Page 14 of Bone Echo

How had he not noticed that something was wrong? It was like L.A. all over again except he couldn’t blame his oversights on the job or his drinking. Maybe he just hadn’t wanted to deal with the changes happening in his daughter’s life and he had ignored little glimpses of trouble. Ultimately, he had no one or nothing to blame but himself. Liz would be so disappointed in him. God, he’d disappointed her so many times during their thirteen year marriage. They’d tied the knot so young. But he’d convinced her they could manage work and college and anything else life threw their way.

God, he’d been so full of himself.

Then Ella was born and Liz had become a full time mother while he worked every possible hour to make ends meet. Or maybe the overtime had just been another excuse not to deal with the two most important people in his life and all the things he couldn’t give them the way he’d wanted to.

Kurt shook off the painful memories. The search party had done all possible before sunset and even after the light was gone they’d started going door to door. The Sheriff’s Department was lending a hand with the door knocks. Cops across the state wereon the lookout. Kurt appreciated it more than he could possibly express.

He had driven to every location he thought Ella might hide if she had somehow gotten away from her captor. He’d reached out to the parents Audra listed as having kids close to Ella.

She was out there somewhere. Maybe injured. She could be freezing. He shuddered, unable to bear the thought. One thing he had done right was teaching her self-defense techniques. She knew how to handle herself. That was the one bright side to this nightmare.

Worry twisted his insides into knots as he climbed out of his Jeep and walked toward the Satterfield house. The place was lit up as if the family were home and preparing for dinner. He plucked the key from under the rock Oglesby had told him about and unlocked the door. The evidence tech had left a while ago. Kurt wanted to more closely inspect Brian’s room before he did the same with Ella’s.

Truth was he wanted to be out there searching every square foot of this town. Walking through every house and outbuilding. But that wasn’t the way the law worked. They could search. They could knock on doors. Ask if folks had any missing vehicles or boats. But they couldn’t go inside or on the property without an invitation, exigent circumstances or a warrant. Tomorrow he would have a warrant for Lawler’s property. The judge refused to sign off on one at this point. It was too soon, he’d insisted. Not enough evidence. Lawler could return home. Ella could show up. She hadn’t even been missing twenty-four hours. And, most importantly, the blood and the missing items pointed to Brian Satterfield. Nothing, except Brian’s amended story, pointed to Lawler and that just wasn’t enough to sway the judge.

Kurt had an officer watching Lawler’s house. When the man returned—assuming he did—Kurt would be pounding on his door. He didn’t care what time of night it was.

The smell in the Satterfield home was no better now that the bodies had been removed. The stench had permeated the very walls. The rugs. The furniture. He swiped his forearm across his nose and headed into Brian’s room.

Item by item, he took the place apart. Every drawer. Every crevice in the floor or wall. Inside outlets and light fixtures and switches. Beneath every object in the room. Inside every pocket and fold of clothes and bed linens. Every tucked together pair of socks.

He found nothing except the usual teenage angst stuff. Brian wanted to be treated like an adult. He was madly in love with Ella. He wanted to kiss her so badly. Thankfully he hadn’t done that yet if his doodles could be believed. He wished his aunt and uncle didn’t see him as a kid.

“You are a kid, you little shit. Kids don’t get to rule the world.”

Kurt shut the door to the room and did a slow walk-through of the rest of the house. Beyond the scene in the principal bedroom and the evidence that a forensic tech had gone over the house, the place looked like any other home in town. Lived in.

He waited until he was outside before he took a deep breath. When the door was locked, he put the key back under the rock. Not exactly good for security but the Satterfields didn’t have to worry about that anymore.

The idea of going home without Ella was more than he could bear but he needed to go through her room too. There could be notes, a journal, something. He had never noticed his daughter with a diary of any sort but then he apparently failed at the full attention to detail part of parenting. He could check her laptop. See if he could get into her social media accounts.

He climbed into his Jeep and drove away from what had launched his life back into the things nightmares were made of.

He just wanted his daughter back home safe and sound.

His cell buzzed, vibrating against his ribs. He poked his hand into his coat pocket and pulled it out, every nerve in his body wired for more trouble.

McKendrick’s name flashed on the screen.

“What’ve you got, McKendrick?” Kurt navigated onto Highway 52.

“Wynona and Carlos Black over at the Village Stop on Elm called in to the tipline. They say Brian and Ella stopped at the gas station this morning about 12:30 a.m. The shop was closed but they have security cameras. You might want to see this for yourself.”

Kurt’s pulse throttled into a frantic rhythm. “On my way.”

He glanced at the sky as he drove. It was clear tonight which meant it would be cold as hell. He hoped Ella was some place warm. The thought that she might not be ripped at his gut. His chest cramped when he contemplated the possibility that maybe she was injured and lost out in this kind of weather. But Ella was smart. She would do her best to find shelter. Equally terrifying was the idea that Lawler or some other bastard had taken her. Human trafficking was epidemic. He gritted his teeth and blinked hard to hold back the burn. He had to find her. Had to bring her back home safe.

The one gas station in downtown closed at eight each night but it was brightly lit now. A vehicle set at the gas pumps, the driver trying to stay warm as he filled the tank of his SUV. Christmas lights outlined the windows of the service station. It wasn’t until that moment that Kurt considered that he hadn’t even put up a tree. What kind of dad failed to put up a tree for his kid?

“A bastard like you, Nichols.” He glanced at his reflection in the rearview mirror as he got out. Ella deserved a far better father.

He pulled his coat closer around him as he walked to the shop entrance. Still needed his gloves. Needed a damned cigarette too. Inside, McKendrick was at the counter talking to the owner. Carlos’s family had owned this service station for fifty years. He declared at every city planning meeting that he was never giving up the location or the business no matter what anyone else wanted.

Kurt didn’t blame him.

“Chief,” Carlos said as Kurt entered the store, “we’re so sorry to hear about sweet Ella.” He motioned for Kurt to follow him. “We have a monitor where you can see the video in my office.”

McKendrick fell into step next to Kurt as they headed around the counter and into the cramped office.

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