She grasped Cole’s forearm to get his attention and locked eyes with him. “You need to let us do our job,” she said, her tone quiet but firm.
He raised his hands and took a step back, lining up with Brody.
She turned back to Tilley. “You can see how important it is to help us get Dr. Walker’s little girl back to him. In case we can find something that helps us, is it okay if my dog and I look around?”
“You won’t find anything like that here.”
“Maybe not, but if it’s all right with you, I’d like to look.”
“Your dog won’t make a mess of my property, will he?”
“No, he doesn’t dig or chew at things.”
“Well, okay. I guess I can take your word for it.”
“I need to get Robo out of the vehicle now, so could you put Dodger on a leash while my dog works?”
“I’ve got a chain right here.” Tilley went to the porch and clipped a chain that was anchored at the bottom of one of the posts to Dodger’s collar.
Turning to get Robo, Mattie signaled Cole to join her at the back of her vehicle. Brody came along with him. “What are you doing here, Cole? The sheriff told you to wait at home.”
Illuminated by the yard light, Cole’s eyes were dark wells in the rigid planes of his face. “I never agreed to that. I have to be here, in case you find her.”
“Dr. Walker, we can’t allow it. Your presence compromises our investigation,” Brody said.
Cole stared at him, his jaw muscles working. “I have to be here.”
Knowing she’d never be able to sit at home waiting either, Mattie grasped at a solution. “You can wait in Brody’s cruiser. If we find Sophie, we’ll notify you.”
Cole studied her for a long moment, and she struggled to keep her cop face on. Finally, he nodded. “I’ll wait here, but come get me right away if you find her.” His gaze went to Brody. “Come get me.” She could read the underlying desperation in his words.
“Come with me.” Brody stepped back, and Mattie could tell he wasn’t happy about letting Cole stay. He would need to keep an eye on him now, and that meant they were one man down for the search, keeping Brody from acting as backup. Not ideal.
Before Cole turned away, he reached out to Mattie, and they clasped hands for a moment. He squeezed hers hard and then walked away.
“I’ll call the sheriff and find out what happened,” Brody muttered before following Cole to his cruiser.
Her nerves taut, she focused on the job and opened Robo’s compartment. He stood at the back waiting for her, and she buried her nose in the fur at his neck for a brief second before reaching for his tracking harness. As Tilley came toward the vehicle, Stella warned him to stay back, and they waited about ten feet away.
Mattie began the patter that signaled to Robo that it was time to work. When he jumped from the vehicle, he stayed close to her and ignored the others.
“Let’s start out at the barn,” she said, heading that way while Tilley and Stella followed. She had to depend on Stella keeping an eye on Tilley while she focused on Robo.
When they breached the double doorway, Tilley flipped a switch on the inside wall, and overhead spotlights lit the building. Movement caught Mattie’s eye as several cats retreated into the haystack, their tails disappearing behind the bales.
The barn was immaculate, tools put away neatly in a rack or hung on pegs, an empty wheelbarrow tipped up against a wall, a few bales of hay stacked by a box stall with nary a stray wisp on the ground. Raking had left straight rows of indentations, and Mattie could imagine the meticulous work required to do such a thorough job.
She offered Sophie’s scent article, unclipped Robo’s leash, and asked him to search, following behind as he swept the alley. Mattie peeked into open box stalls as they went.
A horse with a patch over its eye stuck its head through the opening over a stall door. Tilley went to stand by it and stroked its muzzle while he observed. The horse rested its head against his shoulder, and he smoothed the hair on its cheek.
After a thorough search, Mattie decided that Sophie hadn’t been anywhere inside the barn. Calling Robo, she turned to go outside, where two vehicles and a trailer were parked at the back: a white horse trailer, a brown pickup truck . . . and a gray Jeep Wrangler, an older model.
Taking Robo to the Jeep, Mattie led him to search the exterior. When he finished without detecting anything, she turned to Tilley, who, along with Stella, had followed her. “Can I search the inside of this vehicle?”
“Okay,” he said, his agreement tentative, making her wonder if he had reason to hesitate.
Mattie opened the unlocked door and asked Robo to search. He jumped inside, but once again, he didn’t hit on anything. Disappointed but wanting to be thorough, she directed him to the pickup truck, though she didn’t expect to find anything.
Robo approached the passenger side and sniffed. His interest perked and he began to sniff in earnest, ears forward. He reared up and placed his paws on the open window, sniffing inside.
Mattie’s heart rate kicked up a notch. “It’s okay to search the inside of this one, too, right?”
“I guess so.”
Mattie opened the door. Robo sniffed the door’s interior, again focusing his attention up high near the window. He turned and sat, staring at Mattie.
He’s got a hit!
Maybe the silver SUV the bus driver saw on the road had nothing to do with Sophie’s disappearance. Because she knew one thing for a fact—Sophie had once been inside this truck.
Chapter 20
Mattie didn’t need to say a word to Stella. The detective’s gaze sharpened, and she stepped forward to visually inspect the inside of the truck, not touching a thing, while Mattie moved Robo back to keep an eye on Tilley. He stood watching, apparently unalarmed.
Brody strode into the light cast from atop the pole outside the barn. “Sheriff McCoy is here.”
His statement confirmed her suspicion that Cole had somehow given the sheriff the slip earlier. Brody scanned the scene, his face registering recognition that they’d found something, and she nodded to answer his unspoken question.
“Mr. Tilley,” Mattie said. “Robo and I need to search your house.”
“Why?”
“I want to see if we can find something in there.”
He raised his brows. “You’re not gonna find anything in there.”
Robo’s hit on the vehicle combined with something as serious as a missing child gave her exigent circumstances to search the premises. She didn’t need his permission. “We still need to look.”
Tilley shifted his feet, his hands tightening into fists. Mattie glanced at Brody as he moved in closer.
“What are you trying to do here?” Tilley took on a frightened expression, his eyes moving back and forth between her and Brody.
“Robo smelled Sophie Walker’s scent on the inside of your truck, Mr. Tilley,” Stella said, coming from behind the truck to join them.
“That can’t be. How do you know?”
“We can tell. How did her scent get there?”
He looked confused. “I don’t know. I have no idea.”
“Was she inside your truck yesterday?”
“No. She’s never been inside my truck.”
“Then how do you explain it?” Mattie asked.
“How should I know?” he said. “That little girl has never been inside my truck.”
“Then how could her scent be there?” Brody asked, his deep voice a growl. He stepped in close.