Page 25 of Wild Sentinel

I frowned and shook my head. "Temp tags that were unreadable. They'd covered some of the letters with mud. Probably a fake tag anyway.”

He took a deep breath. "You boys are here less than 24 hours, and someone has already tried to kill you. Makes me think you're on to something."

"Me too," I said, staring at him with suspicious eyes. "Still think Michelle ran off with some guy?”

"I believe at this point I could be convinced otherwise." He didn’t like being proven wrong. "I'll call for a wrecker. You boys can ride with me back to town.”

It wasn't long before a tow truck showed up and used a wench to pull the town car back to the highway. It was totaled.

After the wreckage was secured to the flatbed, we climbed into the back of the sheriff’s squad car. Marcus sat up front. Dusty cranked up the engine, dropped the car into gear, then drove back toward the station.

I didn’t trust anybody at this point, and I really didn't like being in the back of the sheriff’s patrol car.

15

We filled out a police report at the station. Afterward, Dusty asked us, "How long do you boys plan on being in town?”

"I think we've pretty much worn out our welcome,” I said. “But we might come back.”

"Tell you what, I'll keep you in the loop on this. I’ll try to find out who attacked you on the highway, and you’ll keep me in the loop if you piece together these crimes.”

"Sounds like a deal," I said.

We shook hands, but I didn't trust Dusty.

He offered us a ride back to the motel, which we accepted. Marcus had his girlfriend pick him up at the station. We thanked him and said our goodbyes. I’m sure Isabella would take care of him.

We hopped in with the sheriff, and he drove us back to the motel. This time I rode up front with JD in back.

Nobody said anything on the short trip.

Dusty pulled into the parking lot and drove up to the main entrance. He put the vehicle in park, then looked at me. "You two might want to think twice about spending any more time in this town than you have to. I'm not telling you to get out of town. But you'd be foolish to think whoever tried to kill you wouldn't try again.”

I couldn't quite tell if that was friendly advice or a warning. "Good point. We’ll be out of here first thing in the morning, unless I can arrange something sooner.”

"Best of luck to you both," he said.

We shook hands again and stepped out of the vehicle. Dusty drove away, and we watched him go. It wouldn’t be hard for him to figure out what room we were staying in, but we both waited till he was out of view before walking back to our luxurious suite.

I shared a look with JD. He was thinking the same thing I was.

Back in the room, the AC blasted cold.

I wasn’t one to back down from a fight, but sometimes you’ve got to pick your battles. We needed to get to LA. I had a feeling we’d find more answers there.

I called Isabella, and she answered after a few rings.

"Slight problem," I said, then filled her in on the details.

"I’d say you're getting close."

"My thoughts exactly, but we’re not going to get anywhere here. Think you can get a midnight charter out of here?”

"Let me see how soon I can get an aircraft to you. Might be a couple of hours.”

I looked at my watch. It was fast approaching midnight. “First thing in the morning is fine.”

"That gives me a little more time to coordinate something. Stay safe in the meantime and call me if you need anything.”