Chapter 10
The pattern continued for the full week, and, as far as Wilden was concerned, it was a nice way to get to know a very nice lady. Even Nan was on his case, trying to push him forward.
“Nan, I don’t want to be pushed into a relationship,” he repeated in exasperation, for the umpteenth time. “I just want to let things happen naturally.”
“She might be holding back because of your father.”
He had to agree with that, but he also knew that Vivian understood well enough that he wasn’t his father. “That’s the last thing I want, but, if that’s how she needs to deal with this, then that is what it is.”
Nan rolled her eyes at that. “Now you’re just being foolish.”
He sighed. “No, I’m not. I’m being sensible.” She laughed, and he wondered if she was right.
The week went by with multiple walks and friendly visits.
Everyone seemed to relax. Both Cooper and Hinkle were still in jail, waiting for the circuit judge, and neither had money for bail.
Wilden wasn’t sure how that would go, but, in the meantime, everybody had a chance to settle in a bit, including the dogs, as much as they could, given they were in three different households.
Even Jackson seemed to calm down and was letting go of his stress.
Wilden stopped in several times a week to see him, always receiving a big welcome and a smile.
Sarge was thrilled, even when Wilden had to leave without taking him for a special long walk.
He did take Sarge for short walks around the block, which Sarge enjoyed, perhaps for the camaraderie and a chance to be out in the fresh air. Jackson didn’t go out much with Sarge.
On Friday night, Wilden went to pick up Vivian at her clinic.
It was locked, and he saw no sign of her.
Thinking she must have left early, he headed to her house and found the dogs there but not her.
Still no sign of her. He let himself in, knowing she would be okay with it—if he had a good reason.
But he really started to panic when she didn’t answer her phone, wasn’t at the office, and wasn’t at home.
He called the police station to ask if any accidents had been reported involving her vehicle.
“No accidents today,” a woman cheerfully replied in her bright tone, which he agreed was good.
He explained he was looking for Dr. Vivian Lee, the town vet, and how he got no answer at her office or home.
The woman replied that it was too early for a missing person’s report.
Wilden knew that, but given the local cops had recently picked up several criminals, Wilden wasn’t comfortable with that.
So she passed him to a detective. “Are you sure there’s no other place she could be?” the detective asked.
“Obviously there are places, but I don’t know them,” Wilden replied. “We were planning on a hike and dinner. If she changed her mind, she would have told me. She definitely would have texted or called me. Something has happened to her.”
“What do you reckon has happened?”
“Do you still have Harley Cooper and Larry Hinkle in custody?”
The detective hesitated, and that set off all kinds of bells.
Then he confirmed it, “No, we don’t.”
“Shit,” Wilden muttered, staring off.
“You don’t think something’s happened to her, do you?”
“Of course I do,” he snapped. “You guys didn’t think to notify her—or me—that those two were getting out? She was with me when we found the two men. If they wanted revenge, it would be on her, not me. She’s a weaker target.”
The detective laughed. “Didn’t sound weaker when I saw her.” Then he stopped abruptly. “You’re sure the vet clinic was locked up?”
“Yes, it was locked.”
“Why would they do that?”
“To make it look as if she’d left on her own, leaving no trace. She didn’t go home because her dogs are there. Something has happened to her,” Wilden declared, his voice demanding.
“Easy,” the detective replied. “We can put out a BOLO notice for her car, but other than that—”
“Yeah, I know,” he snapped, hanging up. He immediately phoned Badger.
“You think they picked her up?” Badger asked.
“I don’t know what else to think,” Wilden stated. “Outside of her with a broken-down car and a dead phone, there’s no reason for her not to contact me. Some people may think she’s trying to stay out of my life, but I don’t think that’s it.”
“That’s not my opinion either,” Badger agreed. “Plus, you’re a good judge of character. If you think something’s wrong, I believe you.”
“What I don’t know is how to get a hold of her security camera footage from inside the clinic.”
“Ah, that might be something I can get someone to look into,” Badger shared, sounding distracted.
“Do you have connections for that?”
“I don’t, but I know someone who does. Let me call you back.” He disconnected, leaving Wilden standing here.
He still had Dagger at his side, but now Dagger was sniffing the ground, looking around, getting edgy, even barking.
Wilden turned, but nothing was there. “Yeah, you know she’s been picked up too, don’t you?
The question is, where are they taking her, and how do I find her before things get out of hand? ”
He was waiting for Badger when his phone rang. He answered the unknown number, and someone on the other end laughed.
“In case you don’t know who it is—”
“I know who it is,” Wilden snapped. “What are you guys doing, kidnapping women now?”
“It’s not what you think,” the man replied.
“It damn-well better not be,” Wilden warned, his voice low and deadly. “You think you got problems now, Hinkle? You ain’t seen shit yet.”
“Oh, knock it off. You’re just a useless broken-down vet,” Hinkle taunted, with a chirpy laugh at the end. “I couldn’t believe it when I found out you’re missing a leg. You’re not even whole anymore. We thought you were something we needed to handle, but, shit, you’re just a cripple.”
“You go ahead and think that way. That’s fine by me.”
“Oh yeah, look at you? … Protective much? We want the money your dad stole from us.”
“Who’s we? You and Cooper or is Jimmy in on it too?”
“What does it matter? We just want our money.”
“I don’t know anything about money from my father. I don’t have any bank accounts or anything. If he hid money, perfect, because he owes my grandmother for the money he stole from her.”
“He didn’t steal it all from her. He stole a lot from us too.”
“You guys would say that of course.”
“It doesn’t matter if you believe us or not, Hookman. I don’t care one bit. We’ve got your girlfriend, so, before you call any cops, let me tell you this. … Don’t do anything stupid.”
“I’ve already called them,” he declared. “I already told them how I know who has her and that they better find your hidey-holes first because I’ll be there soon enough.”
Hinkle laughed. “All that tough talk. You ain’t doing nothing that we don’t want you to do. Don’t even bother looking for her because you’ll never find her. If you bring the money, great. If not, maybe we’ll send you a finger a day.”
“My dad would get a kick out of anything causing pain and suffering. Now I know who you guys are too. Don’t worry. I’ll find you,” he vowed, his tone deepening with that threat. “You might want to leave town before you don’t have that opportunity anymore.”
Dead silence came first. Finally Hinkle spoke up.
“I’m tired of your threats. I’m tired of you thinking you can come back into town and ruffle up all the feathers.
You’re nobody. You may have had John Hookman for a father, but you don’t have the stomach for it.
Get the money, or you won’t see her alive again. ” He ended the call.
Wilden phoned Badger, caught him up on the latest, then contacted the police.
“We’ll send out a cruiser and start looking for her,” one of the men said.
“You better start doing something,” Wilden snapped, then stopped. “Never mind. I’m coming to the station myself.”
He hopped into his vehicle, whistled for Dagger, who came running, then he went to find Jackson.
When he got there, he heard howling and barking.
Swearing, he walked into the house, realizing Jackson wasn’t here either, but Sarge was in the backyard.
He put Sarge on a leash and said, “Let’s go, buddy.
” With both Sarge and Dagger, he raced to the police station.
When he got there, several cops were milling around outside. He recognized the chief.
“Hold on,” the chief said.
But Wilden wasn’t in the mood for it. “No, I’m not gonna hold on,” he said through gritted teeth. “You better get that punk cop of yours out here to tell us where these guys are holed up.”
The chief appeared surprised. “Who?”
“Jimmy Puckman.”
“You must be mistaken. Jimmy is a good kid. None of my men are involved,” the chief stated. A throat cleared behind him. He turned to see a young cop, the same one that Wilden had met that day with Paul.
“Chief, … I’m not sure he isn’t involved,” the cop shared. “He let one guy off before and mentioned something about helping these guys because he felt sorry for them.”
The chief’s face worked in shock. “What?”
“I thought that’s why he was reprimanded and on administrative leave.” The cop looked confused.
“He’s not off on a reprimand.” The chief practically bellowed this point. “He just needed a few days off.”
The two cops stared at each other. “Paul told us you put him on administrative leave, pending the investigation. We figured you knew what was going on.”
“What?” the chief roared, pacing about. “Are you telling me Jimmy and Paul are involved with this gang?”
Wilden put a hand on his shoulder. No time for freaking out.
“We need to know where these guys are stashed. We’ve got two people missing, one being Jackson Russell.
That old man can’t take much more of this.
He’s barely recovered from the last time they kidnapped and beat him.
Targeting veteran pensioners is one thing, but now they’ve taken a young woman, the same one my father hassled so badly that she had to get a court injunction and restraining order against him. ”