Page 38 of Dark Angel
“We didn’t get out there until they’d found Brooklyn Daniels in the forest.” Styles indicated with his chin toward Ryder. “Cash was out hunting for days for the other girl, but we didn’t find a trace of her.”
“So, I hear.” Dawson rubbed his chin. “What about the other two who went missing from Serenity?”
“We’re still looking.” Ryder stretched out his legs and crossed his ankles. “How did you hear about them?”
“People talk and ask me questions as I move around.” Dawson sighed. “It just so happened I was in Serenity at the diner when the sheriff came in and asked people to join the search. I couldn’t help out because I had a truckload of deliveries.” He looked at Ryder. “It seems strange to me that two little girls in each town go missing around the same time and yet from what I hear no one has seen any strangers in town.”
“The problem is we have miners working in this entire region from all over.” Styles sipped his brew. “Many of them work here because they’re living off the grid. We figure if anyone is involved in the girls’ disappearance, it’s probably one of them. Although we don’t have any leads pointing to them at the moment.”
“Maybe, maybe.” Dawson pursed his lips as if thinking and then lifted his gaze to Styles. “He’d have to be near invisible to move through two towns without being noticed.” He cleared his throat and looked at Ryder. “You found one girl murdered, right? So, what did he do with the other one?”
“Murder hasn’t been established yet, Mr. Dawson.” Ryder shrugged. “It’s just scuttlebutt.”
Intrigued by his willingness to talk, Beth turned in her seat to look at the trio. Dawson was relaxed and seemingly in control of the conversation. She had witnessed this type of behavior before in a guilty suspect. He was feeding tidbits to Styles to gain inside information on the case. When Styles looked at her, she gave him a nod. Hoping that he would leak the details of the second girl being found.
“Sheriff Addams has located one of the missing girls from Serenity.” Styles drained his cup and placed it on the desk.
“Yeah, I heard about that one. They’re saying it was a bear attack, but you don’t believe that, do you?” Dawson unbuttoned his jacket in a relaxed manner. “I figure it’s too much of a coincidence for little girls to go missing from two different towns and then one of each is found dead and the others are still missing.”
“Maybe you should be a detective, Mr. Dawson. We haven’t ruled out a bear yet.” Styles smiled. “It’s not safe for anyone to be in the forest alone at this time of the year, especially young kids. We’ve no evidence to say they were murdered or if both girls were taken by a bear. We’re awaiting on the autopsy results. It wouldn’t be unreasonable to imagine that the other girls were dragged off to a cave somewhere. As you say, no one has seen any strangers in the area.”
“You could be right.” Dawson placed his cup on the desk.
Unable to resist, asking a few questions, Beth stood and walked over to Styles’ desk and leaned casually against the filing cabinet. “So, you travel all over? I’ve just arrived in Rattlesnake Creek and plan to visit a few of the local towns. Have you ever been to Spring Grove?”
“Yeah, that’s one of my regular routes.” Dawson looked her over from top to bottom and smiled. “It’s a quiet little town until the miners come in on the weekend. It has three saloons and they’re bursting at the seams all weekend. The music is loud and the beer is flowing.”
Recognizing the look in his eyes as his way of trying to embarrass her, Beth laughed and noticed his expression change to annoyance. She lifted her chin. “That sounds like my kind of town.”
“Well, I’d better be heading home. My day isn’t over yet. I have to download my schedule for tomorrow.” Dawson pushed to his feet. “Thanks for the coffee.”
Beth had a few more questions for him. “I’m really interested in how you manage to run a courier service so efficiently between four different towns. You must have very sophisticated computer software. Styles found it so easy to book a delivery.”
“Thanks.” Dawson’s brow furrowed. “Not so sophisticated. People call me on my cell if something is urgent. The program is just an interactive calendar. They can see what days I’m delivering where and book it in a time when I’m not busy. Payment is handled online.”
Nodding as if interested, Beth gave him a confused stare. “Oh, that’s so complicated. I’m terrible when it comes to technology. I have problems tracing people on the databases.”
“It’s not so difficult for me, but then I do most things online.” Dawson smiled. “It’s a sign of the times, I guess.” He looked at Styles. “Good talking to you.”
“Good talking to you too.” Styles stood and walked him out to the elevator. When he returned, he looked at Beth. “What did you get from him?”
“I’m not convinced he’s the Pied Piper.” She shrugged. “A male chauvinist maybe. Did you see the way he looked at me? One thing’s for sure, I’ll be checking out his webpage and finding out if he’s the designer. If he is, he might be hiding something. I’m convinced the Pied Piper is gaining access to these girls via an online game.”
“An online game?” Ryder scratched his cheek and stared at her. “How?”
Glad to see Ryder relax at last, she shrugged. “It’s a typical hunting ground for pedophiles. They join a forum as a kid to gain a kid’s trust and then lure them away from safety.” She stepped away from the filing cabinet and pushed both hands through her hair. “I’m going to speak to the kids at the Spring Grove grade school about online games in the morning. I’m convinced that town is part of his comfort zone and it has to be his next target.”
“So do we warn the parents to keep their kids at home?” Ryder rubbed the back of his neck. “Spring Grove is under my jurisdiction.”
“No, not yet. We don’t want to spook him.” Styles sat down at his desk. “We have no proof he’ll hit Spring Grove. It’s just a hunch.”
“A hunch, huh.” Ryder’s mouth formed a thin line as he moved his gaze from Styles to Beth and back. “If you’re right and I don’t do anything, this guy is going to kill again. I can’t allow that to happen.”
Beth took in the set of his shoulders. What part of “don’t spook him” didn’t he understand? One thing she had in spades was diplomacy. She guessed it came with being a psychopath. “Cash, this is why we are here. I have personally handled many cases with serial killers. You need to trust that we know what to do. It is better that you stand down until we need you. Like Dax said, if we spook him, we’ve lost the opportunity to catch him in the act.” She shrugged. “Then he’ll be out there killing more kids. We have a small window of opportunity here, and if you go in warning people, he’ll know we’re onto him. You do understand, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I guess so, but the moment you pin him down I want to be there.” Ryder grimaced. “I want to look that murdering SOB right in the eye.”
THIRTY-NINE
