“Why are you here, Liv?” he asked quietly.
Tears spilled from her eyes again. She let them fall, standing rigid with her hands thrust deep into her coat pockets. “Apparently I can’t trust you to handle things. What’s being done to find Sophie?”
Leaving out the part about Candace Banks, Cole summarized the search so far, knowing that it sounded like precious little had been done.
“Who’s in charge?” Olivia asked.
“Sheriff McCoy.”
“If they think a stranger took her, why hasn’t he called in the FBI?”
“The Colorado Bureau of Investigation was notified this afternoon when they issued the Amber Alert. It’s gone out region wide, and it might be expanded to a federal level if necessary. Evidently, it’s somewhat related to time passing and need for resources. Right now, the local sheriff and county detective are handling things.” Discussing it made Cole feel even more powerless.
“That’s not enough.”
Coldness washed through him. Things were never enough for Olivia. “It’s the way it is. What are your plans?”
“I need to be here. To stay informed. To help if I can.”
Cole searched for his own plan. He wouldn’t leave Angela alone to fend for herself with her mother, and he knew she’d want to come with him to join the search.
“Come meet Mrs. Gibbs,” he said, turning his back on his ex-wife and heading for the kitchen. She followed.
Their housekeeper was at the sink, wringing out a dishcloth.
“Mrs. Gibbs,” Cole said as she turned to face him. “This is Olivia Walker, Angie and Sophie’s mother.” For some reason, he couldn’t use the label “my ex-wife.”
Mrs. Gibbs’s eyebrows shot up. “Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Walker. My goodness, you must be exhausted, driving down from Denver so late. Could I get you something to eat? A cup of coffee?”
Cole had never been so grateful for this woman’s stalwart nature. “Olivia, Mrs. Gibbs manages the house for us,” he said, relieved to have a buffer between them. There was way too much to be said boiling up, and now was not the time to attend to it.
He spoke to Mrs. Gibbs, informing Olivia of his intentions at the same time. “I’m going to take Angela and the dogs out to join the search. We’ll head to the sheriff’s station first and check in there. You can reach me on my cell phone.” Then he turned to Olivia. “I’m going to leave you and Jessie in charge of manning the phone here at the house. You can decide between the two of you how you want to handle it if a call comes in.”
“What if I don’t want to take orders from you, Cole?” Olivia said. She stood with her hands in her pockets, her shoulders hunched.
“Do what you want. I can count on Jessie to stay where she’s needed.”
Olivia winced.
“Thanks for your help, Mrs. Gibbs.” Cole met her gaze and tried to impart his gratitude for what he was about to do—dump this angry and frightened mother who could also wield a sharp tongue in her lap. “I’m going upstairs to get Angela and tell Jessie what we’re going to do.”
And with that, he headed out of the room, eager to leave his ex-wife behind.
Chapter 22
Sheriff McCoy assigned Cole, Angela, and their dogs to Sergeant Madsen, who set them on a grid to do cleanup behind him. First, he and Banjo would work an area, and then Cole would follow up, bringing Angela along with him. He wouldn’t allow her out of his sight, so the two stuck together—Cole leading Bruno, Angela leading Belle—letting their dogs range out front on retractable leashes, sniffing the area.
The dogs’ previous owners had trained them for tracking, and Cole and the kids had reinforced those lessons by playing hide and seek with them. Sophie had thought it great fun. As Cole kept pace with Bruno, he imagined that one of the dogs would find her, and she’d clap her hands and squeal with joy like she always did.
Belle’s limp slowed her down, so Bruno covered more territory. Cole felt grateful for the Bernese mountain dog’s slower pace, since it eased the pressure on Angela to keep up. Cole had strict orders to call Madsen on his cell phone before following a lead if one of their dogs got a hit. But they’d been at it for a couple hours and there’d been nothing.
Cole paused at the top of an alleyway to wait for Angela. Her face was drawn and pale, and he realized it was time to give both her and Belle a break. He checked the time on his cell phone. Almost midnight.
“You look exhausted, Angie. It’s time I take you home.”
“I don’t want to go home. I can’t go there.” Her voice sounded thick, and Cole knew she was fighting back tears.
“You need to go to bed.”
“No, I’ll stay with you.”
He didn’t want to go home either. “Let’s take a break and go back to the station.”
“All right.”
They walked to his vet truck, the dogs staying close. Cole texted Sergeant Madsen an update and told him where they were going. Madsen replied, saying he’d keep searching.
The station was lit, and several vehicles were parked out front, including Mattie’s. Cole was eager to see her. She would share news with him more readily than the sheriff. As they entered, the dispatcher named Rainbow arose from her desk and crossed the room to greet them. She reached out her hand to Angela, who took it.
“You’re tired,” Rainbow said, “and I bet you’re hungry. We’ve got a table full of all kinds of food that people have brought in for volunteers. Let me get you something to drink. Do you like soda? How about you, Dr. Walker? Can I get you something? Coffee?”
Angie looked at him, and he nodded as they allowed themselves to be led over to the food table that had been set up against the wall at the back of the lobby. It was laden with sandwiches wrapped in plastic bags, chips, granola bars, a vegetable tray, and a variety of sweets. Volunteers rarely went hungry in Timber Creek.
“I’ll take a cup of coffee,” Cole said, and Angie asked for a Pepsi.
Rainbow bustled around getting drinks while Cole stuffed a granola bar into his pocket for later. “Is Mattie here?” he asked.
“She’s in with the sheriff,” Rainbow said.
“Do they have any news?”
Rainbow handed him his coffee. “Let me tell them you’re here.”
Cole watched her go to an unmarked door, tap on it, and enter. He clutched the coffee and took a gulp, feeling it scald his throat all the way down. A few seconds later, Rainbow came back out, the sheriff behind her.
“Cole, come in,” McCoy said, holding the door open.
“Can I come too, Dad?” Angie asked, grasping his forearm.
“You’re welcome to join us, Angela,” McCoy said.
Detective LoSasso was turning a dry-erase board on wheels around, and she pushed it to the back of the room. Mattie came forward, extending her hand for Angie and ushering her toward a chair to sit.
Robo lay nearby, alert and watching the activity, his attention primarily riveted on Mattie, but he didn’t bother to get up. He must’ve been as tired as Belle and Bruno. Mattie looked exhausted too, her face pinched with worry.
Deputy Brody greeted him as he passed by on his way out of the room. Stubble darkened the deputy’s square jaw, and he seemed to be taking Cole’s measure as he passed.
LoSasso sat down on the other side of the table. She reached out, squeezed and released Angie’s hand in an awkward way before withdrawing hers to place both hands on the table. Fear fluttered his heart as Cole selected the chair beside Angie.
Do they have bad news?
“Have either of you thought of other people we should contact?”