Page 14 of Midnight Creed

10

Santa Rosa County, Florida

“So, this is as far as the scent goes?” Norwich asked when she took Creed aside. She left Deputy Greer to bag Caleb’s jacket. The other two men watched and waited. Gunner had fallen asleep in the grass, and Bolo seemed fascinated by her snoring.

“Yes,” Creed finally answered.

“That’s a bit odd, isn’t it?”

Creed and his handler, Jason Seaver, had worked scent dogs for enough cases with Sheriff Norwich that she knew how things worked.

“It is. I don’t have an answer.”

She glanced back at Bolo. Now he was dozing in a patch of sunlight alongside Gunner.

“Could the boy have gone back up the way he came into the woods?”

“That’s a possibility. When did your eyewitness say this happened?”

“The boy’s been gone two nights. An anonymous caller claimed to see him late last night.”

“Doesn’t make sense he’d leave his jacket.”

“There is something else.” She hesitated. “I haven’t mentioned this, because I know you prefer to know less about the victim.”

“It makes it easier. If I make assumptions, I might mislead my dog.”

“Sure, sure. I understand. And I respect that. But I could use a fresh perspective on where we go from here.”

Creed nodded. “Okay.”

“This boy’s home life is not great. Over the past year, my deputies have been called to the family’s house twice. Once was a domestic dispute with his mother and father. Another was between Caleb and his father. There are two younger children. I’ve been told that Caleb has run away before. Not officially, but I can’t help wondering if there have been other times.”

“Who told you he’s run away before?”

“The father. The mother didn’t deny it.”

“What do they say this time?”

“They disagree. Quite a bit, actually. Mrs. Monroe claims Caleb didn’t come home and hasn’t answered her phone calls or texts. She said that’s very unusual, and she’s worried he might be hurt and unable to answer. Mr. Monroe says the boy’s been hanging around some bad influencers. Got a tattoo. Won’t listen anymore. Gets angry about not getting his way. Claims he stomped off to cool off.”

“Did he give you any names of the bad influencers?”

“Couldn’t come up with a single one.”

“Can a fifteen-year-old get a tattoo without a parent’s consent?”

“No, but that doesn’t stop them.”

“What was the tattoo?”

She pursed her lips to think. Realized she didn’t know and said, “That’s a good question. I’ll make sure it gets added to the description. One thing I will say, they both were a little odd when I asked for a piece of Caleb’s clothing. I swear the mother went white as a ghost. Almost like she believed that somehow meant we were looking for a dead body. Shortly after that, we got the tip about someone seeing Caleb. I’m sure she was relieved to hear that.”

“You think he ran away?”

“I think it’s a strong possibility.”

“We could do a fresh search and start from the family’s house.”