Derrick carried the box of food into the conference room at the sheriff’s office. While they dug in, he stepped out of the room. Irritation had him ready to drive straight to the bed and breakfast and have it out with his son for his disobedience. Ian knew better than to ignore him, not answer the phone when he called.
Instead, he did the next best thing. Grabbing his phone, he dialed.
“Creekside Inn.” Miss Edna’s deep gravel came through loud and clear. She had one of the deepest voices Derrick ever heard from a female.
“Miss Edna, it’s Derrick Williamson. Sorry to bother you. Have you seen my son?”
“Ian? Saw him a little bit ago. He’s fine. He was playing video games in the sunroom last time I saw him.”
Derrick blew out the breath he’d been holding. All that worrying for nothing. Guess Ian was pitching a fit and giving him the silent treatment. Hopefully, he would be over his snit by the time he got back to the B&B.
“Thank you, Miss Edna. He wasn’t answering my calls, and I thought I’d better check on him.”
“Boys need their independence. Growing pains and all. Don’t you worry, if there’s anything to worry about, I’ll give you a call.”
“Appreciate it. I’ll drop by later and talk with him.”
After disconnecting the call, Derrick slid the phone in his back pocket and leaned back, scrubbing his hands across his face. It was tempting to bang his head against the wall, vent his frustration with the last two days. First the furniture delay, then dealing with Ian’s petulant attitude, then the missing girl’s case. He was supposed to have a long weekend off, doing nothing more intense than picking where the new furniture would go.
“Did you ask Ian about going to the Big House?”
He turned at Douglas’ voice and shook his head. “He’s not answering my calls.”
Douglas chuckled and leaned against the wall directly across from Derrick. “Fortunately, I didn’t have to deal with that when my boys were young. They weren’t allowed to have cell phones. Not until they were in high school. If they wanted to avoid talking to me, it meant heading in the other direction when they spotted me.”
“At least I know Ian’s alright. I called Miss Edna over at the B&B, and she told me he’s sitting in the sunroom playing games on his phone.”
“I can drop by and talk to him.”
“Appreciate the offer, Douglas, but he’s fine where he is.”
Douglas pushed himself off the wall and straightened. “I’m heading back to the site to coordinate with Liam. We’ll line up volunteers for searching around the Boatwright property.” He tapped the rolled-up paper in his hand. “I’ve got detailed maps and we’ll start doing a grid search. If she’s anywhere around there, we’ll find her.”
“Appreciate your help. I’m more used to dealing with searches in more heavily populated areas, with a lot more buildings to hide in.”
“And isn’t it a shame we have to know how to do something like this?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, I’d better get going. Search is gonna be harder since there’s a storm moving in.” Douglas saluted him with the sheaf of papers and headed toward the front, and Derrick went back into the conference room. Dusty, Sally Anne, and a couple of the volunteers who’d been helping out were finishing their meals and cleaning up the table before heading back to their jobs.
“Derrick, I just heard from the local police. Jennifer’s boyfriend hasn’t been located anywhere in their town.”
“He’s here—or at least he was.” Derrick was certain of it.
“That’s what my gut’s telling me.”
Sally Anne stuck her head around the corner of the door. “Sheriff, somebody’s here to see you.”
“Unless it’s an emergency, tell them to come back.”
“Oh, trust me, I think you’ll want to talk to her.”
Rafe looked at Derrick, who shrugged, and waved toward the door in an after you motion. Standing just inside the front door stood a middle-aged woman and a young girl, probably mid-to-late teens. His gut told him something big was about to happen. It was that familiar instinct, the one that tingled when he was getting the final piece to a puzzle.
“Mrs. Dobbins, Pamela, what can I do for you?”
“Sheriff, my daughter has something to tell you.”
Rafe shifted his attention to the daughter, and Derrick’s body stiffened, anticipation and a sense of foreboding edging closer. He had a good idea of what the teen was about to say, hoping he was right.
“Pamela, what’s going on?”
Pamela’s big blue eyes filled with tears, and she brought her hands up, covering her face. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I promised not to tell anybody, but then everybody started searching for her, and she made me swear, and—”
“Pamela, take it slow. Who made you swear not to tell?”
She looked up, sniffling. Tears stained her cheeks, and her nose had started running from crying, her face blotchy. “Jennifer.”
Rafe shot him a glance.
“Jennifer Boatwright?” At Pamela’s nod, he continued. “What did you promise her?”
“She was really upset about her mom sending her to Shiloh Springs. Her mom is a real…not a nice person. Won’t let Jennifer see her boyfriend, doesn’t want her to spend time with her friends. Jennifer said it was like living in a prison camp.”
“Tell him the rest,” her mother demanded. “Pamela befriended the girl. Jennifer’s been hanging around our house, at least until the last couple of days. I haven’t seen hide nor hair of her, but she has.” She jerked a thumb toward her daughter.
“Mom!”
“Ladies, let’s take this slow. Pamela, we know Jennifer was unhappy about having to stay with her aunt and uncle. We also know her boyfriend is here. Is she with him?”
Pamela’s eyes seemed to get even bigger, and Derrick held onto what little patience he had. Prying answers out of reluctant witnesses had never been his strong suit, so he was glad Rafe had to do the talking. He was impressed at how he treated both women with kid gloves, not showing any emotion. He wished they’d get to the point though, because he wanted the missing girl found, the case closed, so he could get back to Ian.
Pamela swallowed nervously a couple of times before answering in an almost whisper. “Yes.”
Rafe reached forward and took both of her hands in his. “Where are they? I need to talk to her, make sure she’s okay.”
“I don’t know.”
Her mother rolled her eyes and made a scoffing sound. “She’s lying. I caught her on the phone talking to Jennifer this morning.” She spun toward her daughter. “You tell the sheriff where Jennifer is right now. Her family is scared to death with worry. They deserve to know she’s okay. Would you want me to worry about you if you disappeared, not knowing if you were hurt, or kidnapped, or dead? You know her family, do they deserve to suffer like that?”
“No, ma’am.” Her gazed darted to him, as if she’d just realized somebody else was standing there. “Who’s he?”
Without even glancing in his direction, Rafe answered. “Derrick Williamson, special agent with the FBI.”
Pamela’s mouth dropped open at the word FBI. Derrick almost laughed, realizing Rafe was using him as the boogeyman. Most people never had to deal with the Feds ever in their lives, and they had a reputation for being bad to the bone. He didn’t mind being the bad guy if they got the answers needed to find Jennifer.
“FBI? Somebody called the FBI?”
Rafe gave a long-suffering sigh. He was probably as tired as Derrick. They’d both been going for over twenty-four hours with no sleep, with the day filled with stress, worry, and uncertainty, along with dealing with the distraught family.
“Jennifer has been missing for more than twenty-four hours. Since we didn’t have evidence she was a runaway, we had to assume somebody kidnapped her.”
Pamela twisted her hands together, wringing them over and over. “Kidnapped? Oh, no. This is getting worse and worse. Sheriff, Jennifer wasn’t kidnapped. She’s eloping.”
“Pamela, Jennifer isn’t old enough to get married legally. She would have to have written permission from her parents to get married, and her mother hasn’t given her consent.”
“Um, she—I mean Jennifer—forged her mom’s signature. She didn’t think she’d get caught, at least not until it was too late.”
“Pamela, do you know where they are? I need to find her, talk to her. She could be in a lot of trouble, and I want to help her.”
Pamela sniffled again. “They…” Her voice trailed off with a sob. Derrick knew they needed to treat her gently. She was little more than a kid herself. Probably thought it was cool and exciting to help her friend be with the man she loved. A modern-day Romeo and Juliet. He shook his head. Ah, the folly of youth. Time for him to step in. He cleared his throat and at Rafe’s nod, he was on.
“Pamela, I want to know where Jennifer Boatwright is, and you’re going to tell me. Sheriff Boudreau might be willing to treat you with kid gloves, but believe me, I have no problem arresting you for obstruction of justice. It’s a serious offense and carries a large fine and possible jail time. You seem like a nice young lady and a loyal friend, but I don’t think Jennifer would want you to go to prison, do you?”
“Prison?” Her mother’s high-pitched squeal could probably be heard all the way to the town line. Derrick ignored her, while Rafe talked with her softly.
“They’re in Santa Lucia, at a motel. I was supposed to bring them money, and then they’re going to Oklahoma to get married.”
The words spewed from Pamela’s lips, fast enough he almost didn’t understand her. But he knew where Santa Lucia was, in the next county over from Shiloh Springs. If they left now, they could make it there in less than an hour.
“Pamela, I need the name of the hotel, and the name they are registered under.”
She gave him the information, her whole body trembling. He winced, hating that he’d scared the child because she was still one. It was like hitting a puppy with a stick, looking at her shaking, waiting for the next swing.
“Thank you, Pamela.”
“Mrs. Dobbins,” Rafe turned to the mother, “I’m going to have Dusty take a statement from you and Pamela. Thank you for stepping forward and telling the truth.”
Derrick watched Rafe lead the two back to his office, getting Dusty from the conference room. A couple minutes later he was back, cowboy hat in hand.
“You planning to go with me?”
“Yes. Hopefully, it won’t be necessary, but you need backup. I’m game.”
Climbing into Rafe’s car, they headed for Santa Lucia. Pulling out his phone, he texted Ian, leaving him a message that he’d be back soon. He frowned when Ian didn’t respond.
Guess I’ve got a few more fences to mend when I return.