and Liam is a brilliant investigator. I’ve worked with him before.” Maybe Liam didn’t want the sheriff to know about their shared past, but it was too late.
Sheriff Taggart pinned his gaze on her. “You’re positive your brother isn’t responsible for her disappearance?”
Anger burned her cheeks. She kept her words steady. “I’m 100 percent sure.”
“No one can be that sure.” He tucked his chin, his eyes flooding with compassion. “Even if it’s someone you think you know and trust. Even if it’s a loved one.”
Okay. Well. Sheriff Taggart spoke like a man who’d experienced betrayal.
“As a journalist,” he said, “you already know that more often than not, husbands are responsible. Or that someone she knew took her.”
Rae could work with that. “Exactly. That’s why I was betting on the previous stalker. I thought Simon had found her and abducted her, but then I learned he’s dead. Now, see, it could be the ex-stalker’s brother exacting revenge after he learned of his brother’s death and put two and two together.”
“Even if everything you said is true, we can’t charge anyone. We can’t arrest anyone without evidence.”
“The only evidence we care about is Zoey, Sheriff.” Desperation edged her voice.
“I don’t advise you get into the middle of an investigation and muddy the waters, but right now I don’t have an actual investigation going. Not enough facts to say that Zoey is here. But this is what I will do. I’ll call Denver PD and connect with their investigator. Find out what I can. Then I’ll go to Enzo Astor’s house with a deputy and tell him what we’ve learned. We’ll see if we can get an invitation inside, or at the very least look around outside.”
“If Zoey is being kept there, though, we could tip them off. She could get hurt. So please be careful.”
“True enough, but the way I see it, it’s better to get a reaction than to leave things as they are.” The sheriff swiped his hand over his tired face. “I don’t have to tell you that evidence is growing colder by the hour. The chances of finding her alive are growing slimmer.”
“No. You don’t have to tell me.” I know. God, I know that, please. Rae pushed back the nausea.
Liam rose as the sheriff did, and they shook hands. They were familiar with each other. Not quite close friends, but their natural camaraderie said there was trust between them.
She followed Liam out of the county offices and climbed into his truck.
“What’s the matter?” he asked.
“The clock is ticking and we’re getting nowhere. That’s because I only know how to get information and write stories.”
“What are you talking about? Remember when I said you would make a great private investigator? Well, you are making a great private investigator. Using your skills to find your sister-in-law. What should we do next?”
She angled to look at him. “Are you trying to mentor me? Or just asking because I’ve hired you and I’m the lead on this?”
He shrugged. “Take your pick.”
His eyes held hers as if he wouldn’t let go. As if he peered inside her soul, then his dimples emerged again. Warm sensations skated across her heart. Don’t get attached. When this is over, Liam and I will go back to being less than comfortable with each other. I’ll leave this valley and Liam McKade far behind.
He shuttered away whatever emotions had surfaced in his eyes, then started the truck.
Rae wanted to talk to Samara Davidson again, but she had to follow this lead through. “We need to be at that house after the sheriff makes contact. We’re going to stake it out to find out where else Astor’s been going besides the resort.”
“Don’t forget, you have a masked man after you,” Liam said.
“And that’s why I have you, Liam, to keep me safe from the monsters and bad guys.”
“Let’s be sure to keep a safe distance from whatever monster emerges after the sheriff’s visit. That’s bound to set off Astor’s alarms—that is, if he has something to hide.” Liam glanced her way. “And you and I are going to be waiting for what he does next.”
“Then if nothing comes of that, I’m going to call him on his private number and arrange an interview.”
Rae ignored the warning in Liam’s eyes. Astor could be behind Rae’s stolen laptop. With the information he found on it, he could learn what she knew about Zoey. He could have hired the masked man to scare her or injure her or force her to