Hidden Away, page 20
part #2 of Hearts of Montana Series
Stan rested his hand on her shoulder. “Why don’t you go home for the rest of the day?”
She checked her watch. There was still time to make a couple of calls to the insurance company. “No. I’ve got work to do. No use crying over spilled milk.” Or deserting sheriffs. “I’d rather stay busy. Thanks, though.” She smiled bravely at Stan.
Using the cordless land line, she dialed the insurance company’s number. It was better to leave her cell phone off and shut out the world of Taylor Johnson.
Two hours later, her head throbbing, she hung up the phone. She’d spoken to three different agencies, trying to get the new stove ordered, installed, and covered by insurance.
Pushing through the door of the kitchen, she called out for Sam. Stan stood at the counter, pages of inventory lists in front of him, and a pencil tucked behind his ear.
He gave Cherry a questioning look. “Sam? Why are you looking for Sam?”
“Why wouldn’t I be looking for Sam? I’m finally ready to go home. Poor kid must be exhausted. Thanks for keeping him with you this whole time so I could deal with the stupid stove situation.”
The color drained from Stan’s face.
“What? What’s wrong?” Alarm bells sounded in her gut.
“Cherry, I haven’t seen Sam all afternoon. I didn’t even know you brought him back with you. I thought you left him at the Cooper farm.”
“What? No. When we got here, I sent him back to the kitchen to find you, then you came out to talk to me.” She opened the pantry door as she spoke, checking to see if he’d fallen asleep on the floor of the cupboard.
“I swear I haven’t seen him all afternoon. I just heard you come in earlier so I came out front to get a pop.” He crossed the kitchen. “I’ll check the bathrooms.”
It didn’t take but a few minutes to search the diner, but there was no sign of the boy.
Stan ran out the front door, hollering Sam’s name.
Cherry checked the back alley in case he went outside to play, but it was empty as well.
Something about the alley being empty niggled at her mind.
She raked her hands against her forehead.
Where could he have gone?
She reached for her phone and turned it back on, the screen taking forever to come to life.
Two missed calls from Russ Johnson.
Russ. That was it.
She hit the button to call him back, and relief washed through her as she heard him pick up the phone. “Russ, it’s me. Listen, did you say you dropped Sam’s bike off in the alley behind the diner?”
“Listen, Cherry, I tried to call you back. I wanted to tell you about Taylor—”
She cut him off, her voice rising in alarm. “I don’t care about Taylor right now. Tell me about the bike.”
“Yeah, I dropped it off in the alley by the back door. Why? What’s going on?”
“The bike is missing, and so is Sam.” Saying the words out loud was like squeezing a vise around her chest. She couldn’t catch her breath.
“I’m on my way,” was all Russ said before the line went dead.
Panic swelled like a ball encompassing her chest.
Maybe he was just off riding his bike.
The bell rang above the door, and Stan rushed back in. “He’s not out there. Ed at the Coast to Coast said he thought he saw him riding his bike around, but that was over an hour ago. What can I do?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know what to do. Oh God, please don’t let anything have happened to him.” She couldn’t think straight. “Just keep looking. See if anyone else has seen him. Maybe he’s in someone else’s store.”
“Got it.” Stan hurried back out.
Cherry clutched her chest. Where would Sam go? He only knew a few people in this town. Russ and Sophie and…
Sophie.
Why didn’t she think of it before?
Maybe because the Cooper farm was two miles out of town, and she didn’t want to imagine Sam riding his bike that far and on the highway.
She quickly called Sophie, and her heart sunk when the girl tentatively answered the phone.
“Sophie, what’s wrong?”
Her voice held the quiver of tears ready to fall. “I’m really sorry, Cherry. I don’t know what happened. He’s just gone.”
“Who’s gone? Sophie, is Sam with you?”
“Sam, no.” She sucked in a breath, as she started to cry. “It’s Rex. I think he ran away. I thought he would be okay tied up in the yard while I took a shower. I thought he would rather be outside playing. He couldn’t have been out there more than fifteen or twenty minutes at the most.”
“Sophie, listen to me, it’s okay. I don’t think Rex ran away.”
“You don’t?” She took a deep, shuddering breath.
“No. Not unless he learned how to untie himself. Sam is missing, and so is his bike. I think he might have ridden out there and freed Rex.”
“Oh no. Poor Sam. I’ll tell my dad and Charlie. What can we do to help?”
Think, dammit. She needed to figure this out.
Pushing down the panic, Cherry took a breath. “Okay, yes, get your dad or Charlie, or whoever and drive into town, to the diner. Watch for any signs of Sam or Rex on the road. Maybe he’s still riding down the highway.”
“Okay. We’ll leave now. And I’ll call you if we see him.”
The thought of Sam out on the highway terrified her. Trucks whizzed down that road all day. What if someone hit him? Or he ran off the road and was lying in a ditch, hurt or bleeding?
What if someone saw him and, God forbid, took him?
The panic was back as every horrible thought filled my mind. She fought to stop the unthinkable images of what could happen to a young boy alone.
She sank into a chair, unable to think of what to do next.
All she could do was pray. Please God. Please God. Keep him safe. Keep my son safe.
A sob escaped her as she heard a siren in the distance. The keening wail drew closer as a squad car came flying down Main Street and skidded to a stop in front of the diner. Through the window, she saw Taylor bolt from the car, his face a mask of pain and fear.
The front door crashed open, and Taylor burst into the diner. “Where’s Sam? Where is my son?”
Chapter Twenty-One
Taylor tried to contain the rush of panic as he watched the blood drain from Cherry’s face.
He crossed the room in three long, quick strides and knelt in front of her. “What happened, Cherry? Where’s Sam?”
Her eyes glazed over, as she shook her head slowly back and forth. “I don’t know. I don’t know where he is.” Her voice choked on a sob, and she fell apart.
He swept her into his arms and pulled her against his chest. “It’s okay. We’re going to find him. I need you to take a breath and tell me what happened.”
She nodded, quick little bobs of her head as he watched her try to catch her breath. “We took Rex out to the Cooper’s farm this afternoon so Sam could give the dog to Sophie.”
“Give the dog to Sophie? Why? He loves that dog.”
“Because Reed claims Rex is dangerous and is threatening to use that against us in the custody fight. And because the manager of the motel said we can’t have a dog staying there with us.”
“Why didn’t you bring the dog to me or my dad? We would have kept him.”
A sharp look of pain crossed Cherry’s face.
“That doesn’t matter. What happened after you left the dog there?”
She told him how they’d come back to the diner and how she’d thought Sam was in the kitchen with Stan. “I just got caught up in these dang calls with the insurance agency. I thought he was with Stan.” She buried her face in her hands. “Maybe I’m not fit to raise him. Maybe he should live with Reed and Olivia.”
His heart broke at the way her shoulders shook with sobs. “Hey, look at me.”
She shook her head back and forth, her hair a curtain across her face.
He gripped her shoulders. “Cherry. Look at me.”
She tilted her head up, pain and misery evident in her eyes.
“I’ve seen you with Sam the last several weeks and you are a good mother. The best. And even more than that. You are Sam’s mother. And the only one he has left.” He swiped at the tears on her face. “And right now, I need you to get it together and be the strong feisty Cherry that I know who doesn’t back down from trouble and who doesn’t back down from a fight.”
She nodded slowly, and he was encouraged by the look of determination entering her eyes.
“Yeah. Okay. You’re right. I’m okay.”
He watched her swallow then push back her shoulders as she took a deep breath. “I’m okay.”
He passed her the half-full glass of iced tea setting on the counter. He had no idea if the drink was hers, and he didn’t care.
Evidently neither did she.
She gulped down a swallow then set the glass back on the counter. It must have helped because her eyes were clearer, and she looked more focused.
“Now tell me what else you know about Sam.”
“I know that your dad dropped off his bike in the alley, and now it’s gone. I know that Sophie tied Rex up in the yard, and now he’s gone, too. I’m assuming that unless Rex has learned how to untie a knot, that Sam rode his bike out to the Coopers’ and took the dog. Sophie was going to get her dad to drive them into town and look for him on the road.” Her eyes started to go glassy again. “Oh Taylor, what if he gets hit by a car or someone takes him?”
“Get it together, Cherry.” His voice was probably more firm than it needed to be, but he needed her to stay strong, and it seemed to help her focus. “We’re going to go with the assumption that he’s on his way back here.”
He only wished he felt as calm as he was acting.
He tilted his head and spoke into the mic clipped to his shoulder. “Dispatch, this is double Charlie fifty-two, I need you to issue a BOLO for a Caucasian male, eight years old, blond hair, possibly on a bicycle. Possibly on highway nine. Probably has a small brown dog with him.”
“Dispatch responding to Charlie fifty-two. BOLO issued for Caucasian male, eight years old, blond hair.”
Cherry’s cell phone buzzed, and she made a frantic grab for it. “It’s Sophie. Hello, Sophie. Did you find him?” Her face fell, and he knew the answer. “Okay, keep me posted. And thank you.”
She hung up. “Zack and Sophie drove all the way into town and didn’t see him. They’re going to keep driving around looking for him.”
He nodded. “My dad is out driving around, too. He’s the one who called and told me Sam was missing. He’s probably rallied half the town by now to be on the lookout.” He pulled out his notebook. “Tell me everything that happened between last night and today. Could this be as simple as he went after the dog, and he’s on his way back, or do you think he actually ran away?”
Cherry’s hand flew to her mouth. “Last night. At the motel. He told me a story about a knight and a dragon. And the evil king banished the dragon. And they ran away.”
“Does Sam see me as the evil king?” What a stupid question. Plus he shouldn’t be worried about stuff like that right now, but it bothered him. And bugged him that a stupid story could hurt his feelings.
“What? No. The evil king was Reed or Mike, the motel manager, or a combination of both. That part doesn’t matter. The part that worries me is that the knight and the dragon ran away together.”
He hated to admit how relieved he was not to play the villain in Sam’s story.
He focused on his questions. “Think back over last night and today. Who you talked to and what you said. Was there anything that Sam could have overheard or misinterpreted? Anything that would make him want to run away?”
She shook her head. “No. Not that I can think of. Like I said, I was on the phone most of the afternoon with the insurance company and ordering the new stove. In fact, I turned off my phone after I talked to your dad.”
“Wait, you talked to my dad. What about?”
“He called to tell me that he dropped off Sam’s bike and—” she looked away, unable to meet his eye, “—and that you were gone. That you’d left.” Her eyes widened, and she gasped. “I told Stan that you were gone. That you had left town. Left me. Maybe Sam overheard.”
Anger flared in his gut. “What the hell are you talking about? I didn’t leave.”
“Your dad said you were gone. I told him I hadn’t seen you in town today, and he said that’s because you were gone.”
“Well, hell. I was gone. I had a domestic violence call out on the edge of the county. I left town today, but I didn’t actually leave town. I was coming back. Why wouldn’t my dad tell you that part?”
Tears filled her eyes. “Because I didn’t give him a chance. I hung up after he said you were gone. He tried to call me back, but I’d turned off my phone.”
The anger sparked, fueling his already heated temper. “And then you bad-mouthed me to Stan. In front of Sam.”
Maybe he was the bad guy in Sam’s story. Or he would be now.
She held up her hands. “No. I didn’t. At least I don’t think I did.”
“Tell me.” His voice sounded more like a growl. “Tell me everything you said.”
“I told him that you were gone. And that I was surprised you left. That I thought you just needed some time to be alone. Time to think.”
He held up his hand. Something about her words triggered something. A memory. “Hold on.” He took a deep breath and slowly counted to ten.
There was something there. Something he was missing. A clue. He just had to calm down enough to grab it. He replayed her words in his head. Some time to be alone. Some time to think.
He snapped his fingers. “I’ve got it. I know where he is. When I took him fishing at my grandparent’s cabin, I told him it was a great place to be alone. A place to go when you needed to think. I bet he went up to the cabin to find me.”
Cherry bolted from her seat. “Let’s go.”
He held out an arm. “Wait. Someone needs to stay here, in case he comes back.”
The door of the diner burst opened, and Russ hurried in.
Cherry ran to him and threw her arms around his waist.
Taylor had just a moment of slight jealousy that she hadn’t reacted that way when he’d come through the door.
But she’d also been pretty close to a state of shock.
He didn’t have time for these petty thoughts right now. “I’m glad you’re here, Dad. Can you stay at the diner? In case Sam comes back. Or if anyone finds him, they’d be more likely to bring him here.”
Russ nodded solemnly. “Of course. I’ll do whatever I can to help. I’d hoped that he might be headed for the ranch, but I didn’t see him anywhere on the road out to our place. Where are you headed?”
Taylor took Cherry’s arm. “We think he might be headed up to Gramp’s cabin. It’s just a hunch, but we’re gonna go check it out.”
“I trust your hunches, son.” Russ pulled open the front door. “I’ll hold down the fort, and I’ve got half the town on the lookout for him.” He grabbed Taylor’s shoulder as he passed. “Don’t worry. We’re gonna find him.”
He nodded at his dad, unwilling to trust his voice. Knowing it would betray the depth of emotion he felt for his father and his support.
Instead, he hustled Cherry toward the squad car and raced to slide inside. He started the engine and threw the car into gear. The cabin was close to two miles out of town.
He headed toward the city limits.
The mic on his shoulder squawked. “Double Charlie fifty-two, this is Dispatch. Do you copy?”
“Copy that, Dispatch. This is Double Charlie fifty-two.”
“Listen, Sheriff, we might have a lead on that missing kid. A couple of guys were just in the Gas-n-Go west of town and claim they saw a boy riding his bike up Highway 5. Said they thought he had a dog with him.”
Bingo. The cabin was off Highway 5.
He pressed the gas pedal closer to the floor. “Roger that, Dispatch. We’re going that direction now. We think he might be headed to a fishing cabin up that way. I’ll check in when I know more.”
“Dispatch standing by.”
Cherry’s knuckles were white as she clasped her hands together in her lap.
He reached over and took her hand. Like it or not, he still loved her, and they were in this thing together. “We’re gonna find him.”
Cherry faced forward, her eyes trained on the sides of the road. A single tear rolled down her cheek, and his heart splintered into a thousand pieces.
He squeezed her hand and pressed harder on the accelerator.
“I want to get there, too,” Cherry said. “But don’t go too fast. I don’t want to miss him if he’s stuck on the side of the road.”
She said “stuck” on the road, but he knew she was worried that it might be worse. Much worse. The bends in this road could conceal a small boy on his bike. If someone came around the corner too fast, and Sam were riding in the road, he could easily get hit or run off the highway.
He shuddered and eased back on the gas, watching the sides of the road for any signs of a boy, a bike, or a dog.
They made it to the cabin turn-off without seeing any signs of him.
Taylor turned and drove down the driveway toward the cabin.
“There!” Cherry pointed. “There’s his bike.” She had the door open and was getting out of the car before he’d even come to a full stop.
Relief flooded him as he saw the familiar red bike leaning up against the side of the cabin. That little turd. He’d ridden all the way up here by himself.
He slammed the door to the car. Cherry had run around to the front of the cabin, and he heard her calling Sam’s name.
But he didn’t hear any reply. And he didn’t hear her exclamation of joy and relief signaling that she’d found him.
She appeared at the corner of the cabin, alarm etched on her face. “He isn’t here. How could he not be here? His bike is here.”
Taylor examined the bike. It was definitely Sam’s.
“I tried the front door, but the cabin’s still locked. And none of the windows are broken,” she said. “I don’t think he went inside.”
