Shattered Secrets (Cold Creek #1)(81)



“I think they have. Some things are coming back, and she’s a lot more steady.”

“Oh, good. She seemed that way at the church service, and she certainly handled getting up in front of all those people. You know, I hate to speak ill of anyone, but I always thought Dane was highly suspect, so perhaps he has meted out his own justice to himself.” She leaned slightly closer. “He liked true crime and murder mysteries, you know.”

“Not exactly proof, but—”

“But with Marva and George Green’s help in the first two abductions—there you go. Dr. Dane Thompson, guilty as your father always believed. Now, here is a picture of that pistol your BCI friend Agent Reingold described to me on the phone. Have I found the correct one?”

“That’s it,” he said, looking closely at the sketch and then the two photos.

“Well, it’s of the same era as a few I own. They came down through my family who founded this area. Elias Falls, born 1785, was my great-great-great-grandfather, a contemporary of Daniel Boone in these parts. No doubt Daniel wandered through southern Ohio.”

Gabe was exhausted, but he tried not to let his eyes glaze over. No wonder kids recalled taking field trips to Miss Etta’s house for her pioneer-days lectures. He barely remembered her mother, Sybil Falls, who must be up in her eighties now and had been a recluse for years. Sybil had married and outlived a man named Vetter, which was Miss Etta’s actual last name, though both she and her mother had always used the prestigious Falls name. Talk about the mayor’s wife coming from Ohio “royalty.” Etta Falls could take her on any day.

“As far as I know, that gun was Dane’s,” she said, which made him alert again. “He wouldn’t let me include it in the display we had here because it was his favorite. So, if he did kill himself, I can see why he did it with that one.”

“You’ve been very helpful, Miss Etta.”

“And I have just the book for you,” she said as he rose. “It’s on occupational stress and how to cope with it. I’ll just get it from my desk.”

“I’ll remember that when I have time to read, so—”

His cell sounded. He looked at the display. His office phone.

“Excuse me, Miss Etta. I’ve got to take this, and I thank you again. Sheriff McCord here,” he said as he walked out onto the street.

“It’s Vic, Gabe. I’ve got some good info from going with Tess to the Hear Ye sect, but I also finally got a call back from Reese Owens’s former housekeeper, Ruby Purtle.”

“I’m on my way to the office, on foot. Be right there.”

“Yeah, well, be prepared to get your gear and jump in your vehicle because this woman says Reese Owens has a cabin up on a place called Green Mountain that no one knows about, even his wife. And get this—he fired this housekeeper but gave her a big payoff and a good recommendation, she thinks, just because she heard him ordering furniture for it on the phone. Think we can find it?”

“As heavy as he is, it can’t be far off the single road up there, and I know the area. Yeah, we’ll find it!”

Gabe jogged back to the office. Tess was sitting at the front desk with Peggy. “Just teach her the basics, Peg, and we’ll get some other help in ASAP,” he said, hurrying past them. Adrenaline surged through him as he and Vic grabbed Kevlar vests, guns and clips from the small equipment room.

“I can’t help thinking of this stuff as bomb-squad gear,” Gabe said, double-checking items in his utility belt.

“This could be the break we need. Despite the fact that Reese Owens likes to fight with words, I think it’s wise we go up there like this. If he’s not there himself, he might have a guard for the place—and whatever he’s got stashed there.”

“As much as Marva’s turned into a witch, I’d love to nail Mr. Mayor,” Gabe said.

“And if not, there’s a couple of hidden, child-sized graves Tess and I spotted on the Hear Ye property.”

“You’re kidding!”

“No. Bright Star claims they’re the graves of commune babies who died and says he has permission for a graveyard there. The librarian any help?”

“Yeah, but I probably ticked her off by leaving before she could give me a book on stress.”

“Get me a copy too.”

Gabe looked up to see Tess standing in the hall outside the equipment room. “Miss Etta tried to give me that book for you before,” she said.

“Yeah, well, at lunch, maybe you and Peg can walk down to get it from her just so I’m not in her doghouse.” He and Vic walked past her. Gabe gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

Tess followed them into the front office. “Call Mike, Peg, and fill him in about our destination of Green Mountain, though we don’t know the exact location. Tell him to keep an eye on everyone gathering for the search for Sandy,” Gabe said. “I hope we’ll be back by then, but I think that cabin’s probably in a dead area for cell phones. We’ll be in touch ASAP.”

He looked back at Tess again. Wide-eyed, she nodded as if to encourage him. She’d come so far in such a short time, and his feelings for her had too. He hurried out behind Vic.





27

“I’m glad you didn’t wish them good luck,” Peggy said as Tess sat behind the reception desk with her after Gabe and Vic left. “They think saying that is bad luck.”

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