Page 131 of The Coppersmith Farmhouse (Jamison Valley 1)
I shut off the stove and grabbed the flashlight from the cabinet on top of the fridge before running outside.
I got to the lawn and saw two sets of tracks, one leading to the door and the other leading away. Both going along the same path, past the side of the house and through the backyard.
Pulling out my phone, I called dispatch. I needed help. I needed my deputies to help me find my fiancée.
An hour after I’d made the call to dispatch, the farmhouse was crawling with people.
All of my deputies had come, each abandoning their Friday evening plans to come to my aid. Sam was going through the house, looking for anything I might have missed on my quick walk-through. Bryant was with Rowen, talking to her again to see what else she could remember. And the rest of my deputies were making calls around town, asking if anyone had seen Georgia.
Nick had showed up early on, having heard the call come through dispatch at the fire station. On his way, he’d called Beau and Silas, who’d arrived not long after he had.
The four of us set out to follow the tracks in the snow, hoping it would lead us to a clue as to where Georgia had been taken or who had taken her.
As we hunted for clues, I let Beau take the lead. He was the best tracker in this part of the state and was often called out of Prescott to assist other Search and Rescue teams when they were having trouble finding a lost hiker or climber.
We followed the tracks through the snow-covered lawn and into the grove of trees beyond the backyard. We’d just hit the tree line when Silas called out. Nick and I bolted to his side while Beau kept tracking.
“You find something?” I asked, running to his side.
“No. But look at this area. Someone’s been back here for a while, not just today. This whole area’s been walked on multiple times. The patch over there is iced over. A guy probably sat there a couple days ago during the melt. It froze back over when the temp dropped yesterday.”
Beau ran toward us after he finished his search.
“Tracks go past the trees to a clearing. There’s tire tracks all over. Someone drove back in there a lot and parked behind that rise so you wouldn’t see the vehicle from the house,” he said.
“Then they must have walked over here and hid out,” Nick said. “Watched the house from this distance. With any decent set of specs, they could see in through all the back windows. They probably watched her at the kitchen sink.”
“Fuck me,” I muttered. “Who would stake out the house? And why take Georgia?” The only person I could think who would do that had died before Christmas. And even Wes wouldn’t have crossed that line. “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!”
I was losing it. My stomach was so tight I almost doubled over.
Beau’s phone rang and he stepped away from our circle.
“Anyone made any threats to you lately?” Nick asked.
I racked my brain. “Wes. The only other one that comes to mind was that kid who smashed the pumpkins on the porch at Halloween. Said a few things to Georgia. But he was just a punk kid. Rich little fucker who’s been spoiled rotten.”
“Better check him out. What’s his name? I’ll run back, have Sam go talk to him,” Silas said.
“Scott Pierce, Jr.,” I said. “Lives up the canyon in that new development area. Biggest house on the hill. He’s an entitled prick but he couldn’t have done this himself.”
“Got it,” Silas said and turned to leave.
“Silas?” I called. “Go with Sam. Those parents give you any grief, tell them you’re a deputy. Press them hard. They’ll want to bring in their fucking lawyer but don’t let them. Get to that kid. If he knows something, make him talk. I’ll cover your back if it goes south.”
If the Pierce kid knew anything, Silas would get it out of him. Sam was a good interrogator but Silas would scare the living piss out of that kid until he coughed up whatever it was he had.
“Maisy’s been taken too,” Beau called to Nick and me.
“What the fuck?” Nick said at the same time I cursed.
“Mom went by to see her,” Beau said, “find out if she was feeling okay. Her place was trashed. Looks like she tried to fight them off. Shit was all over the floor. The front door was wide open. Mom called me right after she hung up with dispatch.”
I couldn’t believe this was happening. Who the fuck would take Georgia and Maisy? I could see someone taking Georgia if they were trying to get to me. But Maisy? It didn’t add up.
“I need to get back to Roe,” I said. “Beau, you and Nick take Bryant to Maisy’s place. See what you can find. It’s gotta be the same people. There’s no way two nurses get taken from their homes in the same night by different people.”
“You got it, Brick,” Nick said.
