Page 45 of Code Violation

“Come with me. I’m not locking you two in here and I might need help.”

* * *

They didn’t say anything while Forrest drove the truck, following Wanda the short distance back to Rufus’s house. Without waiting for them, she parked and bolted out of her practical silver sedan. She jogged up the walkway to the small porch and pounded on the door loud enough to echo over the small neighborhood.

Forrest and Nero hurried up behind her and all three of them waited, staring at the front door and willing it to open. Nero didn’t know about Forrest, but he was hoping they didn’t find something unpleasant. Praying, actually.

Like earlier, Rufus did not come to the door. There were still no sounds from the inside. Not looking at them, Wanda fumbled with her purse, digging around in it for a moment before pulling out a keyring with a single key hanging on it.

Still not looking at them, she said in a slightly shaky voice, “We’ve exchanged keys. I think I’m going to ask him to marry me.” Sliding the key into the lock and turning it, Wanda pushed the front door open to step inside.

They could see nothing out of the ordinary over her shoulder as they followed her, just a tidy front room with a small leather couch, a TV, and bookshelves packed two deep with books. More books were tucked in horizontally between the tops of the books and the next shelf up. Framed black-and-white photographs hung on the walls where there was space.

There was no sign of Rufus.

“I’m going to check the bedroom,” Wanda said grimly.

“Let us,” Forrest said, catching her arm before she could head down a short hallway. “Let me,” he said more gently.

Wanda nodded, tears brimming, her lips pressed tightly together. Nero waited with her while Forrest made his way to Rufus’s bedroom and pushed the door open.

“Nothing,” he said. “Checking the bathroom now. Nothing there either.”

“When you’ve looked all the logical places, I guess we need to start looking in the odd ones,” Wanda said when Forrest came back out to the living room.

Instead, Wanda checked the bedroom again, the bathroom again, and the spare bedroom, which was also empty of Rufus. Nero stayed out of the way while Forrest scanned the kitchen and opened a door that clearly led to a basement or cellar.

“It’s creepy down there, and the stairs are steep and narrow.” Forrest flicked on a light switch, and Nero heard the stairs creak under his weight as he went down them.

“Nothing here,” he called out.

Wanda came back inside through a door that led out to a patch of mossy grass and looming trees. “Nothing in the backyard, either.”

“He’s not here,” Nero said pointlessly. Obviously, he wasn’t there. But where the hell was he?

“If his car weren’t here, I wouldn’t be as worried as I am.” Wanda looked around as if she might spot him hiding somewhere. “I don’t understand where he could have gone. Why would he go somewhere without his car? Why wouldn’t he tell Magnus or me anything, or at least leave a damn note?”

Neither of them had an answer.

“This just isn’t like him,” said Wanda. She headed back out the still open front door, expecting them to follow her. Which they did.

“Let’s think about next steps,” Forrest began as Wanda hunted in her purse for the key again. “First, we need to go back over to the pub and let Magnus know we can’t find him. I don’t know where else to look either and Nero sure doesn’t because he’s not from here. He also doesn’t know much of anything about Rufus. It’s not as if it’s hiking season or anything like that since it’s March…” his voice trailed off.

Forrest looked at them and then glanced at the trees behind the row of houses that made up the edge of the forest—or the edge of town, depending on how you looked at it. Following his gaze, Nero thought he knew what Forrest was thinking.

“On the other hand. Wanda, do you think he could have gone for a hike, maybe just to clear his mind? Let’s check for his equipment. Do you know what he has these days?”

Wanda stared back at Forrest before turning and walking back inside to open the closet door they hadn’t thought to look in. After all, why would Rufus be hiding in his front closet?

“I think some of his gear is missing,” she declared after shuffling through it. “The man is an REI and Outdoor Outfitters addict, so it’s difficult to tell for certain.”

“What does he usually take with him when he goes out there?” Nero stared into the remarkably large closet that was, unlike the rest of the house, filled to bursting with coats, boots, hats, scarves, several bags, and plastic boxes on the upper shelves that held only Rufus knew what.

“Well, he has a hiking pack for long trips and that’s here.” She pointed out an orange and brown backpack tucked along one side. “But his favorite boots and hiking sticks are missing and his heavy coat too. Why wouldn’t he tell me if he was going out for a ramble?”

They didn’t have an answer for Wanda, but they gave each other a concerned look over her head.

“When I spoke with Rufus after the announcement, he was very reserved,” Wanda continued. “He didn’t want to talk about it. I could tell he was shocked by the news that the remains found up there were those poor girls, but he seemed to almost take it personally.”

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