Page 10 of Bone Echo

“She didn’t. No. When did this happen?” Kurt asked. Why hadn’t she mentioned it? Maybe because she was growing up and didn’t tell daddy everything anymore. He turned to Audra before Lawler could answer. “Can we call her to your office? I need to explain the situation with Brian. I don’t want her to hear about it from anyone else.” His need to see his daughter was suddenly roaring inside him.

“Of course.” Audra reached for her phone.

“I believe she’s absent today,” Lawler said. “I was looking for her after Brian was taken away. Her homeroom teacher said she was absent.”

Absent? The idea that she had ignored his warnings this morning sent fire searing through Kurt’s veins. He and Ella were going to have a long talk.

Kurt’s cell buzzed in his coat pocket. He held up a hand. “Excuse me for one moment.” He retrieved his phone, his head still spinning with the idea that his daughter had not come to school today. “Nichols.”

“Chief, you need to head my way ASAP.” Officer Lyle Johnson’s voice told Kurt that whatever the situation was it was bad.

“What’s your location, Johnson?”

“On 52 about four miles past the Satterfield place. We have an abandoned vehicle.”

Well hell. Sounded like this shitstorm was about to broaden. Since Brian Satterfield’s car had already been towed from the school parking lot for evidence collection, it wouldn’t be his. Surely whatever this was could wait. Kurt needed to finish this meeting, go home and talk to Ella and then check on Brian’slabs. He damned well needed to find out why Ella hadn’t come to school. Not to mention he needed to get back out to the crime scene and see if the evidence tech had found anything useful.

“I’ll be there as soon as I can,” he said. “I need to?—”

“No, chief,” Johnson reiterated. “You need to comenow. It’s Ella’s car and there’s blood inside.”

CHAPTER SIX

1:20 p.m.

As he left the school, Kurt had called Ella’s cell phone three times. It was possible, however remotely, that she was still at home so he’d sent Dawson to check. The potential reasons as to why she would be at home and her car wasn’t had all ticked off in his head. She’d lent it to someone. It was stolen before daylight this morning.

None were likely but he could hope.

As he reached the scene where Johnson waited and the little blue Mustang came into view, Kurt’s chest flooded with something far too much like terror. He skidded to a stop, the Jeep bumping onto the shoulder of the road. He shoved the door open and ran toward his daughter’s car. Heart thrashing, he reached to poke his head through the open driver’s side door.

“Hold on, chief,” Johnson said, blocking his path.

“Get the hell out of my way,” Kurt roared like a wounded animal.

Johnson held up both hands. “I’ve got the evidence tech headed this way. He finished up at the Satterfield house and now we need to let him do his job herebeforewe touch anything.”

Fear had a chokehold on him. Kurt struggled to grab back control. Deep breath. “You’re right.” Another deep breath. “I’ll just walk around and have a look. I won’t touch anything.”

Johnson nodded slowly as if he wasn’t totally convinced he could trust his boss to do as he said under the circumstances. “Okay. The driver’s side door was open just like you see when I found it. That dusting of snow we got early this morning obscured the tracks in the older snow but I photographed the slight impressions I could still make out.”

Kurt shook himself. Damn. He should have thought of that. Big, deep breath. “Thanks.” The word was pitiful and barely sputtered from his mouth but he was very glad his officer had done his job and hadn’t screwed up the way Kurt almost did.

Taking care not to step on any of the places where tracks from before this latest snow still showed through, he leaned down, peered through the open driver’s side door. Snow had blown into the vehicle but it was the sight of blood on the driver’s seat and on the steering wheel that had his gut clenching. The reality was Ella would never have allowed anyone behind the wheel of her baby. She loved this car. The keys were in the ignition so unless she left them there when she came home, it hadn’t been stolen. If the blood was hers…

No way to know yet. No thinking the worst.

Moving on to the back door, he squinted to see through the frosted glass. In the rear floorboard he spotted her green suede shoulder bag. A pain pierced his heart. This was not a good sign. She wouldn’t leave her bag in the car any more than she would the keys. How many times had he told her that leaving her handbag or keys in the car was just an invitation for theft?

He straightened, summoned every ounce of courage he possessed to find his composure. “As soon as the evidence tech gets here—” His cell phone buzzed again. He’d silenced the ring when he got to the station this morning. It was a habit to prevent unnecessary intrusions during meetings. At the moment he hoped this call would be the kind of intrusion that provided some answers and a whole truckload of relief.

“Hold on,” he said to Johnson as he dug out his cell.Doreen. What the hell now? “What’s up?” His throat tried to close on him despite his best efforts.

“Chief…”

It was a full two seconds before she started again. A split ruptured in Kurt’s soul in that seemingly endless pause. If this was worse news about Ella…

“McKendrick called. The state lab sent another tech down to go over Brian Satterfield’s car. They found that necklace Ella always wears. The angel one. And…and her cell phone. There’s blood on the phone, chief.”

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