Page 50 of Hell Hath No Fury

Matthias reached in his pocket and pulled out his badge wallet. “As a matter of fact…”

The young gangster apparently decided retrieving his “piece” wasn’t so important. He wheeled and took off after his buddies without looking back.

Matthias sighed, pocketed his badge, and pulled out his phone.

* * *

Emma rubbed her forehead, attempting to massage away the pain. Staring at her computer screen only served to exacerbate the ache. Her search for trucking companies was leading her nowhere. While she’d found lists with photos of their rigs, none of the logos resembled what she’d seen earlier.

She stood, moved to the hotel room’s window, and stared out at what had once been a thriving shopping area. At least efforts were being made to keep businesses open, even if those businesses changed over time. A former fast-food restaurant had been replaced by a tire and lube shop. Another chain restaurant was now a booming Mexican cantina. It might not be the same as when she’d grown up, but it was far from a ghost town.

The part she missed most, though, was visiting those places with Nell.

Where had Nell gone? Where was she now?

Nightmarish images flooded Emma’s brain in answer to her unspoken question. She pictured her younger sister washing down pills with alcohol, passing out in a dank alley. Dying. Alone.

Emma shook her head—a move that cleared the mental picture but amped up the pain level. She swiped away tears and returned to her laptop.

After a half dozen more failed searches of trucking companies, she clicked on a link and gasped at the picture that filled the screen. A red tractor unit. Not faded like the one from this morning, but the logo was a match. She scrolled down, passing information about driver opportunities and corporate careers, until she reached the bottom of the page and a “contact us” link. She feared the only way to reach them would be by email. Instead, three addresses with phone numbers popped up. One was for sales. Another was for recruiting. The third listed the company’s corporate office in Allegheny County.

Emma picked up her phone and keyed in the number. A recording answered with menu options. Without listening to them all, she hit zero and was relieved when the robo-voice asked her to hold. After a minute of tinny elevator music, a perky-sounding woman came on the line.

“This is Diane. How may I help you today?”

“My name is Emma Anderson, and I’m trying to locate my younger sister who ran away this morning. I saw her getting into a truck with your company’s logo on the door and was hoping you might be able to put me in touch with the driver.”

There was a long pause on the other end. When Diane again spoke, her voice was no longer perky. Instead, it carried a razor edge. “Our company has a strong policy against drivers picking up hitchhikers.”

“I don’t want to get anyone in trouble, but the fact is, it happened. All I want is to know where my sister went.”

The pause was shorter this time. “Where did you see her get in the truck?”

Emma gave the road’s and the housing development’s names.

“What time was this?”

“Between ten thirty and eleven.”

The rat-a-tat of computer keys filtered through the phone. “That’s Jim’s route,” Diane said softly, as if talking to herself.

“Jim who?”

“Can you give me your number? We also have a company policy forbidding us to give out our drivers’ information, but I’ll get in touch with him and have him call you back. Is that acceptable?”

If that’s my only option, Emma thought. To Diane, she said, “Yes,” and rattled off her cell number.

“Got it.” After a beat, Diane added, “I have a younger sister who’s run away a few times, too, so I understand. Jim—the driver—is a good guy and a girl dad. If he broke the rules and picked her up, it’s because he was worried about her. She’ll be safe with him.”

Emma thanked her and ended the call.

She’ll be safe with him.

Maybe Jim wouldn’t harm her, but Nell wasn’t safe anywhere with anyone in her current state of mind.

ChapterFifteen

Asharp rap on the window of Matthias’s Jeep drew his attention from his phone. He looked up to see Troopers Fergusson and Lukan and stepped out.