Carla Cassidy - Lethal Lawman

Chapter 4

Frank, Steve Kincaid and Jimmy Carmani all sat in the small confines of chief of police Brad Krause’s office. Krause was a young man for his position. He wore his thick brown hair slightly shaggy, and Frank suspected nobody had been more surprised than Brad himself when he’d won the election two years ago.

He appeared young until you looked into his eyes...they were those of an old soul, and a startling green that shone with a keen intelligence. He was not only a leader in the squad room but was also a savvy politician when it came to dealing with the difficult, fiery, aptly named Ralph Storm, who served as mayor of the small burg.

Brad sat behind his desk as he eyed the three men before him. “I have a Storm chewing on my butt. The tourist season will soon be here and the mayor doesn’t like the fact that one of our own is missing, and I need an update on the Liz Marcoli case.”

“We have no update,” Jimmy said flatly.

“There’s nothing new to report,” Steve added.

Frank said nothing but felt the frustration he knew both of his partners felt.

“No movement on her finances?” Brad asked.

“None,” Frank replied, since he was the one monitoring Liz Marcoli’s bank account.

“And still no word on Ramona Marcoli?”

“She’s completely off the grid,” Frank said. “She apparently doesn’t own a car and doesn’t have a job, and I’ve been unable to track her down anywhere.”

“What do you think the odds are that Liz is with Ramona somewhere?”

“Zero,” Steve replied without hesitation. “If Liz was with Ramona she would have found a way to call Roxy or one of her sisters. There’s no way Liz would want those young women to suffer the unknown. They are like daughters to her.”

Brad sighed and stood from his desk. He moved over to the window, where he looked out on the alley between the police station and the local grocery store. He certainly hadn’t taken the job for the spectacular view from his office.

He turned back to look at them. “I know you were comparing the case of the missing Agnes Wilson to Liz’s hoping to find some intersection that might take you someplace closer to what happened to the two women. Anything come of that?”

“Nothing worthwhile yet,” Steve answered. “They both shopped in the same grocery store and both spent time at the Roadside Stop and Roxy’s restaurant, but that’s not unusual in a town this size. The two women’s lives intersected in dozens of ways.”

“We’re in the process of checking out everyone who works at those places.” Jimmy shifted his position on the hard-backed chair. “We also haven’t ruled out Edward Cardell as a person of interest in Liz’s disappearance.”

“We’re attempting to find out if Cardell was dating Agnes Wilson two years ago, but people have short memories and Agnes had no family members who might know about her love life at the time of her disappearance,” Frank said.

“So, what’s next? Give me something I can take back to the mayor.”

“Tell him we’re actively working the case,” Steve said as he raked a hand through his sun-streaked shaggy hair. “Tell him if he’s got any ideas we’re open to hearing them.” His voice held a slight edge of sarcasm.

“We checked out Edward Cardell’s cabin, but maybe it’s time we start checking out some of the others,” Jimmy suggested.

“There are hundreds of little abandoned or seasonal cabins in the mountains,” Steve protested.

“But any one of them might be a perfect place to keep a woman captive,” Brad replied. “I’ll assign three more men to help with the search of the cabins. I’ll give you Joe Jamison, Wade Peters and Richard Crossly. You all figure out the details, but I want a search of all those cabins started first thing tomorrow morning so I can let the mayor know we’re pulling out all the stops to solve this missing-persons case.”

He walked over and sat back down at his desk. “Maybe while you’re at it you could stumble across Agnes Wilson and close that case, as well. Now, get out of here and get to work.”

“I know you’re disappointed,” Frank said to Jimmy as they left the office.

Jimmy frowned. “Disappointed about what?”

“That Chelsea wasn’t assigned to work with us.”

Steve laughed as Jimmy delivered a karate chop to Frank’s arm. “Shut your mouth,” he said as a blush darkened his neck before creeping over his face.

Chelsea Loren wasn’t just a fellow officer; she was also a woman on a mission―a mission to find a husband. She’d first set her sights on Steve, but when he’d hooked up with Roxy, Chelsea had directed her charms at Jimmy, who had no interest in the striking blonde who was well-known for her penchant for cosmetic enhancements. At the moment she sported a pair of duck lips that she pursed and pouted whenever she didn’t get her way.

“I’m just hoping if I give her enough rejection she’ll focus her love addiction on you,” Jimmy said to Frank.

“She does smell like desperation,” Steve said. “And speaking of desperation, we need to get Wade, Joe and Richard in here and figure out a plan.”

The next couple of hours passed slowly as the six men used a conference room and a map of the area to draw up grids to be searched. It was agreed that Joe, Wade and Richard would work as a team, checking out each place together for safety purposes.

Although most of the cabins were marked on the map they worked from, they all knew that there were many lean-tos, sheds and small structures that were not on the map.

Frank spent much of the afternoon in the assessor’s office, pulling up the properties and finding out owner names, a tedious job that had him exhausted by the time he had enough information for the three searchers to begin the task the next morning.

“We’ll check off each cabin as we clear it and draw in any structures that aren’t on the map,” Joe said.

Frank was unsurprised that Joe had taken the lead of the three-man team. Well over six feet tall, with arms and legs the size of tree trunks, he was a big but gentle man who was widely liked and respected. He was also a born leader, sensitive to others and smart as a whip.

“You won’t have search warrants, so the cabins that are locked and obviously occupied will have to be checked out by peeking in windows or getting the owner’s permission,” Frank said as he handed over the list of the owners’ names he’d managed to get from city sources. “Try to contact the owners and get permission to get inside when possible. The buildings that are obviously abandoned shouldn’t be a problem.”

“If we find something suspicious, do we have the authority to call in Jed and his dogs?” Joe asked. Jed Wilson trained and worked both search-and-rescue and cadaver dogs, and the department had kept a light pink cardigan sweater that had been a favorite of Liz’s just for the purpose of giving the dogs a scent.

“Absolutely,” Steve replied and looked at the clock on the wall. “It’s after six. Why don’t we all get out of here so we can get an early start in the morning?”

Frank smiled inwardly. There had been a time when Steve preferred to burn the midnight oil instead of going home. Since his son had been returned to him and Roxy Marcoli had become a part of his life, Steve was the first one of them looking to head home each evening.

With the night crew already in place, there was really no reason for Frank to hang around, and yet always at this time of day, he dreaded the thought of going home.

For Steve, his missing son had transformed his gorgeous mountain home into an unwelcome place until Tommy had been returned and Roxy had added to his life.

For Frank it was the memory of his dead wife who seemed to haunt the house where he’d believed they’d been building a future together.