Promises in the Dark (Detectives Kane and Alton)

“You sure?” Kane backed up, stopping opposite.

“Yeah, she has a pink teddy bear hanging from her mirror and a sticker on the windshield for the school parking lot.” Jenna jumped from the truck, dashed across the road, and tried the doors. “It’s locked.”

“Maybe she got a ride into town or to work?” Kane shrugged. “Get back in the truck and call her.”

Jenna slid into the front seat and made the call. The phone went to a message and she left her own. “It’s Jenna, we saw your truck on the side of the road. Just checking you’re okay.”

“Where would she go and turn off her phone?” Kane munched on a sandwich.

“Work or her mom’s place. Her mom insists they don’t play with their phones when they visit.” Jenna sighed. “She must still think she’s a kid.” She looked at Kane. “Should we be worried?”

“Not yet.” Kane headed back down the highway. “We’ll find Rowley and he’ll be able to hunt her down. I recall him mentioning dropping a tire into Miller’s, so maybe she’s had two flats in a row?”

Unable to push the concern for her friend from her mind, Jenna chewed on her fingers. “Did Wolfe give her a tracking device?”

“I have no idea, he doesn’t keep me in the loop of everything he does, Jenna.” Kane turned onto the first firebreak road. “Once we’ve hunted down Rowley, what’s next on the list?”

Jenna opened her iPad and scanned the files. “We go see George at Miller’s Garage and see if Suffolk was there on the night of the explosion.”

“I already asked in Aunt Betty’s Café and the manager, Susie Hartwig, is going to check the CCTV footage for Tuesday evening, she’ll get back to us.” Kane slowed as Blackhawk’s truck came out of the forest and onto the fire road. “That’s Blackhawk.”

Jenna sighed with relief when she spotted Rowley in the front seat. She climbed out and went to his window. “Look, before you say anything, we spotted Sandy’s truck on the side of the road. I can’t reach her by phone.”

“Yeah, I have a trillion messages, she got a flat and couldn’t reach me.” Rowley frowned. “She left a message saying she’d hitched a ride into town and would ask the mechanic from Miller’s to bring her back and change the tire.” He opened his phone. “That was twenty minutes ago. She’s probably in town and ignoring me or has walked round to her mother’s house to wait for the mechanic, it’s not far from Miller’s Garage.”

“Oh, I see.” Jenna looked past him at Atohi’s grinning face. “Okay, well then what did you find out at the caves?”

“Apart from the ghosts, bats, and critters?” Rowley shivered. “Nothing but an old mattress that could have been there for years.” He sighed. “No sign of the girl ever being there but someone ventured down there recently because we found twine attached to a bolt in the cave wall. It wasn’t covered in cobwebs like everything else. Atohi believes the forest wardens go in there sometimes to check no one’s been trespassing.”

Jenna nodded. “Okay, head back to town and hunt down Sandy. Take the time you need to find her.”

“Thanks.” Rowley smiled at her. “Appreciate it.”

After climbing back into Kane’s truck, Jenna leaned back in her seat. “Don’t go just yet. This is a great place for a picnic and I’m suddenly famished.” She reached for a sandwich. “It’s been a long day and we deserve five minutes.”

“There’s something special about the forest in summer.” Kane sipped his coffee. “We sure need to take a day and bring the horses down for a ride. Maybe find a swimming hole and have a picnic.”

Jenna sighed. “That would be wonderful but leave it a few more weeks, the water is still freezing cold.”

They sat in silence, eating and just enjoying the view before heading back into town to interview George the proprietor of Miller’s Garage. The middle-aged man was surprised when they walked into the office. Jenna exchanged a look with Kane and went to the counter. “Afternoon, Mr. Miller.”

“Sheriff Alton, has something happened to Deputy Rowley’s wife? He was in here before asking about her.” George scratched his head. “I don’t know where she went, she didn’t say.”

Relieved, Jenna nodded. “So, she’s in town somewhere?”

“I guess, she dropped her keys here, asked us to fix the flat and bring it here for repairs, and she said she’d stop by later to collect her keys.” George frowned. “I offered her a ride back to her vehicle but she hasn’t called to see if the mechanic I sent out to fix the tire has returned yet.”

Jenna pulled out her notepad. “I didn’t come by to ask you about Sandy Rowley. Do you recall Mr. Suffolk from the Crazy Iron Forge out of Louan, dropping by before closing on Tuesday night?”

“Yeah, so happens I do.” George went to a book on the counter and flicked through the pages. “He repaired a part I needed for a tractor I’m working on and was kind enough to deliver it for me. It was a rush job. I paid him and made a note of the payment and time of the delivery in my invoice book. I know, I’m old school but my daughter uploads everything into the computer for me. One thing, my old invoice book can’t catch a virus.” He chuckled.

“What time would that have been?” Jenna made notes. “And when did he leave?”

“It was a little after five.” He thought for a beat. “We chatted for a while and I helped him load another repair onto his truck.”

“Did he have anyone with him?” Kane leaned against the counter. “Anyone waiting in his truck?”

“Nope.”