Page 44 of Rescued Faith

“Have you seen Emma Kemper around lately?”

“Don’t know that name.”

Penny showed her a picture off her phone. “She’s my cousin. My mom was worried about?—”

“Look, just because I’m behind the bar doesn’t mean I have time for people’s sob stories. I don’t know the chick.” She spun on her heel and pushed through the door leading to the kitchen.

Whoa-kay. That was a bust.

“Don’t mind Mo.” The big guy at the end of the bar slid closer.

“Mo?” Penny asked.

“Short for Moira. She’s ornery, but she keeps her beer cold and is generous with her shots. I’m Bobby, by the way.”

Penny gave him a flirty smile. She could definitely get further with this guy than the bartender. “Good to know. Well then, have you seen Emma?” She showed her phone to him. “We think she’s out here with a guy, but we never met him. We’re just worried about her, ya know?” Penny twirled her hair around her finger and conjured a worried look.

“Don’t know that I’ve seen her, but I’m on the road a lot. Only come around here every few weeks.”

“Oh, are you from Last Chance?”

“Born and raised.”

“And you think it’s safe here? I mean, I heard about gangs moving in. I’m wondering if Emma got caught up in one of them.”

Bobby’s brows furrowed. “Them gangbangers don’t stand a chance.”

“How do you know? I mean, I heard there was a drive-by shooting last week. And then I saw that restaurant fire in the news. I’m worried.”

He moved in closer, puffed out his chest a bit. “No need to be, doll. We got us a concerned group of citizens that’s gonna make sure they don’t settle here.”

“The police and sheriff’s office?”

Bobby waved off the thought. “They don’t do nothin’. These guys are selling drugs and shooting up buildings and the law don’t do a thing.”

Oh, this was too easy sometimes. “That’s not right.”

“Darn right it isn’t. That’s why regular folks need to wake up and do somethin’ about it.”

Penny took a sip of her drink. “That sounds kinda…noble. Something I’d like to be a part of.” Penny gave him her best doe-eyed innocent look and laid a light hand on his arm.

“Oh, well, I dunno. I mean, no offense and all, but we don’t know you. And we got things handled. Just you wait and see.” He gave her a toothy grin. “You won’t have to worry about a thing.”

She tried not to cringe at the tobacco-stained teeth. “Well, I’m glad there’s people brave enough to do something about a problem. But what about my cousin? What if she’s in one of these gangs?”

Bobby leaned in low. “Then I suggest you find her and get the heck out of Last Chance. Soon. Real soon.”

He stood, threw some bills on the bar, and saluted the guys at the pool table before he walked out.

Well, that was interesting.

The food arrived. Mo plopped a plate in front of her without a word and went back to the kitchen. Penny quickly ate her burger and left over half her drink on the bar top when she walked out into the bright sunshine again.

She ignored a call from Anthony Thomas. She had her own lead and needed to follow it. The less distractions the better.

She drove to the public library and used their free Wi-Fi to quickly type Bobby’s license plate from the big rig that had been parked at the bar into the database she used. Looked like Bobby Prescot had had a few minor run-ins with the law, nothing huge. But it was another name that popped up that grabbed her attention.

Conway Prescot. His name sounded familiar. A quick public-records search showed Conway owned a good chunk of land east of town. On her navigation app, it looked like only one road led out there. Satellite feed showed a main house with a lot of outer buildings. Good places to hide things. But it would be tricky to get in there undetected. Even if it wasn’t the main hub of this group, her gut said she’d find something related to the case. If Bobby was to be believed, they didn’t have a whole lot of time to figure out what was going on.

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