Blair Oakley listened as her boss, Jason Duvall, reported a missing teen girl in the nearby town of Misty Hollow. In her mind, she already packed the things she would need. Most importantly, her search and rescue dog, Diamond.
“Blair, once you check into the local motel,” Jason said, “head out to the Rocking W Ranch and meet up with a…” he rifled through papers on the table in front of him. “Maverick Browning. He helps with search and rescue in the town and Dylan Wyatt, the ranch owner, said he would be more than happy to show you around. I don’t have to tell you that time is of the essence. There’s a crowd gathering in two hours to start the search.”
No, he didn’t have to tell her to hurry. The first forty-eight hours were the most vital for a missing person.
She grabbed the file he handed her. She’d never been to Misty Hollow, but while her boss talked, she’d looked up a map of the area on her laptop. A heavily wooded area. The missing girl…she glanced at the file…Brittney Pitts, could be anywhere.
“The girl’s parents said she never got on the bus for school. Fifteen-years-old, blond, blue-eyed, straight A student. Doesn’t appear to be a runaway, but don’t count that out. Leave immediately and keep me posted.” Jason nodded and left her office.
With the file the only thing she needed from her office, Blair headed to her apartment to pack and pick up Diamond. Her dog greeted her at the door, tail wagging.
“We’ve got a job to do, girl.” She let the dog out into the small yard that came with her bottom floor apartment before heading to her bedroom. She tossed a week’s worth of clothes and her revolver into a small suitcase. The file she laid on top before zipping the suitcase closed and sending her neighbor a text that she would be gone for a few days.
Within half an hour, she’d loaded the SUV and hit the road, Diamond sitting in the front passenger seat, her head hanging out the window and tongue lolling. Blair laughed and patted the dog’s head.
The town of Langley where she lived was only half an hour drive from Misty Hollow. She’d have plenty of time to check into the motel before following her GPS to the Rocking W Ranch.
The motel looked as if it sported a new coat of salmon-colored paint. She could smell the fresh fumes when she exited her SUV and marched into the manager’s office which smelled stronger. The walls sported a white so bright she squinted.
“Need a room?” A young man smacked his gum.
That was why she was there. “Yes. I’m not sure for how long. I’m here to search for the missing girl. I trust my dog is welcome?”
“Since it’s a working dog, yes, but you’ll have to pay a deposit. Refundable if the animal doesn’t tear up the place.” He took her credit card, swiped it, then handed her a key.
“She won’t.” Blair smiled and returned to her vehicle.
After stowing her bag in her room, she punched in the address to the ranch into her GPS and headed up the mountain. Truly a beautiful place adorned with the bright green of spring. Since she was early, she took her time to enjoy the drive before turning onto the ranch.
A sprawling three-story house came into view. Several vehicles were parked out front where a crowd gathered near a porch. Standing off to the side was a group of men in cowboy hats. Saddled horses waited near a paddock.
“Let’s go to work, girl.” Blair shoved open her door. Diamond bounded out after her.
Her boots crunched gravel as she approached the house. One of the cowboys strolled to greet her.
“Miss Oakley?” He thrust out a hand. “I’m Dylan Wyatt, owner of this ranch. We are very glad you’re here.” His gaze fell on Diamond. “And your dog.”
“Thank you. Tell me what you know.”
He reiterated what Mark had said and added, “Let me introduce you to Sheriff Westbrook. He knows more than I do.” He waved over another man in a cowboy hat. “Sheriff, this is Blair Oakley, Search and Rescue.”
Another handshake. “We’re glad you’re here. Everyone I’ve spoken to said this isn’t like Brittney. That she would never take off without letting someone know where she was going. Her friends never saw her that morning. She never showed up at the bus stop.” He lifted a tee-shirt from the porch railing. “She wore this the day before she disappeared.”
“Thank you.” Blair took the item of clothing. “Why are we meeting here and not at the bus stop?”
“The bus stop is right outside the gate of this ranch. Brittney lived half a mile up the road.”
“Then that’s where me and Diamond will start.”
“Let me introduce you to your partner. We’ll all pairing up. Maverick!” He waved over a large man with hair the color of coffee.
When he joined them, eyes the color of a summer sky landed on her. She could see burn scars through the scruff he wore on his face.
Her gaze flicked to his hands. More scars. This man had been through tragedy and walked away, but not unscathed. “It’s nice to meet you, Maverick. Care to join me on the road?”
He gave a silent nod and fell into step beside her.
Okay, the strong silent type. She didn’t mind the absence of conversation while she worked. She didn’t want the distraction, although the man’s woodsy aftershave might be more of a distraction than she wanted.
~
Maverick thought he detected a trace of Native American in the woman’s inky black hair and slightly brown skin, although the steel-gray eyes kept her from looking completely Native American. He followed her to the road where she held the sweater up to her dog’s nose.
“Find her, Diamond.”
The dog sniffed, then headed to the left away from where the girl lived. Behind them, the sheriff called out for folks to mount up or start walking, spreading out to form a long line.
The dog let out one bark and took off like a bullet.
“She’s got a trail.” Blair sprinted after her.
Not to be left behind, Maverick did the same. Soon, they’d left the rest of the group behind. The dog changed direction and headed into the thick woods. Not long after, she set up a frenzied barking.
“She’s found something.” Blair increased her speed.
Maverick caught up to them. Tangled in the limbs of a low-hanging oak tree was one of those things females used to tie their hair into a ponytail. A few blond strands blew in the breeze. No other sign of the girl.
The dog whined and walked in a circle.
The trail disappeared.
“How can someone disappear in thin air?” Blair frowned.
“Maybe she was carried from here.”
As if just realizing he stood there, she jerked her attention to him. “I suppose. Drat.”
“Here are some tracks.” He pointed out a man’s size eleven. “Looks fresh.” He followed them, leaving her to join him or not.
“Diamond, come.” Blair caught up and fell into step beside him. “You any good at tracking?”
“Fair to middling.” Better, in fact, but Maverick wasn’t one to boast.
“Ex law enforcement or something else.”
“Something else. Military PD.” He stifled a sigh. Conversation was not his thing.
“Nice. Diamond, search.” She motioned the dog’s attention to the tracks when they started to disappear.
The voices calling out for Brittney cut through the trees and startled birds into flight. A squirrel scolded overhead.
Usually, Maverick enjoyed a walk through the woods, but doing so because of a lost child gave the experience a whole new meaning. A bad one. Seeing the tracks led him to believe the girl hadn’t left on her own. She’d been abducted, and they might all be too late to save her.
After an hour of walking, the dog stopped at the edge of a dirt road. Footprints switched to tire tracks.
Someone had taken Brittney Pitts away in a vehicle.
Maverick turned as the sheriff joined them. “She’s gone.”
The sheriff’s face darkened. “I’ll call in the FBI. This missing person case has turned into a kidnapping. Unless, she went with a friend, which I doubt since her footprints disappeared only to be replaced by a man’s.” He turned his attention on Maverick. “I’d like to deputize you and have you work this case with Miss Pitts. Any objection?”
A ton. “No, sir.”
Just like that, Maverick was thrust back onto the battlefield where he’d been searching for a lost little boy. He’d found the child in a burning shack. They’d both barely got out alive.
Maverick still carried the scars. This wasn’t the same. He wasn’t being asked to dash into a burning building.
- Publisher : Winged Publications
- Publication date : April 7, 2024
- Language : English
- Print length : 226 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1962168727
- ISBN-13 : 978-1962168724