Page 17 of Wild Sentinel

This was a nice neighborhood. Peaceful. Quiet. A gentle breeze rustled the trees.

Elizabeth’s voice crackled through the speaker in the video doorbell. “Can I help you?”

I flashed my badge to the lens, not that it meant anything in this county. “Sheriff’s deputies,” I said. “We’re investigating Michelle’s disappearance. We just have a few questions.”

“I’ll be right there,” she replied in an eager voice.

A moment later, she was at the door and pulled it open. Her curious eyes surveyed us. “You don’t look like any of Dusty’s boys.”

I smiled. “We’re out of state, but we noticed similarities to a case we’re working back home. We’re just trying to put all the pieces together.”

Elizabeth was an attractive woman in her mid-50s with wavy, sandy-blonde hair that hung to her shoulders. She had a slim figure, a narrow face, and tawny eyes. The resemblance to her daughter Michelle was obvious.

Elizabeth invited us in.

We stepped into the foyer, and she closed the door behind us. She led us into the living room and offered us a seat on the sofa. The home was light and airy with bleached hardwoods and beige walls. Large windows offered a view of the patio and the mountains beyond.

"Can I get you anything to drink?" she asked.

"No, thank you," I replied.

"To be honest, Sheriff Rollins doesn't seem like he’s doing much. He came out and asked me some questions. I talked to him a few times since, but haven't heard much lately."

"Tell me about the day Michelle went missing,” I said.

10

"She worked a little late that day,” Elizabeth said. “Came home. We had dinner. She went out for a run about 9:30 PM." Elizabeth frowned. "I didn't think twice about it. This area is very safe. She usually sticks to the neighborhood. Sometimes she'd run the trails. I doubt she would have at that time of night. I don’t think she ran along the highway. That's a little riskier, especially at night. You never know who's passing through.”

"According to her cell phone records, she was abducted on Trinity Street, near Ridgeway," I said.

Elizabeth’s eyes rounded. "That's just around the corner. Where did you get that information?"

"We tracked her phone records.”

"That's more than Sheriff Rollins has done.”

"We have resources he might not have access to. Have you spoken with the FBI?"

"They came out and asked a few questions. Sheriff Rollins called them in to assist. I kept calling Dusty, but he kept telling me the same thing. I figured he was getting annoyed with me. But I don't really care how annoyed he gets. I want my daughter back.”

"We’ll do everything we can," I said.

"I know it's not your responsibility. But I appreciate any assistance you’re willing to offer."

“Do you know if she wore headphones when she jogged?”

“Yes, I think so. Why?”

“Less situational awareness.”

Elizabeth frowned.

"How long had Michelle been living in Stillwater?" I asked.

"We've been here a little over a year now. We were both living in Los Angeles when she got the job offer. The money was good, and things had changed out there. She wanted to get out of LA. I didn't want to be that far away from my daughter, so she brought me with her."

Elizabeth's eyes misted. She grabbed a tissue from the coffee table and blotted them dry.