The news about Amy spread like wildfire through the community within the hour. Jordan was certain his cousin had touched just about every life in Jacobstown with her generosity and kind spirit. She could also be feisty and wild, so there was a slight hope that she was off doing something fun and had lost track of time.
She knew Isaac was working extra shifts over the next few days. It would also be like Amy, on a whim, to drive to Fort Worth or a nearby town in order to deliver those cookies meant for the VFW. She wouldn’t have wanted them to go to waste and might figure everyone in town was too preoccupied with criminal activity to be able to enjoy them.
“Her cell could’ve run out of battery,” Courtney offered as they navigated the streets of town, searching for signs of Amy.
“That sounds like her,” Jordan said, but there was no energy in those words.
“We’ll find her,” she promised, but that was one they both knew she couldn’t keep.
“If I spent more time here, I’d know more about her habits,” Jordan said. “I’ve been thinking about moving here full-time. I want to be closer to you and the baby.”
“You said you could never see yourself living here again.” Her words were true enough.
“Things have changed. I don’t want to be a part-time dad who sees his kid summers and holidays,” he said.
“Oh.” Why did she sound so deflated?
“I thought you’d be happy about this news,” he admitted.
“If you come here because of a child and not for yourself, do you think you’ll resent not being able to live the life you want?” It was a fair question and one that deserved an answer.
Before he could tell her that was the life he wanted, his cell phone interrupted them. He pulled to the side of the road and parked.
“Hey, Zach. What’s going on?” he asked his cousin.
“We just picked up Reggie Barstock. I thought you should know he’s in custody,” Zach informed.
“What kind of vehicle was he driving?” Courtney immediately asked.
“A white sedan,” Zach supplied.
Damn. It wasn’t a pickup.
“And he’s not talking. He lawyered up almost immediately, but we do have his vehicle and probable cause to take it apart since he tried to outrun us. We also got a tip on the pickup. Posting the picture online brought out a few folks from Bexford. They all said the same thing. A guy by the name of Jason Millipede owns a truck that matches the picture. When they were asked to describe it, they described the same pickup you saw at the murder scene last night.”
“That name sounds familiar,” Courtney said. “Why do I know it?”
“Good question.” Zach shrugged. “Any thoughts?”
She shook her head. “It’s not coming to me. I need to think some more.”
“Did you get any additional information on the guy?” Jordan asked Zach. “Did you ask about any injuries?”
“Yeah. It turns out the guy injured his ankle as a kid. His neighbors haven’t seen him in a few days, but that’s no surprise. They said he keeps odd hours. They all said he’s quiet. I got the name of his aunt and have been trying to get in contact with her. Other than that, he has no other family around. He’s been living with his aunt since he was little,” Zach said.
“Did anyone have any ideas on where he might be?” Courtney shot a glance at Jordan, who was taking all this information in and trying his level best to fit the puzzle pieces together.
“No. He hasn’t turned up in a few days,” Zach answered.
“What about his address?” Courtney snapped into full deputy mode.
Zach hesitated. “I think the best thing the two of you can do is keep searching for Amy. This is a courtesy call to let you know your tip about The Mart is panning out and could lead to something big. I want you as far away from this guy as possible.”
“Zach—”
“I’m serious, Courtney.” There was a finality to Zach’s tone that she seemed to know better than to argue with.
“Thanks for the information, Zach. I’m grateful to be in the loop,” she finally said on a sharp sigh.
“Lopez is on his way to investigate in Bexford. He has the case.” Zach softened his tone when he said, “Right now, let’s go out there, find Amy and bring her home.”
“I KNOW HE said we shouldn’t investigate in Bexford, but I need to talk to this guy’s neighbors myself and possibly the aunt if we can locate her. Please, Jordan. It might mean the difference between finding Amy in time.” Courtney could only pray her plea would work.
“Putting you in jeopardy isn’t going to help anyone. We know this guy likes the ranch. Maybe we should head there instead.” Jordan had a point.
“I don’t know. I feel like Zach is holding back, and he should. I’m not technically part of this investigation anymore.” A thought kept trying to break through. “This guy’s name seems familiar, but I can’t for the life of me figure out why.”
“Google him and see what you come up with.” Jordan motioned toward the cell in her hand.
Courtney performed the search. “There’s no information here.”
“If he’s from the area, it makes sense that he’d be familiar with the ranch.” Jordan thumped the steering wheel as he navigated onto the road and performed a U-turn toward his home.
Jordan’s cell buzzed. “Will you check that for me while I drive?”
Courtney picked up his phone. “It’s a text from Zach. He said Robert at the corner store said he saw Amy yesterday afternoon at lunch.”
“I’m guessing Zach is also telling us to go home and wait for word,” Jordan said.
“No. He didn’t.”
This time, Jordan’s cell rang.
Courtney checked the screen. “It’s your sister.”
“I’ll answer it on speaker.” He pushed a button on his steering wheel, and two notes sounded.
“Jordan?” Amber’s voice came through clearly.
“I’m driving and Courtney is with me—”
“Is it true? Is Amy missing?” Amber’s voice was loaded with panic.
“I’m afraid so,” Jordan stated.
“I just talked to Isaac. He said the two of them were supposed to meet up at his place later tonight. I told him to give us a call if he sees her, but...”
“Right now, it’s important to stay positive,” Jordan said. “Amy needs us to think with a clear head.”
“You’re right.” Amber sniffed, and it was easy to tell that she’d been crying.
“Do you remember her mentioning a guy by the name of Jason Millipede?” Courtney interjected. “His name sounds familiar, but I can’t place him.”
“I can,” Amber said plainly. “We met him the summer after seventh grade at Camp Pine Needles.”
“Oh, right. I remember you and Amy talking about that.” Courtney’s father had refused to let her go, even though she promised to work in order to earn the money. He’d thought camp was frivolous spending, but this place accepted every kid, even the ones who worked in order to supplement the fees.
Amber gasped. “It was so long ago. I never really thought about it before. He shattered his ankle when a barrel rolled down the hill on him. It was awful. Gruesome. He was in so much pain. I guess he’d been out in the wooded area where he wasn’t supposed to go when it happened. Some older boys tied him to a tree and rolled a heavy metal barrel down the hill aimed at him. They took off and just left him there. Amy found him first and ran to get help. I ran into her when she was on her way, so I went with her. The camp counselors never figured out who rolled that barrel at him. He never would say but he sure looked at Amy like she was some kind of savior. He’d managed to scoot around the side of the tree before the metal barrel hit more of him.” She grunted as though in disgust. “I can’t believe anyone would do that to another human being. I know the kid was considered weird, and I’m ashamed to admit it but I thought so, too, but he didn’t deserve to be treated that way.”
Courtney didn’t need to ask the next question, but she did anyway. “It was his left ankle, wasn’t it?”
“I guess. I mean, I never really paid attention to which one until we started talking about it just now,” Amber stated. “He never even crossed my mind until I heard his name again. We were kids back then. It’s been more than thirteen years. I do remember him seeming kind of fixated on Amy, though”
“Call Zach and tell him everything you just told me,” Courtney instructed. “And then meet us at the main house.”
Jordan barely waited for the call to end before he asked, “If Amy helped this guy, wouldn’t that be a good thing?”
“It could be. It’s possible that he developed a fixation like Amber said. Maybe she was the only girl who’d ever been nice to him. I’d like to get more information about his aunt. There’s just too much we don’t know to make a determination,” she said. “Anything we say right now is just guessing without concrete information to go on. It can lead us down the wrong path. It’s best to keep an open mind right now and follow the evidence.”
Jordan kept his gaze on the stretch of road in front of them. His phone was going off like a pinball machine. “Do you mind taking a look and letting me know if anything important comes through?”
She picked up his cell and saw the number of texts going into the double digits. She skimmed them, but they were mostly from his family, asking if there was any new information on Amy.
“Looks like Amber put out word for everyone to come to the main house,” she said. She scanned a few more before the one from Zach came. “This one looks important. It’s from your cousin. Amy’s car was found abandoned at the mouth of Hermosa Creek.”
“That’s three miles from her house.” He braked hard enough for Courtney to feel it. She put her hand up against the dashboard to steady herself.
“Sorry about that,” he said, and she could hear the frustration for the situation in his tone.
“Zach’s already there. He won’t want us to show up,” she said. The cell buzzed again. “In fact, he just warned against it.”
“It’s the last place we know she was. Maybe she’s around that area,” he said.
“He wouldn’t keep her near her car. That’s too obvious.” She pounded the dash with the flat of her palm. “Zach wouldn’t tell us if there’d been any pickup sightings.”
“Maybe the guy’s aware of the pictures of his pickup being distributed,” Jordan said. “Or one of his neighbors tipped him off about law enforcement looking for him.”
“I hope not. That wouldn’t be good for Amy,” she replied.
“Because?”
“If he truly is fixated on her, then she’s his grand prize. The others might’ve been lead ups or he could’ve killed to try to impress Amy. This kind of monster isn’t playing with a full deck. He could have had some interaction with her that made him feel rejected—”
“Amy has one of the best hearts of anyone I know. She helps everyone. Her path may have crossed with his while she was doing something for others. She helps serve meals to homeless people. She’s the first to take food to the elderly or anyone who is sick and can’t do for themselves. If this bastard harms a hair on her head...” Jordan tightened his grip on the steering wheel.
“We’ll find her, Jordan.” It was a promise she prayed she’d be able to keep.