Page 25 of Seeking Evil

The laptop had proven a bust like Sierra’s watch and phone. All had probably been turned off or destroyed.

Zeke stepped back into the conference room. “Patrick, what can you tell me about Florence and her husband, Irv?”

The sheriff looked up from his laptop. “The waitress? Not much really. She’s worked at the diner as long as I can remember. Irv does odd jobs around town.”

“Any record?” Zeke wasn’t sure why he couldn’t let go of the feeling there was something Florence had been hiding.

“Not since I’ve been here. You have some reason to think they’re involved?”

Zeke had no idea. “Just a feeling.” Not exactly good police tactics, but sometimes gut instinct was the best tool a cop had in his arsenal.

“I can check them out. I’ve never had a reason to look into them before, but with what’s going on now, we can’t afford to overlook anything.” Patrick went to work on his laptop while Zeke paced the conference room, too keyed up to sit.

“Well, this is interesting,” Patrick said, sitting back in his chair with his arms crossed.

“You found something.” Zeke and the team gathered around.

“I did. Irv was arrested thirty years earlier for assault.”

“Where was this?” Zeke scanned the report.

“Billings, Montana. He assaulted another man at a bar. Hurt him pretty badly. The man went to the hospital with broken bones and a swollen face. Charges were filed. Irv went to jail for two years.” Patrick kept reading. “It looks like after he was released, Irv and Florence left Billings. They ended up here the year before the kidnappings.”

“That’s curious,” Hannah said. “You think he had something to do with them?”

“Don’t know. But I’m going to have a talk with Irv.”

“What about Florence?” Zeke told him how nervous she seemed to be talking to an FBI agent.

“I checked. Nothing’s showing up under her name. Maybe after what happened to Irv, she doesn’t like cops.”

It made sense. Zeke had run into that way of thinking a lot. Some people were naturally suspicious of law enforcement officers.

“Jack, I’d like to take a drive over to the climbing sites and ask around. Maybe someone remembers seeing a person who appeared out of place.”

“Go. You and Cooper, be careful, though.”

“Roger that.” Cooper followed him out into the sunlit morning.

“You know, if it weren’t for what’s happening here now, I would love to spend some time in a place like this.” Cooper tossed him the keys when Zeke indicated he wanted to drive.

“It’s nice. But, as we both know, looks can be deceiving. People certainly can.”

Zeke wondered if Cooper was thinking about his serial killer father. Cooper had been forced to shoot him as a kid when his father came after his mother.

Zeke thought about his own father. Until Dad up and left the family when they needed him most, Zeke believed Dad loved Zeke and Hannah and that he would never let them down. People hide things. Some were just better at it.

“Looks like we’re getting closer to the place where the climbers park.” Zeke pointed to a sign up ahead that indicated the staging location for rock climbers was two miles up.

Cooper nodded. “Let’s hope we catch them before they head out.” He checked his phone. “No service.”

“That’s not unusual in the mountains.” Zeke looked his way. Still, an uneasy prickle sparked between Zeke’s shoulder blades as he checked his smart watch. Same. Two miles was a long stretch of countryside without any cell service to call for help. Outside his window, the woods crept in on the road. He braked suddenly.

Cooper grabbed for the dash. “What’s going on?” He whipped his head Zeke’s way.

“No service. Isolated county road. The perfect place for someone to be taken.”

Cooper’s eyes widened. “Are you thinking backpackers or hitchhikers? Only all of the victims reportedly had their own vehicles.”

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