Page 98 of Fallen Creed

The last phone call she made went unanswered, and Maggie couldn’t help wondering if Nora Spencer was simply ignoring her.

She climbed into the backseat of Jason’s Jeep and filled them in on everything she had learned. She ended by saying, “Nora’s not answering her phone.”

“Tell me again who Nora is?” Jason asked.

“Nora Spencer.” Maggie turned to greet the wagging dogs. Though they were in their crates, she pressed her hand against the soft mesh, her fingers meeting their wet noses.

“Nora is the county sheriff’s wife. She’s the one who asked Ryder to find the young woman who was staying with them.”

“Libby Holmes,” Brodie said. “But her real name is Emma.”

“Right. Nora and I clashed a bit when we met. I didn’t like the way she convinced Ryder to search for Libby. She lied about some things. I guess I don’t trust her, and she knows that.”

Maggie felt Brodie’s eyes on her now, watching, waiting, expecting more. If something horrible had happened to Ryder, his sister was going to find out soon enough.

“It’s not just that Libby Holmes changed her name,” Maggie said. “She’s a person of interest in a murder in Virginia from last February. Pieces of a body were found in a ditch not far from here. It hasn’t been confirmed, but we think it’s someone who worked with Libby. I don’t have this figured out, but one thing I know for sure, Libby Holmes is connected to her co-worker’s murder.”

“You think she helped?” Brodie asked.

“I honestly don’t know. It’s possible that the three people who took Kristen Darrow meant to take Libby. They look alike. Darrow was working Libby’s shift. She was even wearing Libby’s name tag. Her family didn’t report her missing until the morning before we started finding pieces of her.”

“So that could have been why Libby took off.” Jason said.

“She didn’t take her car. The Spencers’ property is out in the middle of nowhere. It’s not like anyone would just run away on foot. Ryder thought Grace would simply take him to the road or the barn, where someone picked her up or coerced her into a vehicle.”

“But that wasn’t the case,” Brodie said. “Ryder and Grace found a longer trail of scent.”

“Yes, but I’m not sure that trail didn’t lead to the killers.”

Brodie was watching her, then finally said, “That’s what you couldn’t tell us last night.”

Maggie was too exhausted to explain. It was a combination of wanting to protect Brodie and not divulge evidence. Instead, she simply nodded. Then she said, “Jason, do we need to begin where Ryder and Grace did, or can we start in the middle?”

“How do you know where the middle is?”

“Hannah mentioned Ryder was looking for an old bridge to get across the river. Sheriff Spencer pointed out an old irrigation road that would take us close to where that is. It’s also not far from where we found his phone.”

“Sure. We can start there. Worse case scenario, Scout doesn’t pick up a scent and we go back to where they started. Did you bring something for Scout?”

Maggie didn’t want to admit that she had worn Ryder’s shirt for a couple of days. The dog might smell her scent more than Ryder’s.

“I brought a T-shirt and the socks he wore the first day,” she told him as she lifted the plastic bag with the two items. “Will that work?”

She saw Jason and Brodie exchange a look before Jason said, “Let’s hope so.”

“I remembered Grace’s sleeping blanket, too.”

“Why would we need something from Grace?” Brodie asked, but she was looking at Jason, not Maggie.

“In case they got separated,” he said and left it at that, busying himself now with getting the Jeep in motion and avoiding Brodie’s eyes that still hadn’t left him.

Despite their earlier exchange, Maggie realized Jason was trying to protect Brodie, too. Last night, when he asked Maggie for the items, he admitted that Ryder and Grace might no longer be together. It was a hard admission, part of it getting stuck in his throat. Maggie had been grateful it was over the phone and not in person, but it had left tears welling in her eyes.

She hated this. It was time to go find them.

—77—

Ruben had already cleaned out their vehicle, wiping down surfaces and eliminating the smallest pieces of trash that might lead to their identity. He’d gotten good at it. Kept individually wrapped Clorox and alcohol wipes in his pockets just for this.