“Hello, Virgil. I have you on speakerphone. Dad and Hawk are with me.”
“Good.” Virgil’s voice sounded confident. “I’m happy to report that we found Jay’s truck.”
“Where?”
“Parked in the woods. About a half mile north of Fox Trail Road and Summit. I just got here. My investigators are going over it, looking for clues—fingerprints, DNA evidence, and anything to confirm that Abby was riding in the bed of the truck. There doesn’t appear to be any sign of a struggle.”
Kate exhaled. “Thank God.” She lifted her gaze and looked squarely into Hawk’s eyes, wondering how that cliché had slipped out.
“You might oughta thank the sheriff. He’s doing all the work.” Hawk started for the front door. “I’m going up there.”
“Virgil, excuse me a moment …” Kate covered the receiver with her hand. “Hawk, do you really think that’s a good idea?”
“I want to see what they’re doing, Mama. That way I can call you with updates.”
“Son, Virgil’s already doing that. He’s got things under control.”
Hawk rolled his eyes. “Sorry if I don’t trust the authorities to get this right. They aren’t exactly batting a thousand. I just want to keep an eye on things. I’ll stay out of their way. They won’t even know I’m there.”
Kate studied her firstborn. How could she not admire his tenacity? Or respect the fact that he was a grown man, capable of making his own decisions? “All right then.”
“Don’t worry, Mama. We’re gonna find Abby. She’s coming home—healthy and happy—and with her head in the clouds, same as always.” Hawk opened the front door and left.
Kate locked gazes with her father, who hadn’t said a word. He was probably silently praying.
“Sorry for the interruption, Virgil,” Kate said. “What do we do now?”
“Sit tight and let my people and Chief Mitchell’s people do their job. I’ve sent a deputy to your house to pick up an article of Abby’s clothing. We’re bringing in the hounds. If Abby was in the back of Jay’s truck, the dogs should be able to track her.”
Virgil stood leaning on his squad car next to Foggy Ridge Police Chief Reggie Mitchell, watching the first team of investigators search Jay’s truck. The second team was combing the nearby woods. A third team, consisting of his deputies and Reggie’s police officers, were gathered and waiting for the bloodhounds to arrive. Kevin Mann had already found a muddy trail and cast three distinct sets of footprints. But the trail stopped at a creek, and he couldn’t tell where it picked up on the other side. They needed the bloodhounds for that.
“I appreciate your help with this,” Virgil said.
“Glad to lend support.” Reggie’s dark skin glistened with perspiration. “I’m like you—I want to be out here where the action is so I can free up every available officer I’ve got. The Cummings family’s had a tough go of it, and I want to find Abby as much as anyone. Plus I went to high school with Jay’s mother. She dated one of my basketball teammates—first interracial couple at Foggy Ridge High School. Created quite a stir, as I recall.”
“Thankfully, we’ve come a long way since then.” Virgil lifted his Stetson and wiped his forehead. He spotted Kevin Mann and motioned for him to come over. “Where are we with the bloodhounds?”
“They’re en route from Fayetteville,” Kevin said. “About thirty minutes out.”
Virgil glanced at his watch. “Make sure your team is briefed and ready to go the second they arrive. I don’t need to tell you that time is everything if we hope to find those kids.”
“No, sir. I know what’s at stake here.” Kevin pushed his wavy red hair off his sweaty forehead. “We’re on it. But we’ve sure got our work cut out for us. The trees and ground cover are dense, and that canopy doesn’t let in much light.
“It’s a challenge. But if those hounds pick up a scent, we have to be prepared to go wherever they take us.”
Kevin nodded. “We will be, sir.”
Reggie perked up and seemed to be listening intently. “Hear that?”
Deep reverberations echoed eerily across the wide Arkansas sky, getting closer and louder.
“Search and rescue’s here.” Virgil turned to Kevin. “Be sure you maintain communications with them. Between air support and our teams on the ground, we ought to spot those kids if they’re out here.”
“Yes, sir.”
Kevin jogged over to where the search team was standing, and Virgil turned to Reggie. “So have you kept up with Jay’s mother since