Page 42 of Their Haunted Hearts
Nodding, Jenna looked at Rio. “Did you find out any information about Gabby Turner?”
“I did.” Rio leaned against the counter. “Her mother reported her missing this morning from Butte. I called her for more details and she’s sending a DNA sample by courier. Gabby has been constantly abused by her boyfriend. Her mom believes she ran for her life.”
Sadness gripped Jenna. How many times had women believed in a happy-ever-after only to discover the man they loved was a monster? She pushed wet hair from her face. “Okay, I’ll get changed. We’ll wait out the storm and then see what happens. If by seven no one is calling for assistance, we’ll need to go home and check our families. If any calls come before seven, figure out if we can help, if not pass them on to the right department. The mayor assured me he has all hands standing by.”
“That’s good to know.” Rio headed through the office switching off lights. He glanced over one shoulder. “Seems to me, the weather is the least of our problems. With everyone blacked out, the killer is going to get free rein for his next victim.”
Forty-Three
Julie traveled light. She discovered a long time ago to compact all her clothes into a small carry-on suitcase and her backpack. After being the only survivor of a crash in the mountains almost two years ago, she’d vowed never to get onto a flight again in bad weather. She waited on the sidewalk outside the hotel and stared into the distance toward Black Rock Falls. The sky still appeared to be angry, with black billowing clouds along the mountain range. If the weather forecast was bad by ten tonight, she would go back to the hotel and book another night’s stay. There was no way she would climb onto an aircraft and head into another storm. Halloween was still two days away and she had plenty of time to get home, and with her father’s credit card tucked inside her pocket, she wouldn’t starve. He had insisted she stay at a good hotel during her visit to Helena rather than stay at the hostel with the other students. She wouldn’t have cared, but as her father was overly security conscious, it saved arguments by just going along with him, and she had to admit that she enjoyed room service.
She heard Rhett’s motorcycle before it roared around the corner and slowed outside the hotel entrance. He climbed off and took her bag and secured it inside a hard-shell, lockable storage compartment mounted behind the seat. She would ride wearing the backpack and took the helmet he offered her. He looked nice. He wore black jeans and a tee under his leather jacket and he’d shaved. She could smell his cologne. “Thanks. If the weather’s bad, I’ll stay another night and go in the morning.”
“Then I guess I’d better wait with you at the airport to make sure you catch the flight.” Rhett smiled at her and climbed on his motorcycle. He turned to look at her over one shoulder. “Jump on, I’m starving.”
In a mix of nerves and excitement, Julie climbed on the back. They took off and the rumble of the engine vibrated through her. As the wind tugged at her jacket, she eased her grip around Rhett’s waist. She hardly knew this man but already counted him as a friend. She trusted him to keep her safe and that was a rare commodity and not something she’d known from outside her family circle or, more specifically, Jenna’s team. Every one of them she would trust with her life and had done. Their brief encounters at the lectures and over lunch occasionally had given her an insight into him. He’d had a very hard life, and worked many different jobs to put himself through college. She hadn’t realized how much they had in common until recently. As she’d listened to him asking questions at the seminars, it was everything she needed to know. It was as if they were both traveling in the same direction. They had the same goals and that was to help children.
They arrived at what Rhett had described as a diner—it was a snug little Italian restaurant and he’d made a reservation. When they were escorted to a table with a red and white tablecloth and handed the wine list along with a menu, Julie removed her coat and gloves and smiled at him across the table. “How did you know I loved Italian food?”
“You seem to like the same things as I do, so I took a chance.” Rhett grinned. “I usually eat on campus as the food is exceptionally good, but sometimes I come here. I know the owners and they’ve been good to me over the years, giving me work and treating me like part of the family.”
Julie nodded. “I must have been very lucky to have my father pay for my tuition. It must have been very difficult for you to keep going all these years to follow your dream.”
“To be honest, being at school was the best place for me as most of my time in foster care was terrible.” Rhett sighed. “Studying became an escape that I needed. I did well and applied for the MUS Honor Scholarship. It’s a four-year renewable scholarship that pays for all my tuition. I need to keep hitting the right goals, but I don’t mind the hard work because eventually I’ll be doing what I love.”
Handsome, hardworking, smart, and he owned a Harley, what more could a girl want? Julie squeezed his hand. “I wish I’d met you back then when we first started at college. I’ve been very much of a loner. I don’t follow fashion trends or crazy fads. My sister Emily is the bright star in the family. I always thought that I wanted to be just like her, but I don’t. I want to be just like me.” She chuckled.
“Me too.” Rhett opened his menu. “We make our own trends.”
The ate a scrumptious meal, talked about their futures, and made plans to keep in touch. It was Julie’s first real date. She’d had coffee dates and met a few guys at college but none of them attracted her like Rhett. When it was finally time to board her flight, she wished she’d had more time to get to know him. “The storm passed through Black Rock Falls and did some damage, but the airport is fine and my truck is waiting there for me. It’s a short drive home, about half an hour. I had a super time, Rhett. I’ll miss you.”
“I’ll miss you too.” He hugged her and kissed her on the cheek. “I’ll FaceTime you and tell you what’s happening and I’ll be in Black Rock Falls after graduation. That’s if you want to show me around?”
Julie hugged him back. “I’d love to. Hey, we may end up working alongside each other.”
“You never know, and while I’m there, I’ll need to track down a lawyer.” He shrugged. “It’s probably nothing but I need to know what my parents left me. Although why they made sure I wouldn’t inherit until I turned twenty-five is still a mystery.”
The last call for the flight came through announcements and Julie picked up her bag. “Then we’ll solve it together. See you in May.”
“See you, Jules.”
Forty-Four
Always a little jittery about flying since the plane crash, Julie walked up to the check-in counter and handed them her ticket. The woman tapped away on the computer and then looked up at her and frowned. “Is there a problem? I only have carry-on luggage.”
“Not with the flight, no, but I have a note that says Black Rock Falls has suffered significant storm damage and there is no power or phone reception at this time.” The woman met Julie’s gaze. “Do you have someone meeting you at the airport because you won’t be able to call anyone for transportation.”
Not worried about a power outage, Julie nodded. “I left my truck at the airport. I’ll be fine. I only live a short distance away.”
“That’s good to know.” The woman handed her a boarding pass.
Butterflies were having a festival in her stomach by the time she took her allocated seat. There were only two other people on the small aircraft, and she sat alone at the back. Her preference to sit in the rear of the plane had saved her life not long ago and she always continued to take the seat nearest the tail. She glanced out of the window as they took off and saw one lone motorbike weaving its way through Helena toward the college and wondered if it was Rhett going home. She stared as the motorbike got smaller and smaller. The plane climbed above the clouds and she leaned back and closed her eyes. It had been an incredible couple of weeks. She met many new friends and had considered all her options for her future. It had been easier when Rhett had joined her. He seemed to know all the right questions to ask. She wondered if she would ever see him again. It’s not as if they had started a romance or anything but he’d been the only boy she’d ever been able to sit and talk to for hours. They had so many things in common. They liked the same music, which was a variety of country and rock. They enjoyed the same food and she had to admit that after watching her dad and Kane spend hours rebuilding old Harleys, motorcycles had become her passion. She would own and ride one in a second.
The flight became unnervingly bumpy just before they landed in Black Rock Falls. As she pulled her suitcase toward the parking lot, darkness crept in all around her. Only two small light posts illuminated the entrance to the parking lot but she found her truck without much trouble. She glanced up at the sky. Black clouds still obscured the moon and the smell of rain and dampness hung heavy in the air. It would be good to get home. She dumped her bags on the back seat and then climbed behind the wheel. As she drove out onto the highway, a wall of black surrounded her. It was only a little after eleven and yet the highway was completely deserted. This was very strange as Black Rock Falls was a busy town and traffic passed through on the way to Blackwater.
Her headlights picked up the damage from the storm. Broken tree branches, leaves, and pine cones littered the highway and long lines of Halloween bunting littered the edge of the road as if they’d been picked up and carried for miles. Deep water swirled along the gullies by the side of the road and in some places water had spilled across the highway, causing her to slow down and test the way. Relieved when she picked out a small glowing light at the Triple Z Roadhouse, she accelerated a little. In about fifteen minutes she would be home and then the engine gave a cough and splutter. She stared down at the gas gauge and moaned. The needle was just above empty but she should have enough to get her to the roadhouse where she could get some gas. They had lights, so maybe they had a generator to work the pumps. Only five minutes away the engine stopped and she rolled to a halt. Something in the back of her mind reminded her of a conversation she had with Kane about her truck. He had insisted that she never let it run out of gas because it might be difficult to start. He had shown her how to spray something somewhere and then start the engine so it could suck the gas through or something, but she really didn’t take too much notice because she always had her dad or Kane to come and help her if necessary.
She climbed out and went to the back seat to pull out a pair of hiking boots from her luggage. She’d worn a pair of fancy cowboy boots to go to dinner with Rhett. She dragged on her thick raincoat and pulled the hoodie over her head. After grabbing the flashlight from the glovebox, she headed to the roadhouse. It didn’t take too long before she climbed up the driveway. Bedraggled Halloween decorations hung limply around the roadhouse. Garbage bins overflowed with trash and rainwater. One side of the roadhouse held a line of pumps and a convenience store with a variety of items from milk to gas cans. It was a kind of one-stop shop, although the prices were much higher than normal. She walked up and down the aisles until she found a gas can and took it to the counter. The weird aroma of coffee, roadside food, and gas seemed to move around her. Tiredness dragged at her. She needed a cup of coffee to keep her awake. The coffee likely tasted like mud, but if it had caffeine in it, it would do. “Are your pumps working?” She looked at the skinny, oily haired man standing behind the glass partition and held up the can. “I need this and a gallon. I ran out of gas. I’ll take a coffee from the machine as well.”
