“It’s getting late. I need to sleep.” He hugged Dodger, putting his chin on the dog’s head. Dodger swiped his cheek with his pink tongue.
“This won’t take long. Are you willing to talk to me?”
“I guess so.”
“I found these prescription bottles in your medicine chest, and I see they’re empty. I didn’t find any new refills, and I’m concerned about you. Have you been taking your medicine lately?”
“My pills didn’t come.”
“You mean they didn’t come in the mail?”
“Right. My check didn’t come either. I waited for a while, and then it did.”
“So your check came, but not your pills,” Stella said.
“Uh-huh. I think they’ll come soon.” Tilley rubbed the top of Dodger’s head, his eyes downcast.
“The date on this empty bottle says it was refilled almost two months ago, and it was only a month’s worth. So if I’m figuring it right, you’ve been without your pills for about a month. Is that possible?”
Tilley reached for the bottle and looked at the date. “Maybe. What is today, anyway?”
Stella told him, and he raised his brows as if astonished.
“Does that surprise you?” she asked.
“I didn’t know it had been that long.”
“Have you been in touch with your doctor?”
“I don’t think so. It’s been a while, I think.”
“I think you need some help getting this straightened out. Do you have a family member I can call?”
He shook his head.
“A case manager then? Someone who helped you get your checks set up?”
“I can take care of myself.”
Stella sat back and studied him—Mattie knew how it felt to be examined by those probing eyes.
“I’m going to have a person from the county contact you to help get things back on track,” Stella said. He started to protest, but she raised her hand to stop him. “I know you can take care of yourself, but I’d feel better if someone helped you get your medicine started again. It’s been too long since you’ve been without it.”
Mattie had to concede the point about the man’s illness to Stella. But that didn’t mean he hadn’t taken Sophie.
He was shaking his head, but Stella kept talking. “Now I need to switch back to our original concern. Finding Sophie Walker.”
Tilley shot to his feet, paced a few steps away, and then turned to face Stella. Mattie tensed and felt Robo do the same beside her.
“I can’t help you with that,” Tilley shouted.
Stella stood facing him, her demeanor calm. “Do you have any idea how Sophie’s scent got inside your truck?”
“No! I told you, she’s never been in my truck.”
“I’m sure you can understand how that dilemma still concerns us.”
Mattie grew tired of listening, observing, and essentially doing nothing. “I still think you know something,” she told Tilley.
His eyes darted to the sheriff’s Jeep and then out toward the barn, refusing to meet hers. “I don’t know anything.”
Squaring her shoulders and hooking one thumb on her utility belt, Mattie stepped in close, staring up into his face. “Where is Sophie Walker? Is she somewhere on this property?”
Tilley backed up a few steps. “No!”
Frustration urged her forward. Could he be holding Sophie in a hidden structure in the woods at the edge of his meadow? Or, God forbid, could he have buried her someplace on this acreage? She stayed close, pressing him. “I’m going to search this property until I’m satisfied Sophie isn’t anywhere on it.”
Nodding, he gulped, anxiety consuming his face.
Stella intervened, blocking Mattie’s advance. “You stay here with me, Mr. Tilley, while the others take another look around.”
Mattie turned away, told Robo to heel, and headed back to the barn with Brody following. She planned to search through every structure on this place, around the perimeter, and through the meadow. Pressure built in her chest as she thought of how time was slipping away.
Sophie can’t end up like Candace. She just can’t.
She vowed not to leave this place until she was absolutely convinced Sophie was nowhere on it to be found.
Cole sat in the sheriff’s Jeep, watching Mattie and the detective talk to Gus after they came out of the house. He knew if he dared try to get out of the vehicle, McCoy would force him to leave. His heart tripped when Mattie confronted Gus and then turned and strode back to the barn, Robo beside her and Brody following.
What’s going on?
Soon, LoSasso came over, and the sheriff rolled down his window. She leaned in and spoke to both of them. “Mr. Tilley swears he didn’t see Sophie after his time with her at the clinic yesterday. Dr. Walker, can you tell me what vehicle he drove to your clinic for the appointment?”
“His brown pickup truck and trailer. He brought his horse in.”
“The tires on that vehicle don’t match the prints we found at your property,” LoSasso said. “Do you know if Sophie entered that truck?”
Cole searched his memory. “I’m sure she didn’t.”
“Was the truck parked where you could see it while you worked on the horse?”
“No, we were inside the treatment room. What’s this about?”
“Was Sophie with you the entire time Mr. Tilley was at your clinic?”
“She was inside the clinic most of the time.” Cole paused, trying to remember the sequence of events exactly. “I think she went outside to play with her ball at some point while he was there.”
He saw LoSasso look at McCoy, and the penny dropped. He put one hand on the door handle, his muscles tightening, getting ready to spring. “Robo found Sophie’s scent in the truck, didn’t he?”
“Do you think Sophie could’ve gotten in the truck while you were inside the clinic, Cole?” McCoy asked.
“I’ve never seen her do anything like that. In fact, I’ve warned her against it. I don’t think she’d get inside someone else’s car.”
“I don’t know yet how to explain her scent being in the vehicle,” Stella said. “Maybe Robo failed on this one. But his tires don’t match the tracks on your property, and I think we’ll find the person who took Sophie when we find the tires that match that print.”
Cole stared at Gus, huddled on the porch holding Dodger. His hopes deflated, and he felt more helpless than ever before in his life. “So you’re positive Gus didn’t take her?”
“Mattie and Robo are doing a thorough search, and they’ll make sure there’s no scent trail outside the truck. But no, I don’t think Mr. Tilley took Sophie.”
McCoy looked at him. “You should go home now, Cole.”
“Let me stay until Mattie finishes, and then I’ll go.” Cole gripped the door handle and stared out toward the barn, trying to spot Mattie through the darkness.
Chapter 21
Cole had come home after Mattie returned to the sheriff’s Jeep. “We searched everywhere . . . everywhere,” she’d said, her dark eyes burning. “But we didn’t find a scent.”
Now he leaned against the kitchen cabinets with his sister, Jessica Walker, who’d arrived shortly after his return. It had been such a relief to see Jessie. He even welcomed her take-charge manner, and as an attorney, she never lacked in that. A tall, athletic-looking brunette who worked out regularly, she was also not lacking in strength, and his ribs still smarted from the hug she’d given him. The pain had been worth it.