. A bell above the door gave a dull jingle as they entered.
Inside, the air smelled faintly of stale coffee and something fried. Shelves lined the walls, stocked with a mix of snacks and supplies.
The man behind the counter stood with his arms crossed and watched them suspiciously.
Sheriff Sutherland stepped forward. “Morning. I’m Sheriff Sutherland. I’m looking into a call that came from your pay phone about thirty or forty minutes ago. You see who made the call?”
The man’s gaze flicked to him then away again. “Maybe.”
Sheriff Sutherland’s tone stayed even. “You’re going to have to give us more information than that.”
“I didn’t know what was happening. Fella came in here, paid for his gas like nothing was wrong. Then next thing I know, he bolts out the door like the place caught fire.”
Max’s focus sharpened. “And?”
“I look up, and there’s a woman over by the phone. That man grabs her—just hauls her back to his truck like she weighed nothing—and they tore out of here in a hurry.”
Sheriff Sutherland’s gaze narrowed. “You didn’t think to call that in?”
The clerk shrugged. “I mind my business.”
Max held his gaze. “You didn’t think that woman could be in danger?”
The clerk shrugged again. “Figured it was a dispute between a couple. Who was I to get involved? I’m no couples therapist. I can barely manage my lovely wife.”
For a second, Max considered pushing the issue. He decided to let it go and practiced his deep breathing techniques instead. This was Sheriff Sutherland’s territory.
“You have any cameras?” Sheriff Sutherland asked.
His expression remained unchanged. “I do. But they’re broken.”
“Convenient . . .” Max muttered.
The man’s eyes narrowed. “Old, not convenient. It’s not like I’m getting rich out here. If I have to choose between a new camera or my mortgage, I pick my mortgage.”
Sheriff Sutherland edged closer. “Which way did the truck go?”
The man tilted his head toward the far side of the building. “Toward the national forest.”
Max’s gaze shifted past the edge of the lot, past the road as it stretched out and narrowed.
There were miles of nothing out there.
In other words, it was the perfect place to disappear.