John bid us goodnight and headed to the bunkhouse while Luke and I hurried to my truck, climbed in, and made our way to town.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
KYLE
We sat in silence for the first few moments until I turned onto the main road toward town.
“You think you know what might have happened to Wendy, don’t you, Luke?”
“What makes you think that?”
“The questions you asked John and the way you frowned when he told you about the tyre tracks. When something bothers you, your face scrunches and your eyebrows draw together. You used to do it when we were back in school.”
“Perceptive, Mr Walker. I have a gut feeling about where she might be, but I don’t know why, or why now.”
“Can you tell me?”
“Of course. I think somehow her family discovered where she was. She wouldn’t have gone with them willingly which makes me think she was snatched this morning when no-one was around. It would have been carefully planned.”
“It’s been fifteen years since she left. Why now, and how would they have known she was here?”
“My questions exactly and I aim to find the answers because my gut tells me she’s in a shitload of danger.”
A shudder of dread washed over me, and I tightened my grip on Luke’s hand, seeking reassurance.
“We can’t let anything happen to her, Luke, I love her like a second sister.”
“I know, that’s why I’m not wasting any time and we’re going into the office now.”
We travelled the rest of the way in silence, deep in thought. I desperately begged the powers that be to keep Wendy safe.
***
LUKE
Kyle eased his truck into my designated parking space out the front of the police station. We both stepped from the truck, and with Kyle by my side, we pushed through the glass door into the brightly lit station. Kyle seemed surprised, and maybe a little uncomfortable when I reached for his hand, but when Max—the Duty Sargent on the front desk we’d both known since childhood, noticed and smiled, he relaxed.
Max focused his attention back on me as we approached. “You here about Wendy, Boss?”
“Yes, who’s out the back?”
“Jodie, Ryan, and Pierce.”
I nodded, led Kyle to a side door, punched in a code, and we entered a large area with desks dotted around. Some were messy, others tidy, and all held computers. I strode toward Jodie who was tapping away frantically on a keyboard, a frown of concentration marring her beautiful face. She glanced up when we reached her.
“Boss, you must be psychic, I was about to call you. I’ve been searching for hours and can’t find a damn thing about Wendy before she entered Armidale University around fifteen years ago. It’s as if she’s an alien who just materialized here. I’ve searched every database I can think of and there’s nothing.”
“May I?” I indicated her chair and she stood. I took the seat she’d vacated while Kyle sat on the opposite side of the desk so as not to see something he shouldn’t. I appreciated his tact and thoughtfulness.
Jodie hovered near my shoulder watching the screen as I tapped away at the keyboard. When I’d found what I was looking for, and sat back in the chair, Jodie bent forward and studied the screen.
“Holy shit! We had Roger Winter’s daughter living in our midst. Fuck, I treated her the same as I treated everyone else on the rare occasions I saw her in town. I’m beginning to understand why she stayed hidden out at the station. Did you know, Kyle? Was it so we wouldn’t treat her differently?”
Kyle shook his head. “I had no idea until late last week. I’ve only ever known her as Wendy, and until she spoke with Luke, I thought her parents were dead. She never mentioned them. Luke and I figure she’s running from something, but we don’t know why, what or who it could be. We planned to speak with her after Luke’s court case, but arrived home an hour ago to find her gone.”
I continued. “I think her family found out where she was and grabbed her. There’s no doubt in my mind. Wendy didn’t go willingly.”
Jodie stood listening as I explained my thoughts before Kyle questioned, “She’s been with me out at the station for almost a decade, isn’t it a little coincidental that, after all this time they just happen to find her?”
Kyle made an interesting point. “No, I think it was only a matter of time. Wendy’s father is a very powerful man and he wouldn’t have given up regardless of how long it took. He’d have computer techs watching the internet for flags, for any interest in the missing persons alert.”
“Okay, let’s believe that’s not the stuff that only happens in spy movies, that it really does happen in real life. Why would clicking on a missing person report by a copper here in Clearlea set off alarm bells?”