Page 83 of Real Good Love
She laughs. “If you’d said that to me six months ago, I would’ve run. But now, I’m pretty okay with it.”
My phone rings before I can reply.Julianne.
“Hello?”
When no one answers on the other end, I hitSPEAKER.
“Hello?”
“Logan?”
“Yeah.”
“I think we’re getting answers today. Where are you?”
Banner’s gaze clashes with mine.
“Fifteen minutes outside of town. What the hell are you talking about?”
“I’m following Memphis Lockwood down County Road 45. She just left Home Cookin’ like a bat out of hell while I was getting coffee, so I did too.”
“Julianne, back off. Call Cody. Let him handle it.”
“Can’t. He’s trying to find Chief Timmons. He’s missing.”
“What the fuck?”
“That hypocrite Timmons hasn’t missed a Sunday service in twelve years since he came to town, but he missed today.”
“He could be sick. Hung over. Whatever. That doesn’t mean shit.”
“At Home Cookin’, they said no one has seen him since last night. Cody couldn’t reach him, and he’s not at home.”
“Where are you exactly?”
“About to cross Orchard Road.”
“Toward the Harris property?” I ask, picturing where she is.
“And Nicole’s place.”
“It ain’t her.”
“I guess we’ll find out. Shit, the reporter just turned off onto the Harrises’ land. Gotta go. Get here.”
When she hangs up, Banner looks at me. “You have to explain.”
“The Harrises have a compound out on County Road 45. Main house, guest house, and a couple cabins. Emmy used to live in the guest house before she built her own place on the other side of the property. Nicole rents one of the cabins from them cheap so she can save to buy the bowling alley.”
“So that means ... what?”
I shake my head. “I don’t fucking know.”
I haul ass there, and I’m probably ten minutes behind Julianne and the reporter when I pull onto the property. The main drive splits in two directions, right to the main house and guest house, and left to the cabins.
Even though I hate that my gut tells me to go left, I do it anyway.
When I see two cars pulled off the side of the road, I feel like I swallowed a rock. “Fuck. It can’t be Nicole. No fucking way.”
