Following the Trail
Автор
Lynette Eason
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HarlequinONE
Lacey Lee Jefferson was worried. In fact, she was borderline terrified. Her sister, Fawn, had been silent for the past five days, not answering texts, emails or phone calls.
And Lacey’d had enough. She’d been avoiding calling Fawn’s work because of her sister’s strong stance about not receiving personal calls while on duty, but desperate times called for desperate measures. So, she’d called and learned Fawn, a doctor at the hospital, had taken a three-month absence, only to return to work for two days before dropping off the radar once more.
This morning, Lacey had made the three-hour journey out to her childhood home, where Fawn still lived, and had found it empty, with no indication where her sister might be.
Which was why Lacey now stood outside the sheriff’s department in Timber Creek, North Carolina. Only her missing sister could have enticed her back to this town for the first time in six years. She pushed through the glass doors and made her way to the receptionist’s desk, bracing herself for any animosity that might flare when the woman realized who stood in front of her. “Hi, Sherry.”
Sherry Olson looked up from her computer screen and her eyes widened. “Well, as I live and breathe, if it isn’t Lacey Lee.”
“Just Lacey these days, thanks.” Sherry and Lacey had graduated high school together. And as far as she could tell, there was nothing but surprise in Sherry’s eyes. Relief nearly sent Lacey puddling to the floor.
“It’s good to see you,” Sherry said. “It’s been a long time.” Not long enough, as far as Lacey was concerned, but... “What can I do for you?”
“Have you seen Fawn lately?”
Sherry frowned. “No, not that I can think of, but we don’t exactly run in the same circles. She’s still working at the hospital, right?”
“Right. She was at work last week for two days, then never came back for her next shift. Before that, she’d taken a three-month leave of absence, but it’s been a week now since anyone’s heard from her.”
“What? That doesn’t sound like Fawn.”
“No kidding. That’s why I’m here. I want to talk to someone about doing a missing person report. Fawn’s not answering her phone at all—or returning calls or texts. Everything goes straight to voice mail and I’m really getting worried.” Understatement of the century.
“Oh my. That doesn’t sound good.” Sherry picked up the phone. “Creed, someone’s out here to see you.”
Creed? Creed Payne? Well, of course it would be Creed. He was the sheriff, after all. The sheriff with the smoky gray eyes and wavy dark hair, broad shoulders she’d cried on more than once as a teen. Creed... It disturbed her that her heart still sighed at his name.
Sherry hung up. “He said to send you on back to his office. Go down the hall and it’s the last door on the left.”
“Thanks.”
Lacey knew exactly where Creed’s office was. He’d brought her to this building when she was seventeen years old, shown her the corner office that the sheriff used and said, “That’s going to be mine one day.”
She’d thought it terribly shortsighted of him and told him he was meant for bigger things, that he was selling himself short.
“Thanks a lot, Lacey. Glad you think so much of my dreams.” He’d shoved his hands into his pockets and stalked away.
Lacey had been crushed. Desperate to talk to him before she left for college, she’d gone home, packed up her car and called him again. His mother had answered the phone and said she didn’t know where he was. Lacey had tried to find him, searched the whole town, but hadn’t been able to locate him before she’d had to leave. And now she was going to talk to him for the first time in six years.
She raised her fist to knock when the door opened, and there he stood, larger-than-life. He was just as she remembered—and so much more. He’d filled out and become a man.
Their eyes met.
His widened.
Her heart thundered.
His lips parted, formed her name—
“Creed! Creed!”
He jerked his head at Sherry’s shriek. “What is it?”
Sherry stood just in the hallway, her face pale, fist clutched around the phone. “Little Hank’s missing. This is Joe, saying he and Denise can’t find him. They’ve been searching for over half an hour.”
Denise Banks and Joe Gilstrap from high school? They’d married? Fawn hadn’t mentioned that.
“Where’d they last see him?” Creed asked. Sherry held the phone out to him and he snatched it. “Joe? When did you last see Hank?...Uh-huh...Okay...I’m heading that way. Keep looking and I’ll be there soon.” He hung up and gave the phone back to Sherry. “Tell Ben.”
She hurried back down the hall. Creed sighed and grabbed his Stetson from his desk. “Hank’s five years old. Poor kid has wandered off and is probably scared to death. We need to find him before it gets dark.”
“Want some help?” Lacey asked.
He narrowed his eyes. “Sure. We can use all the volunteers we can get.”
“What about a search-and-rescue dog?”
“That’s on the wish list. Unfortunately, we haven’t raised the funds for it yet.”
“No, I mean I have one. Scarlett’s in the car.”
He blinked at her for a good three seconds before he huffed a short laugh. “I really hope you’re not kidding.”
“Not kidding at all. She’s a redbone coonhound with one of the best tracking noses in the country. I’m a contract K-9 handler for the Mecklenburg police department in Charlotte. When I’m not doing Search and Rescue operations, I have my own training facility with several volunteers and one part-time paid employee.”
His jaw dropped. “How long have you been doing that?”
“For about three years.”
“That’s...incredible. Like an answer to prayer.” He nodded. “Okay, then, let’s get Scarlett and go find Hank.”
“I’ll just need something of Hank’s to let her get the scent.”
“I’ll arrange it on the way.”
“I’ll follow you.”
He strode out of the office and down the hall, his long legs eating up the distance. “Ben! Mac!”
“Coming!” Ben Land stepped out of his office. He spotted Lacey and his eyes widened. “Hey there, Lacey Lee. How are you?”
“It’s just Lacey now, Ben. I’m doing fine.” Mostly.
“Let’s catch up after we find this kid.”
“I’d love to.” He’d always been kind to her in high school. More so than most after her father went to prison.
He looked at Creed. “Mac’s not here, but he’ll meet us there.”
“Great.”
Lacey hurried to her truck and waited for Creed and Ben to pull out of the parking lot. She fell in behind them, and Scarlett let out a yip from her spot in the back.
“You ready to go to work, girl?”
Two more barks answered her, and Lacey smiled before focusing her concentration on following the men up the mountain. About halfway to the top, Creed pulled into a long driveway that ended at a two-story log cabin home. The wooded area behind the house appeared to go on for infinity, but Lacey knew exactly what was on the other side of those woods.
Her sister’s house.
Technically, it was half hers, too, but she’d not laid any claim to it. However, Fawn loved their childhood home and had been happy to stay there while working at the hospital fifteen minutes away. Lacey hated it. All it did for her was symbolize loss and remind her of days she’d rather forget.
Goose bumps pebbled her skin, but she did her best to ignore them while she opened the door to Scarlett’s customized back seat and snapped the lead to her collar.
The dog hopped down, her droopy ears flopping around her head while her tongue hung from the side of her mouth. Her dark eyes watched Lacey with expectation. “Hang on, girl.”
More cars pulled up, and soon the front yard was full of townspeople ready to help search for little Hank.
“Lacey? Is that you?”
She turned to see Isabelle McGee headed toward her, followed by Katherine Gilroy—no, O’Ryan now, according to Fawn—one of the doctors in town. Lacey tensed, then allowed herself to relax slightly when she saw no condemnation in either pair of eyes. Interesting. She’d thought after what her father had done, the grudge would have been held infinitely. Had she been wrong? “Hey, how are you guys?”
“Good,” Isabelle said. “What brings you back to town?”
“I’m looking for Fawn. Have either of you seen her lately?”
Isabelle shook her head and Katherine frowned. “I saw her last week at the hospital. I had to go in to see a patient and we passed in the hall. We didn’t get a chance to chat, but I wanted to ask her if she was all right.”
“Why?”
“She looked rough. Like she’d had too many sleepless nights or was getting over an illness. But we’ve been so busy that I haven’t had a chance to catch up with her.” And while Katherine and Fawn were both doctors and often in the hospital at the same time, they weren’t close friends, so it wasn’t likely Katherine would have thought any more about it.
“Okay, thanks.”
“Isabelle?” A man about her age, dressed in the local deputy uniform, hurried toward them.
“That’s Mac,” Katherine said, her voice low.
“Isabelle’s husband.”
“Yes.”
“Lacey, are you and Scarlett ready?” Creed hollered at her from the tree line.
“Ready!” She shot the two ladies a tight smile. “Do you mind asking some of the people here if they’ve seen or heard from Fawn? I’m getting desperately worried about her.”
“Of course,” Isabelle said. “I think I even still have your number in my phone, if it hasn’t changed.”
“It hasn’t.” She’d kept the same number for many reasons. One of those reasons stood waiting for her.
“I’ll get it from Isabelle,” Katherine said. “Go find Hank, please. I’ll be looking, too, in case he needs medical attention.”
With a wave, Lacey darted toward Creed and the terrified parents. When she reached them, they all eyed Scarlett with flares of hope. “Thank you for doing this, Lacey.” Denise’s dark brows furrowed further. She had a small sleeping baby strapped to her chest. “When Creed called and said you were here with a search-and-rescue dog... Well, you’re an answer to our prayers.” She clasped her hands under the baby’s rump. “You can really do this?”
“Scarlett and I can. I need something of Hank’s that has his scent on it.”
“Um, yeah,” Joe said. “Creed told us what to get. Here.” He passed her a bag. “It’s the pajama shirt he wore last night.”
“Perfect. Where did you last see him?”
“On the screened-in porch.” Denise swiped the tears on her cheeks even as more fell. She patted the baby’s back. “I needed to change the little man here, but hadn’t brought a diaper out with me.” She ran a shaking hand over the infant’s head. “I’m just getting used to this whole two-children thing, and sometimes I forget...”
“It’s okay, honey,” Joe said. “This isn’t on you.”
Denise drew in a shuddering breath. “Anyway, I ran to get one and some wipes. When I came back, there was a hole in the screen and Hank was gone.” A sob shook her, and Joe slid an arm around her shoulders.
Lacey’s heart ached for the couple. “Could someone have taken him?” If he’d been put in a car...
“No,” Joe said. “We have security cameras, and the footage showed him kicking the screen out and walking away. He’s a curious kid...”
Well, that was better than being snatched. “All right. So, what I’m going to do is give Scarlett a whiff of this, then kind of walk her around until she picks up the trail.”
Denise nodded, and while Joe looked a little skeptical, his expression held a desperate hope.
The long lead attached to Scarlett’s harness would allow the dog the freedom to run at a pretty good pace while Lacey followed. Lacey tapped her pocket and Scarlett fairly danced with excitement. She knew as soon as she did her job, she’d get to play with her favorite toy. A tennis ball.
Lacey opened the bag with Hank’s shirt and held it for the animal. “Scarlett, seek.”
Scarlett stuck her snout in the opening and got her whiff.
“Scarlett, seek. Find Hank.”
Scarlett’s tail wagged, and she lifted her head, black nose quivering, ears waving in the wind. With a short bark, she started pacing, alternating nose in the air and near the ground. Soon, she gave another bark and took off like a shot for the woods.
“Here we go,” Lacey said. She followed Scarlett at a fast jog, her hand wrapped around the end of the lead. Footsteps fell into place behind her. She shot a quick glance back and noted Creed’s expression.
He was coming along whether she wanted him to or not.
Too bad he hadn’t felt that way six years ago.
Creed couldn’t help that his heart beat faster. Not just because he was jogging after Lacey and Scarlett, and not just because a child was in danger. But because Lacey Lee—Lacey now, he reminded himself—was back in town.
Lacey. He’d thought he’d moved on from the heartbreak she’d caused him, but all it had taken to bring it back was to find her standing outside his office door.
Sherry’s timely interruption had kept him from blurting out something he might’ve later regretted. He honestly had no idea what he’d been about to say, and now he’d probably never know. He was okay with that. But when she hadn’t hesitated to offer her help to find Hank, he’d found himself admiring her all over again.
No. He had no intention of getting involved with Lacey this time. Not that she’d offered him the opportunity. He didn’t even know how long she’d been in town before she’d stopped in to the station. And he had no idea why she was there. He ordered his heart to chill, forbade it from yearning for something that was so far in the past he shouldn’t even remember the slightest detail.
But he did.
He watched her lithe form dodge trees and undergrowth while she kept a steady pace. She’d done this many times before and seemed to excel at it. That could only work in Hank’s favor. Please, God, protect that little boy. Please let us find him alive and just fine.
They had to. He refused to think of the alternative. Lacey pulled to a stop while Scarlett walked in circles. “What is it?” he asked.
“She’s not sure which way to go.”
“We’re almost to your property line.”
“I know.”
The dog walked to a fallen tree trunk, sniffed and shook herself. Barked and backed up, whining, then sneezed twice. Lacey’s frown took on a deeper, more intense look. Then Scarlett walked back to Lacey and looked up at her, sad eyes pleading for help. She really wanted to find the person attached to the scent. Lacey opened the bag with the pajama top and let Scarlett get another sniff.
“She okay?”
“Yes. I think so.” Her gaze lingered on the tree trunk, a stormy look in her eyes.
“Lacey?”
She blinked and nodded. “Yes. She still has his scent.” As though she understood, the dog spun off in the direction toward Lacey’s old home. “This way,” Lacey said.
“I’m right behind you.”
He stayed with her and Scarlett, with the dog weaving back and forth, nose in the air. Then she stopped. Barked once and made a beeline for the old shed at the back of Lacey’s property.
“Think he went in there?” Creed asked, starting to feel slightly winded at the fast pace. Lacey looked like she could go another few miles.
“I don’t know. Dad always kept it locked, but Fawn may not have.” They reached the shed while Scarlett nosed the walls. “She definitely wants to go in.”
Creed followed Lacey around to the door. “Weird. The lock is still on there,” she said. “I don’t know why she’d want in if Hank’s not in there.”
He passed her, his gaze scanning the structure. “Hank? Can you hear me? If you can, answer. I want to take you home to your mama and daddy. They’re waiting on you.”
Silence.
“Hank?” Lacey called. Scarlett continued her attempts to find an entrance to the building.
Creed stopped. A little blue blanket lay on the ground next to one of the boards. He pressed on the plank and the bottom of it swung inward. “Lacey? Over here.” She hurried to him.
He nodded to the blanket. “It’s possible Hank crawled through and couldn’t get back out.”
Scarlett ducked down and scrambled through the hole.
“Hold the board, will you?” Lacey asked.
He did and she crawled after Scarlett. Creed knelt and peered inside. There was no way he’d fit. “Lacey? You see him?”
“Yeah! He’s here. Pull the board off. I’m going to pass him through to you.”
“Is he okay?” Creed jerked the board off and the two beside it. When he looked inside, he could see Lacey with the child in her arms. Hank’s head rested on her shoulder.
“Hey, little man,” she said, her voice low and soft. Comforting. “You sure have a lot of people looking for you.”
“I want my mama,” the boy said. A tear tracked down his filthy cheek and Lacey brushed it away. Hank lifted his head and rubbed his eyes. “I got lost-ed.”
“I know, sweetie. We’re going to take you to see your mama right now, okay?”
“’Kay. I like the doggy. He lick-ted me.”
“He’s a she,” Lacey said. “Her name’s Scarlett, and she’s been looking for you.”
Hank yawned, and Scarlett stood on her hind legs to nudge him, pulling a giggle from the little guy.
Lacey looked up and her eye caught Creed’s. “He’s cold and a little pale, but he found a spot at the back of the shed and crawled under a tarp. He’s got a few scrapes, but nothing major. I’m sure he’s hungry, but overall, I’d say he’s none the worse for wear for this adventure.”
Creed unzipped his jacket and shrugged out of it. The wind bit at him, but he’d survive. Lacey picked her way through the old tools and passed him the little boy. Creed set him on his feet for a brief moment while he wrapped the big coat around him like a blanket, then lifted him into his arms. Thank You, Jesus. The prayer whispered from his lips and his heart lightened exponentially. “I’m sure glad to see you, kid.”
“Hi, Mr. Sheriff. Can I go home now?” Creed knew Hank from church, and the little guy had dubbed him Mr. Sheriff from the moment they’d met. He had no idea why, but he was fine with the title.
“Yeah, that sounds like a really good idea.”
Hank snuggled down against him. “I’m tired and hungry. I want some pizza and apple juice and a big bag of naminal cookies.”
At Lacey’s raised brow, Creed translated. “Animal cookies.”
“Oh, right. Of course.” She patted Hank’s back. “I’m pretty sure your mom and dad are going to give you just about whatever you want right now.”
Hank didn’t answer and Creed smiled. “He’s asleep.”
“Wow. That was fast.”
“Kids.”
She shuddered. “There are a lot of things in that shed that he could have hurt himself on. I’m so glad he’s okay.”
“Me, too. Why don’t we let his parents know?” Creed pulled his phone out of his pocket and used one hand to dial Joe’s number. “We found him,” he said in lieu of a greeting. “And he’s just fine. Sleeping on my shoulder. Jump in your car and meet us at Lacey and Fawn’s place. We’ll be waiting on you inside.”
Lacey started to lead the way when a sharp crack echoed around them and the dirty window of the shed exploded.
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