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The day was gone. Hawke headed home even though he feared for Rachel Wallen, wondered where Barney Price was hiding, and hoped he was finally on the right trail.
Dog greeted him as he pulled up to the barn.
His phone buzzed. Donner.
“Hawke.”
“We’ve established Barney Price hasn’t been home since leaving for his hunting trip. His wife doesn’t know where he is and was getting ready to call the police when a State trooper contacted her.”
“He has to be in the county. He spent a night with his sister, Sarah White, but she hasn’t seen him since.” Hawke was pretty sure given the anger she felt toward her brother butting into her life, she would let him know if the man showed up at her place.
“I’ll have someone check the records to see if he has any property locally.”
“Sounds good. I’ll pick things back up in the morning.” Hawke disconnected the call and stepped out of his vehicle.
Dog jumped up, making his happy sounds.
“I know. I’ve been spending long hours away.” He rubbed the dog’s ears and back before wandering over to the stall gate and the three heads hanging over waiting for a rub and grain.
“What would I do without all of you missing me?” He rubbed Jack’s forehead, then Boy, and on the end Horse.
He turned to get their grain and headlights flashed on the shed across from the barn. Who would be visiting this time of night?
Hawke stepped out of the barn and watched Darlene exit the vehicle, wave, and head for the house. One of her friends must have picked her up for a meeting. He walked back in and finished giving his animals their grain.
Hawke had one foot on the bottom step when Dog started talking and headed to the barn opening.
Darlene walked in. “Hi. Herb said you were home.”
“Only shortly before you returned.” He motioned up the stairs. “I’m hungry, want to talk while I eat?”
“Sure.”
Hawke led the way up to his apartment. While he took off his coat, vest and duty belt, Darlene started his coffeemaker.
He grabbed bread, peanut butter, and jam out of his cupboard. Seeing what he grabbed, Darlene placed a plate and knife at the table and took a seat on his bed. All he had in his small apartment was the chair for the small table/desk and bed to sit on.
Spreading peanut butter on the bread, he glanced up at Darlene. “You must have heard something at your meeting to come straight up here and talk to me.”
She nodded. “It was a meeting of the cultural arts committee. It was held in Prairie Creek at the Alderman Gallery.” She slipped out of her coat and walked across to the gurgling coffeemaker. “There was more talk about the deaths than what was on the agenda.” She poured two cups, placed one in front of him, and sat back on the bed.
“I see.” He studied her before opening the jam jar. “Did you say it might be connected to the accident forty years ago?”
She shook her head. “I didn’t need to. A couple of the women there had been contacted by the assistant district attorney about their memories of that night. They went on to say that Ralph Bremmer, the third man killed, had been at that party that night. Which brought up talk about the party.” Darlene sipped her coffee.
Hawke didn’t miss how she had the mug cupped in her hands as if she needed the warmth. What had been said? He didn’t ask. He took a bite of his sandwich and waited.
“They brought up the fact Sarah was the one who invited the two who had the accident. By the way, she wasn’t at the meeting.”
He swallowed the bite and asked, “Is she a member of that committee?”
“Yes. She’s the secretary. That got more people speculating. Mr. Lange was brought up. They think he is trying to get back at the people who were at the party by having Ms. Wallen ask all the questions.” She sipped the coffee.
Hawke set his sandwich down, gulped coffee to get the peanut butter off the roof of his mouth, and asked, “Why do they think he’s trying to dig up dirt on that accident?”
She peered at him with wide worried eyes. “They say everyone but Sarah knew that drugs had been put in the two outsiders’ drinks. And that it was Barney who bragged about it.” She flipped a hand. “Barney is Sarah’s brother.”
“Did anyone say if they’d seen him lately?” Hawke held his breath. Maybe the gossip in this county would help him find the man and possibly Ms. Wallen.
“They all said for being so adamant about fitting in when he lived here, he went to college and only came back for Sarah’s wedding and her kids’ graduations.” She sipped her coffee. “They all said even though he was younger than Sarah, he bossed her around and hated that she was a cheerleader and prom queen when he always had to impose himself into the parties. Sarah rarely went to the parties. And that’s where he wanted to be. He tried hard to be a popular kid, but his temper.” She took another sip. “They think she only went to the party that night because she’d invited the two strangers.”
This was showing him more about Sarah White and more about her brother, who appeared to be like a rattlesnake, striking when it was for his own benefit.
“Do you happen to know where Barney and Sarah lived as kids?”
Darlene shook her head. “Herb might know.”
Hawke finished off the sandwich and made another one. “Thanks for the information. I’ll talk to Herb in the morning. Right now, we’re focused on finding Ms. Wallen. She’s missing.”
“Oh no! You don’t think...” The horror on his landlord’s face said she worried the young woman had become a victim of Barney Price.
“We won’t know until we find her or our murderer.”
“I’ll let you finish eating and get to bed. You have a lot of work to do tomorrow.” Darlene stood, placed the mug on his sink, and left.
Dog, who’d been the poster dog for an obedience school while the woman was present, now begged. Hawke tossed him the last quarter of his second sandwich. “Price has to be the one doing the killing. He had a grudge with Sigler, Brooks was going to... What? What could the phone number have to do with Price? That doesn’t make sense.”
He made a note to ask Ball if Ms. Wallen told him about losing her first cell phone.
“There is a connection. All three were killed with the same gun—most likely Lange’s.”
This was getting him nowhere. Just more circles and uncertainty.
Hawke stripped, walked into his shower, and was thankful for the heat-on-demand water heater as he stood under the hot spray until his mind and muscles were mush.
«»«»«»
In the morning as Hawke took care of his animals, he kept a lookout for Herb. Finally, as he was getting ready to head to his vehicle and clock in, his landlord stepped out of the shop.
“Darlene said you were interested in where the Prices lived forty years ago.” Herb met him halfway between the shop and his vehicle.
“Yes.”
“Their family moved to the county when Sarah was a first grader. They bought an old homestead up on the slope west of Alder. It was mostly timber, very little land to grow any crops on. The father was a sculptor and the mother a painter. They were throwbacks to the hippies of the sixties. Sarah was tolerant, but Barney was always trying to distance himself from his parents. Make Sarah act ‘normal.’”
“Can you give me better directions than on the west slope?” Hawke wondered if the man who despised his childhood was using the old place to hide.
“Can’t miss it. Go all the way to the end of Valiant Road. When you come to a gate, that’s the place.” Herb pivoted away, then back. “You think he’s the one you’re looking for?”
“We won’t know until we find him.” Hawke patted Dog on the head and told him to stay. He strode to his vehicle, called and told dispatch he was on duty, and drove out the driveway.
His first call was to Donner. “Any news on Ms. Wallen?”
“Nothing. I can’t believe we can’t even find her car.”
“Yeah, that flashy car should be easy. I’m headed to the place where Barney Price grew up.”
“Going to do some tracking?” Donner asked.
“Something like that.”
“Good luck.”
“Thanks.” He disconnected the call and headed to Alder. If he saw any sign of traffic in or out of the place recently, he’d call for back up. Right now, finding the man there was just a hunch.
He wondered if Sarah asked her son if he’d seen or helped his uncle. He hoped the man hadn’t implicated his nephew. The thought bothered him. He pulled out his phone and dialed Judge Vickers office.
“Judge Vickers Office, Mrs. White speaking.”
“Sarah, this is Hawke.”
“Did you find Barney?” Her tone was both hopeful and fearful.
“No. Did you happen to ask your son if he’d seen his uncle?”
The seconds stretched into a minute. “He has talked with his uncle, hasn’t he?”
A sigh whistled through the phone. “Yes. I asked him if he’d seen Uncle Barney and he said he gave him money and a sleeping bag. I told him that Barney was wanted by the police and to let me know the next time he was contacted by him.” Another sigh. “Jared wasn’t happy with me siding with the police and not my brother. I didn’t want to tell him he may have killed people. I’d prefer Jared stay away from him.”
Hawke’s thoughts started banging into one another. “Did Barney find him or did he call?”
“I don’t know.”
“Could you find out? And if he called, get the phone number, please.” Hawke had an idea he knew what phone the man had used. It could possibly connect him with the Brooks killing.
“I’ll see what I can do.”
“While I have you, what were some of your brother’s favorite places when he lived here?”
“That was a long time ago. Let me think... The roller rink at the lake. The quarry. He liked to hike up the mountain behind our house. He hauled lumber up there one summer and built a small structure. It’s probably not even standing anymore. He was only twelve when he built it.”
“Thanks. Call me as soon as you get the information from Jared.”
“I will.”
Hawke ended the conversation and pulled over to add the information into his logbook. The quarry and Price place were in the same area. He’d check those and if nothing panned out, he’d head to the old building used for a roller rink and events at Wallowa Lake.