idea why he was here.”
Charlie shrugged. “Probably wanted somebody tailed. That stuff is not on my radar.”
Wyrick already knew that.
A few minutes later, the door to the outer office opened again, but this time it was the Dawson family, and it was a testament to their panic that they had absolutely no reaction to Wyrick’s appearance when she ushered them into his office.
“Mr. and Mrs. Dawson, this is Charlie Dodge.”
Charlie stood. “Good morning,” he said, and seated Mrs. Dawson, while her husband took the chair beside her.
“Would either of you care for coffee?” Wyrick asked.
They shook their heads.
Charlie glanced at Wyrick.
“Would you please join us?”
She went back to get her iPad to take notes, and as soon as she was seated, Charlie began.
“Mr. and Mrs. Dawson, I’ve read the highlights from the email you sent. Is there anything else you want to add?”
“We’re Baxter and Macie, please,” Baxter Dawson said, but it was Macie who kept talking.
“We moved here from California this past summer. Tony is our only child. I didn’t want him to go on that trip because it was so far away and in such rough terrain,” she said, and then started crying. “But they had this long break from school because of teacher evaluations or something, and then the weekend to boot, and I gave in. They left Dallas last Thursday before daybreak. They hiked and camped Thursday night. Tony went missing Friday morning. Today is Monday, and I don’t know where my son is. I don’t know if he’s even alive. I can’t bear it. It’s the not knowing that’s the worst.”
Baxter reached for her hand and picked up the story. “When the park rangers first began searching, we were confident that he’d be found. After the boys mentioned the argument the night before, and Tony being gone when they woke up, it seemed plausible.”
“When the argument occurred, were they drinking?” Charlie asked.
Baxter sighed. “The boys said they’d had a couple of beers apiece, but there’s no way to know because when they were first questioned, they’d told the park ranger that they had discarded their trash back at the lodge when they hiked back down. Then they said they had expected Tony’s truck to be gone. But when it was still in the parking lot and he was nowhere on-site, they realized he could still be up in the mountains. Maybe lost. That’s when they went straight to the authorities. Then the authorities notified us about the search. We were at the lodge the whole time, waiting for word.”
“Why did they stop the search at only two days?” Charlie asked.
“I don’t know, but when we were asked if there was trouble at home, like they thought he would just decide to disappear like this on his own, we knew the heart had gone out of the search.”
“I’m the one who wanted to hire a private investigator,” Macie said. “I asked around about people to hire, and it appears your reputation for finding missing children is well-known here. And if there is any chance of finding Tony, they said you could do it.”
Charlie took a breath. This was going to be hard for them to hear, but it had to be said.
“Are you accepting of the fact that I might not find him alive?”
Baxter paled, but it was Macie whose chin went up.
“Yes. I’ve faced that possibility, but we have to know. I want my baby back, one way or the other. I gave him life, and if he’s already in God’s arms again, I want to be the one to lay him to rest.”
Baxter moaned. “Jesus, Macie.”
“Understood,” Charlie said. “I will need the addresses of his two hiking partners. I also have one more question. Was Tony an experienced backpacker, and does he have any survival skills?”
“He grew up in Bakersfield, California, and was used to hiking in the surrounding areas,” Baxter said. “I used to go with him until he got older. Then he went with friends. But this trip was a long way from Dallas, and the overnight stay was a new experience.”
“I also have a question about the boys being surprised the truck was still in the parking lot. Did they think he would have driven off and left them on their own that far away from home?” Wyrick asked.
“Oh... Tony drove down by himself,” Baxter said.
Charlie frowned. “Wait...what? Three boys are going backpacking together...this far away from home...and they don’t all go down together?”
“See? I’m not the only one who thinks