Silence. In fact, there was no noise at all. No birds, no traffic not one sound. It was as if she was completely alone in the world. Alone in the middle of nowhere with a corpse.
Twenty-Six
A commotion at the front counter at the sheriff’s department drew Jenna’s attention away from the computer screen. She had spent the last hour or two since arriving updating her files, collecting reports from the local search and rescue teams and keeping the media informed about the status of Sky Paul’s disappearance. Nothing seemed to add up in this case and finding no body or trace of the young woman had left her grasping at straws. She had her deputies searching for anyone who may have been passing through the local area at the time of Sky’s disappearance. The thought had occurred to her to check the whereabouts of men living in town fitting the description Ella Tate had offered of the attacker, then her deputies walked through the main entrance to the office, all shaking the snow off black hoodies. The description “tall with broad shoulders” resembled at least half the men in town.
A knock came on the door and the receptionist, Maggie, stuck her head inside the room.
“I have Mr. and Mrs. Paul in the waiting area. They insist on speaking to you right away.”
Jenna pushed to her feet and smiled at Maggie. “That’s fine, send them through.”
A tall middle-aged man dusted with snowflakes guided a distraught woman wearing a bright red winter jacket and matching knitted hat into the office. Jenna moved around the table and pulled out a chair for Mrs. Paul. “Have you gotten news about Sky?”
“Not a word.” Mr. Paul’s eyes narrowed and his mouth turned down. “You?”
Surprised by his harsh tone, Jenna moved back around her desk to make a space between her and the angry man. “As you are aware, we have involved the media and sent out BOLOs to all other counties.” She met his gaze full on. “My deputies are working around the clock to find her.”
“That’s not why we’re here.” Mrs. Paul shot to her feet and leaned across the desk, putting her face not six inches away from Jenna. “My son went out last night to search for Sky and now he’s gone missin’ too.”
It was fortunate Jenna had dealt with a number of irate people in her time and this kind of display no longer intimidated her. She dropped her voice to just above a whisper. “When did you last see your son?” She sat down and folded her hands on the desk.
“Last night at supper.” Mrs. Paul sank back into her chair and swallowed hard. “Doug left a note to say he and Ella had gone for a ride out toward Blackwater. The pair of them haven’t returned and he’s not answerin’ his cellphone.”
“I figured they might have stayed over at the Blackwater Motel seein’ the weather has been so bad, but they’re not there.” Mr. Paul stood behind his wife rubbing her shoulders. “It’s not like him not to contact us.”
“Are you aware an eighteen-wheeler rolled over on the highway a mile out of Blackwater last night around eleven? It spilled a load of toxic chemicals, blocking the highway in both directions.” Jenna sighed. “It’s been on the news all morning and the Department of Transport would have erected a flashing sign on the highway just outside of town.”
“You sayin’ that if Doug wrecked his truck last ni
ght in the cellphone dead zone, no one would have been by and he wouldn’t have been able to call for help?” Mr. Paul frowned. “We’ll head out now and go look for him ourselves.”
Jenna shook her head. “That’s not necessary. We’re better equipped to handle the situation. I’ll bring in my deputies and we’ll go over the details.” She lifted the phone and called Kane. “Grab Rowley and come to my office. We have a situation.”
Moments later Kane led Rowley through the door. He looked at her and raised one eyebrow in question. She lifted her chin and explained. “When we’ve finished here, Deputy Rowley will make out a missing person’s report. I’ll get a search organized immediately. I’ll need details of your son’s vehicle.”
She made notes and looked back at the couple. “What time did they leave?”
“We don’t know. Late.” Mr. Paul glanced at Kane. “My son’s vehicle has a GPS with a tracking device. Do you know the kind? He can find his car using his cellphone.”
“Ah, that’s useful. We should be able to trace the vehicle.” Kane took out his notebook and pen. “If you give me your son’s plate and cellphone number, I’ll get someone onto it straight away.”
“I don’t have his license plate number.” Mr. Paul’s expression was grim.
Jenna pushed a lock of hair out of her eyes. “Is his car insured by Barker’s here in town?”
“Yeah, we all are.” Mr. Paul brightened. “They’ll have the details.”
“Would you call them, please? It will be quicker.” Jenna went through the contacts on her cellphone and read out the number. She glanced up at Kane. “When we have the information, I’ll ask Wolfe to locate the vehicle, but we won’t wait; we’ll head out toward Blackwater in case they’ve had car trouble and Wolfe will call when he has the coordinates. It is a cellphone dead zone, as you know, so grab your satellite phone and anything else we might need. We’ll take your truck.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Kane headed out of the office.
Jenna waited patiently for Mr. Paul to obtain the plate number of his son’s truck, then called Wolfe. After disconnecting, she met the worried couple’s eyes. “Usually when an adult comes up missing we wait a while in case they show, but as he went looking for Sky, we can’t be sure he hasn’t gotten into trouble. The first thing is to find his vehicle. If we don’t have any luck locating him in the next hour, I’ll put out a BOLO.” She stood and waved the couple toward the door. “I want you to file a missing person’s report so we have all Doug’s details on file. If you go with Deputy Rowley, he’ll start the paperwork. I’ll call you when we find him.”
“Thanks.” Mr. Paul led his wife from the office.
She pulled open the bottom drawer to her desk, took out her backup weapon and secured it to her ankle. Her Kevlar vest went on next, then she pulled her overcoat from the peg and shrugged it over the top. She glanced up as Kane’s form blocked the doorway. “Wear your vest; I could be a target and we don’t know who we’re dealing with at the moment.”
“Great minds think alike, they say.” Kane opened his jacket to reveal his vest. “I was going to suggest the same to you. At first, I figured Sky’s vanishing act followed by Ella’s and Doug’s could have been contrived to get you alone in a black spot.” Kane narrowed his gaze. “Although the timeline doesn’t fit.”