Page 53 of Among the Innocent

“All right,” Justine said at last.

“Are your parents home?”

“No, they went to the morning breakfast for the homeless at the church. Mom and Dad help prepare the meal and serve, so they get there early. I decided to stay home.” Justine still wouldn’t look at Leah.

“The chief and I will stay until we can get a police car to sit at your house,” Leah said. “I’ll call your mom and let her know.”

“No.” Justine rejected the idea too quickly. “I mean, that’s not necessary. I’ll be fine alone.”

Leah’s gaze swept to Dalton. “We’ll wait outside. Lock up behind us.”

“Really, this isn’t necessary...” Justine stopped and waved her hands in front of her. “But I appreciate it. Thank you.”

“She’s lying,” Leah said once they were in the SUV. “Justine never misses a chance to serve at church.”

“You think there was a reason beyond what she claimed?”

She blew out a breath. “Maybe I’m just being paranoid after everything that’s happened.”

But he shared her doubts. “No, I agree with you. She’s hidingsomething. I’ll get someone to sit at the house.” After making the call, he went over in his mind the details they knew so far. For whatever reason, the killer had chosen to leave the truck behind. Without it he would be on foot until he found a replacement. “Where would he go to get out of sight?” He looked Leah’s way.

Once their backup arrived, Dalton drove to the outskirts of town, where the valley separating St. Ignatius from the mountains spread out in front of them, filled with unknowns.

“There’s no place to hide until he reaches the high country.”

“The weather wouldn’t be a problem this time of year. He could survive. Which means there are miles of possible hiding places.” Dalton did his best to curb his disappointment.

“Unfortunately, yes. And the mountains mark the beginning of the Mission wilderness and private tribal land. We’ll have to reach out to the tribal police.”

“I’ll speak to the chief and ask them to start a search at daylight.” He checked the time. “Which won’t be long. Why don’t we gather the case files and take them to Marge’s? We can relieve Chief Perez.” With a final look at the vast unknown in front of them, Dalton turned the SUV around and headed back to town.

Once he’d gathered the information he needed at the station, he told Sugar where they’d be should something come up.

“Uh-huh,” Sugar murmured. She appeared distracted and not her usual vivacious self.

“What’s wrong with her?” Dalton asked once they were outside.

“She’s worried about Justine. I asked her if she’d spoken to her niece recently. Sugar said she called, but Justine hadn’t wanted to talk. And Justine’s mom says she’s been acting strange lately.”

Dalton stopped walking and faced her over the top of the SUV’s hood. “In what way?”

“Keeping secrets. Missing church more than just this morning. And her mother said she overheard Justine talking to someone on the phone. When she came into the room, Justine abruptly ended the call. None of that’s like her.”

They both climbed into the SUV. “She might just be acting out.” But he’d seen how cagey the young dispatcher had been when they showed up at her door. Almost as if she were hiding something ... orsomeone. “Do you think Justine is seeing someone in secret?” He couldn’t bring himself to say what he thought. The killer encouraged women to keep their relationship secret so no one could identify him.

“Maybe. But it doesn’t exactly fit John’s MO. I was only sixteen at the time. Beth and Eva were around the same age. And all were Amish. Justine is older and no longer Amish.”

Dalton turned onto Marge’s quiet street. “She was at one time, and she’s lived a sheltered life. I’ve done some checking on the other two cases from Wyoming. Those women were young as well. The coroner believes probably in their late teens. Most likely runaways. If they came from Amish communities and left the faith, there might not be anyone looking for them. They’d make easy targets.”

He pulled alongside Chief Perez’s cruiser, and they climbed out.

“Sounds like you’ve had an interesting morning,” the chief said once they stopped beside his window.

“To say the least. Thanks to your officer for finding the truck.” Dalton told the man about the idea the killer might have disappeared into the mountains.

“I’ll have some of my men go up there. If he’s still there, we’ll find him.”

“I appreciate it.” Dalton stared up at the house. “Everything okay here?”

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