She Can Hide (She Can #4)(77)

Pulling away from the house, Ethan reached for her hand. His glove squeezed hers. “At least he’s dressed warmly now.”

“Small favors.” Frustration pounded in Abby’s temples. “Where is he?”

“He’s on foot. He can’t have gotten that far.”

“He managed to get back into town from the foster home.” Abby took off her gloves and held her hands to the heat vents. “That’s a few miles from here.”

“Long walk in that sleet last night. Another mile and he’d have been back in your neighborhood.” Ethan drove toward Main Street. “This is all residential housing. Lots of opportunities for unlocked sheds and basements.”

“But it’s not just Derek we’re missing. Krista and Joe are nowhere to be found either.” Abby flexed her fingers. “How can three people disappear in a town this small?”

“This might be a small town by population but not geographically. Law enforcement is spread thin over a good-size chunk of land. There are a lot of heavily wooded areas, abandoned buildings, hunting cabins. We have every available resource working this case.” He glanced sideways and caught her gaze for a second. “We will find him.” Determination strengthened his words—Daniel Day-Lewis, The Last of the Mohicans–style.

But Abby wasn’t so sure. “There are so many awful possibilities.”

“Don’t think about it.” Ethan pulled up to a stop sign. “We have to stay positive.”

But the worst-case scenarios were stuck in her head. “Derek’s been gone all day. What if Joe found him? What if Joe decided to cut his losses and get out of town? He could have already killed Krista and Derek.”

“He probably took Krista as insurance, a hostage in case he needs a bargaining chip. Why would he kill her?”

“If he’s already a few hundred miles away, she could be dead wood he’s tired of dragging around,” Abby said. “Also, she and Derek can both testify against him.”

“True, but we have enough physical evidence that the case wouldn’t rely completely on their testimony.”

“You think Joe is that smart?”

“Hard to say. Some criminals are pretty savvy about the law and how to avoid prosecution. Others are complete dumbasses. He left a lot of evidence behind, including fingerprints. He’s either a dumbass, or he’s cocky. He’s been able to skate off charges in the past.”

“Derek loves the comic book store.” Abby pointed ahead. “Let’s stop and see if the owner has seen him.”

“OK.” Ethan parked at a meter. They got out of the car and trudged up the sidewalk. Abby flipped a hood over her head. The sleet had given way to light rain during the day. The temperature, which had hovered just above freezing, was dropping. Tonight was going to be treacherous. Search teams were finishing up their current rounds and heading in until daybreak. There’d been no sign of Derek. The chief didn’t want rescue volunteers killed during the search.

An electronic beep announced their entry into the store.

The fortyish guy at the register was too old to wear skinny jeans. “Hey, I was just closing.”

“We won’t be more than a minute,” Abby said. She dug out the snapshot of Derek and showed it to the clerk. “Have you seen him?”

“Yeah, I know that kid.” The overhead light winked on his tongue stud. Ew. “He comes in here once in a while.”

“When was the last time you saw him?” Ethan asked.

The clerk shrugged. “Dunno. Last week maybe.”

“Thanks.” Ethan handed him a card. “Call me if you see him.”

The clerk’s eyes widened. “Is he in trouble?”

“No,” Abby said. “He’s missing.”

“Shit. That sucks.” The clerk shoved Ethan’s card in his front pocket. “I’ll call you if I see him.”

“Thanks.” Abby followed Ethan outside. Sleet pelted her face. “Now what?”

Ethan squinted and hunched his shoulders against the wind. “Now we go home.”

“I want to drive through my neighborhood one more time.” Pain zinged through Abby’s frozen toes with every step.

“OK.” Ethan took her elbow and steered her toward his truck. “Ronnie said she can stay at my place all night if we need her.”

Abby’s house was close to the center of town. Even at a crawl, the drive didn’t take long. Ethan turned down her street. The cloud cover was thick enough to bring an early twilight.

Ethan drove around the surrounding blocks. There was no sign of Derek, or anyone else. He parked in her driveway. “Do you want to grab anything from your house?”

Abby opened the car door. “I want to check the shed out back.”

“You think he might be in there?”

“Probably not, but I have to check. As you said, Mr. Hanes’s house is only about a mile from here.” She got out and trudged around the house. Tamping down the illogical grain of hope budding inside her, she opened the gate and walked across the yard toward the big wooden shed that took up the rear corner of her property. She opened the door. Her hope deflated as she wrestled the door from the wind. It was empty. She turned back toward the house.

“Wait.” Ethan called her back with a low voice. “Look at the ground but don’t react.”