Page 18 of So Insane

They were at the Granger Police Station. The only Granger Police Station. Faith and Michael had twice been assigned to rural locales, first in Morgan County, Missouri, then, in their last case, western Iowa, but Granger, Idaho was by far the most isolated locale Faith had ever been to. The town itself boasted a population of one hundred twenty-nine, spread out over three and a half square miles of reasonably flat and thinly forested land right off of US 95 and just west of the Rocky Mountains. The police station had seven rooms. Two of them were bathrooms, and one was a break room. Aside from a conference room, the lobby and a single jail cell, there was the interrogation room that Faith and Michael were now using to question the parents of Tyler Stone, twenty-nine.

They got their coffee and headed back to the interrogation room. Mr. and Mrs. Stone happily answered the usual slew of questions to the best of their ability, telling the agents absolutely nothing helpful. Apparently, Tyler enjoyed playing video games and hiking. His only friends lived hundreds of miles away, and he didn’t associate with anyone in town. It was looking an awful lot like a tragic accident rather than a criminal disappearance.

Trevor Hart was of little more help at first. Carla Montpelier’s boyfriend was able to provide an ironclad alibi for the day of Carla’s disappearance—he was working at the local market—and Carla, like Tyler, was an avid hiker. She was a very experienced hiker and spelunker and would often go on spontaneous solo trips into the woods.

“So why is this one different?” Faith asked him.

“She always calls,” he said. “She has a satellite phone, and she always calls to let me know she’s safe. She’s called me every night she’s been out before. It’s been three nights now, and nothing.”

Michael and Faith shared a look. “When was the last time you spoke with her?”

“The day she left. We…” his lower lip trembled. “We had a fight. She said she needed some time to be by herself, so she left. I keep thinking if we hadn’t fought, if I had just given in, maybe she wouldn’t have gone out, and maybe she wouldn’t be…” his lip trembled again. “She’s all right, right? I mean, you don’t think she’s…”

For the second time, he couldn’t bring himself to say the word. Neither could Faith. “We haven’t lost hope,” she said, “and neither should you.”

He brightened a little at that, and Faith had the sickening feeling that she had just lifted him up to drop him down even harder.

Michael ended up being the one to find the lead. “You said she was a spelunker as well as a hiker. Where did she like to go cave-diving?”

“Well, I don’t know about diving,” Trevor said, “but she liked to explore the caverns just outside of town.”

Faith’s ears perked up. “Caverns?”

Trevor nodded. “There’s an extensive network of caves underneath Grass Mountain. Well, it probably extends under a few peaks, but the most popular entrances are on Grass Mountain.”

“And which one is Grass Mountain?” Michael asked.

“It’s the one with no trees or plants on it,” Trevor said. “I guess the people who named it have a sense of humor.”

Faith and Michael shared another look. They had a place to start now. “Thank you, Mr. Hart,” Faith said. “We’ll be in touch.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

Kinzel apparently didn’t need Jones for long. He apparently didn't need himself for long, either. Both men were available to escort Faith and Michael up Grass Mountain that very afternoon.

“Shoulda thought about the caves,” Jones said, showing not a shred of guilt. He had probably forgotten that emotion years ago. “Probably got lost in there.”

“It seems likely,” Kinzel said tersely. He didn’t seem to be as free of remorse as Jones.

Faith wasn’t interested in judging them, though. Not that she had any moral ground to stand on, even if she did want to judge. “How far do these caves extend?”

“Who knows?” Jones said. “The parts the tourists are allowed into are something like eleven miles all told.”

“Eleven miles?” Faith exclaimed.

“Well, not eleven miles in one direction,” Jones elaborated. “They twist and turn a lot. But yeah, I remember reading somewhere that there are twenty-something miles of caves and eleven of them are considered safe to explore, not including the mine. Although, I don’t know if the mine ever actually went all the way to the cave network. Anyway, the point is it’s pretty easy to get lost down there.”

“Let’s not assume our missing persons are dead until we find bodies,” Kinzel said. “At the moment, this is still a search and rescue.”

A search and rescue with no search parties, no medical support and no vehicles, Faith thought. Tell me about that bridge you’re selling again?

Jones showed less restraint than Faith. “If this were a search and rescue, marshal, I would have someone a few rungs higher than you on the ladder telling me to screw off and come back with coffee. And I’d have people a few rungs higher than them—” he hooked a thumb at the back seat where Faith, Turk and Michael sat, “making sure everyone knew they were in charge without actually doing anything.”

Michael chuckled at that. Kinzel looked at Faith, and she lifted her hands.

He sighed but didn’t say anything to confirm or deny the claim.

The old Bronco jounced and jostled its way up the rough mountain road for another ten minutes before Jones pulled to a stop. The four of them got out and stood in front of a small entrance, maybe seven feet by three feet. It amazed Faith how unimpressive the cave appeared from the outside. In her mind, she expected a giant gaping maw from which unholy moans and whispers would emerge.

---