Stalking Ground Page 3

  “Sit,” Brody said, gesturing to a chair.

  Robo sat at Mattie’s heel.

  She glanced down at him and suppressed a smile. He was panting slightly, his deep brown eyes meeting hers as if anticipating her next wish. He was being such an obedient guy today.

  “I’ll stand. I’ve been sitting for hours. What do you have so far?” she asked.

  Brody pointed to the top of the board where yesterday’s date was written. “Missing since Wednesday afternoon. Worked at Valley Vista hot springs yesterday morning, took the afternoon off. Presumably went for a hike. Took her car. Left her purse, money, credit cards at home.”

  That last detail influenced Mattie’s opinion: no one ran away without money and credit cards, unless they’d established a secret bank account somewhere and wanted to disappear without a trace. Could Adrienne have done that kind of planning? And if so, why?

  “Deputy Johnson and I have driven over half the county last night and today, checking places I know she likes to hike. Covered Ute Canyon, Butterfly Pass, Old Flowers Trail, and the others listed here.” Brody waved a hand down a long list of hiking trails near Timber Creek. “Her car isn’t parked at any of the trail heads.”

  “Have you issued a BOLO on the car?” Mattie asked.

  “Yes. This afternoon.”

  The door behind her opened. Mattie turned to see Sheriff McCoy enter the room. A large African American man, Abraham McCoy exuded quiet confidence. His serene expression countered Brody’s anxious one, and she appreciated the calming presence the sheriff carried with him.

  “Welcome home, Deputy Cobb,” he said. “Thank you for coming back early.”

  “Not a problem. I hope I can help.”

  “We anticipate needing Robo to search as soon as we locate Miss Howard’s car.” McCoy took a seat at a table. “Go ahead, Chief Deputy,” he said to Brody.

  Mattie turned her attention back to the board. Brody indicated the next point: Mother—Velda Howard.

  “Velda Howard is Adrienne’s mother, but they’re estranged. I contacted her this morning to see if she knows anything. She lives in Hightower.” Hightower was only about thirty miles from Timber Creek. “She hasn’t talked to Adrienne for six years. Had no idea that she moved here. She says Adrienne left home for California six years ago with her high school sweetheart, Kevin Conrad. She hasn’t heard from her since.”

  “Why are they estranged?” Mattie asked.

  “Mother didn’t approve of her choice of boyfriends.”

  Mattie nodded and looked at the next point: Kevin Conrad.

  “I found the old boyfriend today. He’s still living in California. Spoke with him on the phone. He and Adrienne split up five years ago. Said he didn’t know where she moved, didn’t talk with her after she left.”

  Brody had literally covered a lot of territory; no wonder he looked so exhausted.

  “Was the split amicable?” She was wondering if foul play from an ex could be involved.

  “Yes, according to him. He’s married now and has a kid.”

  “And were you able to confirm that he’s actually in California, both today and yesterday? He hasn’t been here in Timber Creek?”

  “Yes. He gave me the name of his employer. I confirmed the phone number from a public source. He was at work both days. It’s legit.”

  Brody’s hand moved to the next point: Residence/Employment—Valley Vista Hot Springs. “Dean Hornsby—what a piece of work that guy is—won’t give permission to search the yurt where she lives or the one where she does massage. And Judge Taylor won’t issue a search warrant until Adrienne’s been missing forty-eight hours.”

  Hornsby, the owner of the hot springs resort, had been a suspect in the Grace Hartman case. Detective Stella LoSasso, who’d helped with the case, had dubbed the ineffective and soft-looking man “the tampon king of Arizona.” He’d sold an inherited personal-products business prior to moving to Timber Creek and investing the proceeds into Valley Vista hot springs, hoping to turn it into a popular, yet rustic, health spa. No, the man wouldn’t be willing to assume the risk and responsibility for permitting an unwarranted search. But maybe Anya, the other massage therapist, could provide information.

  “Have you talked with Anya Yamamoto yet?” Mattie asked.

  “Yes. She confirmed Miss Howard was missing this morning,” McCoy said. “She believes that Adrienne went hiking yesterday afternoon, which is also Deputy Brody’s opinion.”

  Rainbow’s too, Mattie thought.

  Brody pointed to the next item: Massage Therapy Clients—Cole Walker. This point surprised Mattie. She didn’t know Cole was involved at the hot springs.

  “Adrienne has been working with Walker at his clinic, doing massage on horses,” Brody said. “She was scheduled to be there at three o’clock this afternoon, and he called in after she didn’t show. We don’t know for sure yet, but this means she might’ve gone on a stable or farm call yesterday afternoon instead of a hike. Adrienne keeps her own horse client schedule, and no one else seems to be privy to it. Walker is putting together a list of clients for us to contact. We’ll follow up to see if she had an appointment with any of them or if she mentioned where she might be yesterday afternoon to anyone.”

  “When will we have that list?” Mattie asked.

  “Any time now. He planned to call each one to skirt around confidentiality issues.”

  Mattie nodded. “Maybe we can get someone at the hot springs to do the same. We should interview all of Adrienne’s clients. Who knows what they discuss during a session? Maybe one of them will have a lead.”

  “I’ll call Anya Yamamoto and suggest it,” McCoy said.

  Brody added Massage Therapy Clients—Hot Springs to the board.

  Mattie thought of something else. “What about her cell phone, Brody?”

  “I’m not sure where it is. She always keeps it with her.”

  “I’ll see if Ms. Yamamoto can find it at the hot springs,” McCoy said. “Any other ideas for next steps?”

  “I have a few more trailheads to check for her car,” Brody said.

  “Have you alerted the forest rangers on that BOLO? Sandy Benson and her crew were the ones who found Grace Hartman’s car for us,” Mattie said.

  “Yes, I spoke with Ranger Benson,” McCoy said. “They’re on it.”

  Mattie looked at Brody, taking in his haggard appearance. “With all due respect, it’s important for you to get some sleep tonight, Brody. Tell Benson where you want the rangers to search and then go home. Once we find that car, we’re going to need you on the ground. Not everyone can take on those hiking trails, you know. You and Johnson are the only ones who can keep up with Robo and me.”

  Brody straightened and stared at her hard. She stared right back at him.

  “Deputy Cobb’s right,” McCoy said. “We need to employ all the help we’ve got, and the rangers can take over searching the trailheads into the wilderness area. Now, is there anything else we should discuss?”

  The thought crossed Mattie’s mind that there was still a possibility that the woman had decided to rabbit on her own, but she kept it to herself. It appeared she was the only one in the room who had doubts. Sheriff McCoy took the utilization of resources seriously, and his commitment appeared to be 100 percent. She remained silent.

  “Deputy Cobb, call Dr. Walker and see if he has some people you can interview,” McCoy said. “Let’s get started on that list.”

  “I’ll call Benson,” Brody said.

  “You need to go home, Deputy Brody,” McCoy said. “We’ll notify you if we get a serious lead.”

  Brody didn’t respond. Instead, he turned to write Cell Phone on the dry-erase board.

  “Tomorrow I’m going to establish a tip line and run it through the front desk. The weekly paper will run the ad in the morning,” McCoy said.

  Mattie nodded and prepared to leave, looking down at her partner. During the discussion, Robo had lain near her feet and followed their conversation with pri
cked ears.

  “You ready to roll, Robo?” she asked.

  He scrambled to his feet and followed her out to the lobby where Rainbow still sat at the dispatcher’s desk, her reddened eyes dark with fatigue.

  “Why are you working the night shift?” Mattie asked her.

  “Sam Corns couldn’t come in tonight.”

  “You can turn it over to the answering service, can’t you?”

  Rainbow shook her head. “I can’t take that chance. Someone might call in about Adrienne. Unless it’s an emergency, we wouldn’t get the message until morning.”

  Mattie paused and took a long look at her friend. Usually perky and dressed in flowing garments, today she wore a T-shirt and khakis, her blonde hair scraped back in a ponytail with wispy strands falling down. Rainbow had brought Mattie soups and casseroles while she was recuperating from an injury she’d sustained when making a dangerous arrest last August. If there was any woman in this town she could call a friend, Rainbow would be the one.

  Until recently, Mattie had believed friendships were like baggage, and she’d preferred to travel light through life. Lately, though, she’d allowed a few people to breach the walls she’d put up around herself. She cared about Rainbow and hated to see her so distressed.

  “Notify the answering service to call me if anything comes in,” Mattie said. “Then go home and get some sleep. We need you on the day shift. Sheriff McCoy says a tip line will be advertised in tomorrow’s paper.”

  A tear slipped down Rainbow’s cheek. She blotted it with a tissue she held ready and looked away. “I just can’t keep myself from imagining her out there in the forest somewhere, hurt and suffering. I’m so afraid for her.”

  Mattie reached out and put her hand on Rainbow’s arm. “Worrying like that isn’t going to help. Being here to answer the phone tomorrow will.”

  Rainbow dabbed her eyes, looking down at her lap. “You’re right. I’ll make sure the answering service knows to call you on your cell phone.”

  “Perfect.” Mattie withdrew her hand.

  “I promise I’ll stay on this until we find her, Rainbow. Robo and I will do everything we can to bring Adrienne home.”

  Rainbow gave her a thin smile. “I can’t tell you how much better I feel, just knowing you’re back home. If anyone can find her out there, you two can.”

  The K-9 unit’s reputation for tracking had been elevated last summer. Mattie hoped that under these new circumstances, Rainbow’s confidence in them wouldn’t be misplaced.

  After saying good-night, she went to the staff office to call Cole. She swiped to her contacts list and tapped on his number.

  “Hello, Mattie,” he answered. “I heard you were coming back tonight.”

  He sounded happy to hear from her, and something gave her heart a squeeze. “And I heard you’re helping us get leads on people who might know something about Adrienne Howard.”

  “Angie and I are working on that right now. Almost done.”

  “Good. I want to get some names and numbers from you so I can get started.”

  “All right. Here goes.” Cole dictated the first part of his list while Mattie recorded the information.

  “I didn’t know that Adrienne was working with you,” she said when they finished.

  “She’s working with some of my clients’ horses. Volunteering for now, but I think she plans to expand her career in that direction eventually.”

  “Do you think she was seeing a client yesterday afternoon?” Mattie asked.

  “So far every client I’ve called has told me ‘no’ to that question. I don’t track her schedule, though, so I don’t know.”

  “Her friends think she might have gone hiking.” Mattie wondered how well Cole knew Adrienne. “Do you know anything about where she might have gone?”

  “No, I’m sorry I don’t. I know very little about her beyond her massage skills for horses. I don’t know anything about her personal life.”

  Mattie felt a vague sense of relief but stayed focused on her own business. “Deputy Brody has searched several trailheads for her car. We also have the rangers looking.”

  “Good.”

  She paused, deciding to venture into territory that he’d already shared. “How are things going with Mrs. Gibbs?”

  “Well, the jury’s still out. So far the verdict seems split.”

  She smiled, thinking he might be speaking in code, since he was working at the clinic with Angela. “Let me guess. Sophie for, Angie against.”

  “You’ve got that right.” His voice reflected the smile that Mattie could picture, soft with a little sideways quirk. She heard a lighter voice murmur in the background. “Angie says to tell you she knows we’re talking about Mrs. Gibbs.”

  Angela was a hard one to slip past. Mattie’s smile widened. “Oh.”

  “She wants to talk to you.”

  “Sure. Pass me over to her.”

  Angela’s voice came into the receiver. “Mattie?”

  “Hey.”

  “Hey.” The teen’s voice sounded tight and stressed when she continued. “I’m worried about Adrienne.”

  “We’re on it, Angie. We’re doing what we can to find her.”

  “Do you think someone shot her and buried her in the mountains like Grace?”

  Mattie’s breath caught. The poor girl. No teenager’s mind should have to conjure that image as her number-one fear. “We have no evidence whatsoever that would point to that, Angie.”

  “I’ve just been thinking, you know.”

  “I know what you mean. Sometimes we can’t help but think of the worst. Especially when such a bad thing happened so recently. But nothing indicates that Adrienne could be a victim of foul play.” She tried to soothe the girl. “We hope she’s out in the high country, took a wrong turn or something, and she’ll either show up soon or we’ll find her. Once we find her car, we’ll know where to look. And the rangers are helping us with that.”

  “Okay, that sounds good. Can we help you search if you find her car?”

  “Maybe, but the last thing we want is for people to get lost. We have a list of volunteers we can turn to who are familiar with the wilderness area around here if we need them.”

  “I want to help.”

  “I’ll write you in at the top of my list to call if the right job turns up.”

  “Thanks, Mattie.” Again there was a voice in the background, this time much deeper. “Dad wants to talk to you again.”

  “Okay.” Mattie and Angela exchanged good-byes.

  “So you’ll let us know if there’s anything more we can do?” Cole asked.

  “Yes. I’ll stay in touch.”

  “Thanks.” He paused, and she wondered what else he wanted to say. “Be careful, Mattie.”

  “Always. Good luck on the other thing—Mrs. Gibbs.”

  She could hear his smile in his words. “Thanks, I’ll need it.”

  As she said good-bye, she realized how even the sound of Cole’s voice seemed to relax her.

  Setting her personal life aside, she refocused and picked up her phone. It was eight o’clock, and she had a lot of calls to make before it grew too late. She hoped someone would know something that could turn up a lead.

  Chapter 4

  Friday

  Mattie startled awake, rose onto one elbow, and blinked at the clock. Shutting off the alarm, she shivered in the cold bedroom and then felt a puff of warm breath against her shoulder. Robo stood beside the bed, chin resting on the mattress, staring at her. In response to her eye contact, he huffed and circled in excitement, nails clicking against the hardwood floor.

  She put her head back on the pillow and closed her eyes, pulling the quilt that her foster mother had made for her up over her chin. The room went silent. She knew that Robo had returned to his post beside the bed and would be using his eyes to will her to stay awake with all the intensity he could muster. And if there was one thing her dog could muster, it was intensity.

  She peeked at him a
gain. His mouth broadened into a grin.

  “Okay, I’ll get up.”

  While Robo did his happy dance, Mattie rolled from the bed and hurried to the window to close it. She’d slept with her bedroom window open for as long as she could remember, winter and summer alike. The autumn chill lingered in the room while she quickly dressed in gray sweatpants and a T-shirt that had “Timber Creek Sheriff Dept.” stenciled across the front in solid, black letters. She donned socks and running shoes, grabbed a hoodie, and headed toward the front door of her house. Robo darted ahead, tail waving.

  Out on the porch, she could feel a breeze that intensified the chilly air, blowing from the northwest—the direction from which Timber Creek received most of its cold fronts. She sniffed. Snow? Checking the sky, she thought of Adrienne Howard. If Adrienne was lost somewhere in the wilderness, an incoming storm didn’t bode well.

  After stretching, Mattie struck a path for T-hill, her typical run. Vigorous morning exercise made Robo a much better partner at the office, and it was a crucial part of their routine. With him keeping pace beside her at heel, she headed up the steep, rocky pathway. Near the top of the hill sat a letter T built with rocks, kept whitewashed by each year’s high school freshman class. She jogged straight upward, running toward it.

  On the way down, her cell phone rang. Mattie pulled it from her pocket and checked the display. Her foster mother.

  “Good morning, Mama.”

  “Good morning, mijita.”

  Being called “my little daughter” always warmed Mattie’s spirit. “You’re up early.”

  “Ha! You always say that.”

  She smiled. “You’d think I’d be used to you getting up before the sun by now.”

  “Si. Come over for breakfast.”

  “I don’t have much time.”

  “It’s ready for you.”

  “I’ll be there in about twenty minutes.”

  Putting her cell phone back into her pocket, Mattie sprinted for home, Robo matching her stride. After feeding him, she hurried to shower and dressed in record time. Then she loaded Robo into the SUV and drove the few blocks to Mama’s house, the foster home where she’d spent her last few years in the system.