He stifled another groan as he moved his sore legs to get out of bed. Might as well get up. Even though it was Saturday, he’d rescheduled clients from yesterday and filled the morning. He showered and shaved and went downstairs at about six thirty. He was surprised to find Mrs. Gibbs in the kitchen.
“You’re up early,” he said, noticing the coffee pot was full and hot, and he headed that way to pour himself a cup. “You should feel free to sleep in on the weekends. The girls will, and I can fend for myself. They can, too, for that matter.”
“Oh, I’m an early riser, I am. And I might as well make myself useful.” She was whipping up eggs to pour in a skillet that was warming on the stove.
“I do appreciate a hot breakfast, but I don’t want you to feel like you have to be working all the time.”
“I’ll keep it in mind when I need to take a break.”
As far as he could tell, the woman possessed a deep well of energy for someone her age. He popped a couple slices of bread into the toaster. “How many pieces of toast do you want?” he asked.
“I can make me own toast, thank you.”
He started to say he didn’t mind, and then decided not. No reason to force the issue. They each needed to be able to do what they wanted in the kitchen without pushing at each other.
“I need to talk to you about Angela,” she said.
He checked her face and saw her frowning at the eggs she stirred in the skillet. This wasn’t going to be good. “All right.”
“I’m concerned about her. She was very quiet after we left Mrs. Hartman yesterday afternoon. When I asked if something was bothering her, she told me to mind me own business. Said I weren’t her mum so keep me nose to myself, or something like that.”
Ugh. “I’ll talk to her. She should be more respectful.”
“No. No, I don’t want that. It’s her version of kicking the dog, and I can handle it myself, at least for now. But I’m worried about her. She’s been dealt a lot for a youngster to handle. Sophie told me how their mum doesn’t want to see them anymore and about losing Angela’s friend this summer.”
He bet Sophie had; he wondered what else the girl had told her new listener. Cole kept silent, thinking about what he should do.
“She’s had a hard time of it,” Mrs. Gibbs said.
“Yes, but that doesn’t mean she can be disrespectful to people.”
Mrs. Gibbs gave him the look a mother gives a child who’s said the wrong thing. “It will work itself out between us. I’m just telling you this so you can think about the girl. See if there’s a way you can help her work through these things. They’re not ready to be brushed under the carpet yet.”
Cole waited while she scooped scrambled eggs onto his plate to sit beside the toast. He was glad she had some insight into the behavior of kids. Girls especially. He often felt like a bumbling first-year vet student when it came to trying to figure out his daughters, though he hoped to get better at it as fast as he could. “I’ll think about it. And I’ll work out a time to talk to her.”
“But don’t mention we had this conversation. That wouldn’t be good.”
She must think she has to spell it out for me. Well, maybe she does. “Mum’s the word.”
He bolted his breakfast in silence, hoping to get out of there before any more troubles could be aired. Saying good-bye, he left to go to his clinic, where he usually could keep things relatively within his control.
Mattie woke before the alarm. She peeked at Robo from under the cover she’d drawn over her head to combat the cold of the room. In the gray light that filtered through the window, she saw him curled up on his dog bed, still asleep. Typically, he’d be up, pressing his nose against her, ready to go for his run. Not today. He’d had enough exercise yesterday to curb his energy for a while.
She nestled back under Mama T’s handmade quilt, hoping to go back to sleep. But Adrienne came into her mind, and her stomach clenched. This must be how Brody had been feeling all along. She was sure now that the woman hadn’t left town willingly, and she doubted if kidnapping was a reasonable option. No one would take the time to dump a car way up in that isolated spot if he was on the run with a kidnapped person.
She was afraid Adrienne had been killed.
Someone was covering up a crime, trying to mislead them. If she didn’t trust Robo so much, she might’ve fallen for it herself. But she knew in her heart, even after the first time around the car, that Adrienne had never been up in that forest. She also knew that she couldn’t give up before Brody was thoroughly exhausted with the search. Thank goodness Sheriff McCoy had been there to call it.
She sensed the moment Robo raised his head and then heard his nails against the hardwood floor as he got out of bed. Smiling under the cover, she heard the little squeak he made when he yawned. This time when she peeked out, his nose rested on the edge of the bed and he was watching her. As soon as she lifted her head from the pillow, he grinned and trotted toward the door, stopping to look back and inviting her to follow. Maybe he didn’t get too much exercise yesterday.
“Do you need to go outside?” she asked, sending him into a tizzy as he rushed through the doorway. One thing about a dog like Robo—you never needed an alarm in the morning.
Mattie pulled on a pair of sweats, shoved her feet into her warmest slippers, and grabbed a coat on her way through the living room. She let Robo out the kitchen door into the backyard and stepped outside onto the porch to watch him, the frigid air pinching her nose. Still no snow, and the wind’s stopped.
Last summer, a killer had tried to poison Robo. And even though the perp was in prison and the county had installed razor wire above the chain link fence around the yard, Mattie still watched her dog circle it each morning and in the afternoon when they returned from work.
After he did his business, Robo came inside and Mattie fed him. She flipped on the radio for a weather report while she fixed her own breakfast. “This storm seems to have blown itself out, and the snow we were expecting has settled in the northern mountains of our state. The southern mountains can expect some snow activity by tonight, although not as much as previously expected. Probably about three inches above nine thousand feet. Lower elevations may have to wait until the next storm front for the first snow of the season.”
She switched off the radio and decided to get dressed and go to work early. She wouldn’t be surprised if the others did the same.
At the station, Brody and the sheriff had already parked their vehicles. Inside, she found that Rainbow hadn’t yet come on duty. She went to the staff office, grabbed her first cup of coffee, and searched for the others, Robo tagging along beside her. She found them in the briefing room where she thought they’d be.
Sheriff McCoy nodded a greeting. “Glad you came in early. We were discussing what to do next.”
Brody sat slumped, and he and the sheriff wore matching steely expressions. Mattie pulled up a chair and sat at the table. Robo sat close to her, and she placed a hand on his shoulders. “Let’s talk about our car scene,” McCoy said.
Brody stared at Adrienne’s picture on the board.
“What did you pick up when you printed the car?” she asked.