She extended her hand, and Cole grasped it in both of his. This lady was very special to Mattie; in fact, she’d been a mother to her.
“Come in, come inside,” she said, tugging gently at his hand. “Don’t stand out there on the porch.”
Cole stepped into the room. “I’m sorry we have to meet this way, Mrs. Lovato. I know how much you and Mattie mean to each other.”
“And you mean so much to her, too. Call me Mama T. Everyone does.”
Another woman appeared, coming down the stairway from the second floor. She, too, was dressed in a terrycloth, pink bathrobe, wrapped around her rather stout shape and belted at the waist. She’d also braided her long, black hair for the night.
“This is Doreen,” Mama T said. “She is another one of my children.”
Doreen approached, looking from the sheriff to Cole as she extended her hand and introduced herself. She had a soft grip and kind eyes.
Doreen turned to McCoy. “Is there anything we can do to help?”
“Do either of you have any idea who could be responsible for taking Mattie? Any idea, even if it seems unreasonable,” McCoy said.
Mama T held her clasped hands against her chest. “Is this related to her brother’s death?”
“We don’t know. We can’t eliminate that possibility. Do you know anyone who might have done this?”
Distress lined the lady’s face. “It could be anyone. Anyone she arrested before.”
Cole knew how she felt. Mattie’s work lent a fine opportunity for her to make enemies.
“She was here at your home tonight,” McCoy said. “Did you notice anything unusual about her behavior this evening?”
Mama T paused as if thinking. “She was upset when she got here, wasn’t she, Doreen?”
“Yes, she was. Even more upset than the night before.”
Cole observed something akin to guilt cross the sheriff’s face.
Mama T looked at Doreen while she spoke, as if for confirmation. “But she seemed to relax after she got here, and I think she had fun.”
“She did have fun, Mama. She was laughing before she left.”
“Did she say where she was going from here?” McCoy asked.
“She planned to go straight home. She mentioned she was tired and ready for bed,” Doreen said, while Mama T nodded her agreement.
“Did you see her drive away? Or notice anyone following her?”
Mama T plucked the nap of her robe’s lapel, her stress even more evident. “I didn’t see her. We were in the kitchen, and I didn’t watch her drive away. I should have.”
“That’s okay, ma’am,” McCoy said, reassuring her. “Chances are there was nothing unusual for you to see anyway.”
After determining that Mama T could provide no further information, McCoy made his way to the door. “I’m sorry we had to disturb you with this bad news. We’ll keep you informed if anything changes.”
“I’ll be here,” she said. “I won’t be going back to bed.”
They said their goodbyes and Cole followed McCoy out to the car. As they left the house, Robo’s face popped up in the Explorer’s window, panting and wild-eyed. Cole hurried to open the door, and saw what he’d been doing while they were gone. The entire carpet in the dog’s compartment lay in shreds.
“Poor guy,” Cole said. “I’ve got to get him out of this car.”
McCoy raised a brow. “Is he distraught over Mattie absence?”
“That and everything else he’s been through tonight. He’s always been an energy bomb ready to go off. Mattie works hard to make sure he stays well behaved.”
McCoy’s phone rang while Cole gave Robo some water. Distracted, Cole paid only half attention to McCoy’s side of the conversation. As the sheriff ended the call, Cole closed the hatch and joined him inside the SUV.
“That was Detective LoSasso,” McCoy said. “When she looked at the time frame of Mattie’s disappearance, she could see both vehicles more clearly on the gas station surveillance video, so she called in Deputy Garcia to take a look. He knows his cars. These videos aren’t recorded in color, but the sedan appears to be light gray or silver, maybe tan, and he thinks it’s a Chevrolet. The pickup truck is probably dark blue, brown, or charcoal, and it might be a half-ton Ford. As in the other video, the truck was a few minutes behind the sedan, and it doesn’t look like they’re traveling together. They’re both just headed west.”
Cole leaned back in his seat, digesting the information, and his thought process stirred an uneasy feeling in his gut. “William’s crime scene is west of town. We know that he was alive when he was taken into the forest. I hate to say it, but we need to consider the possibility that his killer is taking Mattie to the same area.”
“I know. And we have to wonder if we have some kind of ritualistic serial killer on our hands. Let’s go to the station. The satellite phone is there.” McCoy started the car and shifted into gear. “I’ll get on it and notify Brody. He can utilize the posse members who are up there to patrol the area between the upper and lower gravesites.”
The sheriff’s words made Cole’s gut twist. He fought to maintain an even keel. “That sedan on the road was probably just someone headed west out of town. But the truck, especially a half-ton with four-wheel drive, worries me.”
“Because?”
“A truck could be headed toward any one of dozens of off-road trails into the wilderness area. There are hundreds of square miles of forest out there. If he takes her up into that country, we’re lost.”
“There were horseshoe prints at William Cobb’s gravesite. We speculate that he arrived there on horseback.”
Cole expanded on the sheriff’s statement. “If horses were involved in William’s case, they might be in Mattie’s. A truck could have been headed west to someone’s property to pick up horses and a trailer.”
“I need to update the bulletin to the state highway to be on the lookout for a truck and possibly a trailer on highways leading to all points west of Timber Creek. There’s little traffic on the road this time of night. A rig for hauling horses would stand out.”
“And we need to search for a dark-colored Ford pickup parked at trailheads on the west side of town,” Cole said.
“I’ll call in Rainbow to coordinate volunteers. They can do that.”
As they pulled into the station parking lot, headlights of another car lit their SUV from behind.
McCoy opened his door to exit the car. “That’s Detective LoSasso now.”
When Cole opened the door on his side, Robo rushed forward and poked his nose through the mesh, trying to escape his compartment. His desperation mirrored what Cole was feeling, and it tugged at his heart. He spoke to the shepherd as he stroked his head. “I know, buddy. We’re doing the best we can. We’ll find her, don’t worry.”
Terrified that he might not be able to deliver what he promised, he almost choked on his words.
TWENTY-NINE
Cole circled to the back of the vehicle and let Robo out, using the leash to transfer him into the station. Once inside, he set him free, and Robo rushed toward the staff office while Cole trailed behind.
The shepherd paced around the empty room to sniff, pausing at what Cole assumed must be Mattie’s desk, given the large dog cushion lying beside it. Robo gave the chair a thorough once over, and then turned to trot back out into the hallway, panting with nerves. Cole snatched up the dog bed and followed him.
He hoped to settle Robo down to rest in the briefing room, which Cole knew from experience doubled as a war room at times of emergency, and that’s where the dog was already headed. When he arrived at the room’s closed door, he scratched at it, and Cole hurried to tap before opening it for him.