Page 32 of Never Stay Gone
The manager, Jared, a middle-aged man who’d wandered in from truck stops up in the Panhandle, was as thrilled to see two lawmen step into his office as to be told he needed a dozen root canals. He sank into his chair and sighed, pushing his fingertips into his closed eyelids. “You know, you guys don’t arrest any of the drive-offs that happen every month, but you march in here whenever you want to.”
“Maybe if you upgraded your surveillance cameras, you wouldn’t have so many drive-offs,” Dakota said. “I ain’t been here in a while, but just lookin’ at your setup, I can tell you’re lettin’ money grow legs and walk on out of here.”
Jared glared. “Better systems cost money. A lot of it.”
“Ever thought of putting in for a public safety grant?”
“What’s that?”
Dakota gave him a quick rundown of how he could ask the state for money to improve his facilities to make the place safer for everyone. Shane could see dollar bills flashing through Jared’s eyes. “You’d probably get that grant approved quick, specially after two women got abducted off your premises.”
It took Jared a moment to stop calculating the money he’d save. “What?” He sat up, eyes wide. “What did you say?”
Dakota pulled out his cell and opened up his gallery. “Dakota,” Shane said softly. “Please.”
Dakota shot him a look, but he didn’t pull up any corpse photos. Instead, he showed Jared a side-by-side of Amber’s and Libby’s driver’s license photos. “Recognize these ladies?”
“I know Libby. She’s been gone for a while.”
“Tell me about the last time you saw her.”
“She came in to get her last check. She said she was getting out of here. She was heading east. Trying to get away from that good-for-nothing man of hers.”
Dakota nodded. He glanced at Shane. “And when was this?”
“Couple of months ago?” Jared frowned, then reached for a water-stained agenda book laid out on his overflowing desk. “I’ve got her last shift written down…” He flipped back through the pages, scanning each day. Finally, he tapped the paper. “Yep, here it is. I crossed off her shifts after she got her check. Her last day was two months ago.”
“And Amber?”
Jared screwed up his face. “I recognize her only because I’ve thrown her out of here. She shoplifted a few times. I’ve seen her loitering in the back lots too.”
“How long ago did you see her last?”
“I dunno… Longer than Libby, that’s for sure. Maybe four months?”
Dakota frowned.
“I don’t know if she was trying to hitch or if she was a prostitute, but I do know she was up to no good.”
“And you didn’t try to help her?” Dakota asked. “Just threw her to the wolves, huh?”
“I’m not in social services.”
Shane saw the storm clouds brewing on Dakota’s face, saw his scowl deepening as his hand clenched around his phone. He eased closer, leaning his shoulder into Dakota’s. Dakota could afford to be brusque and harsh and run roughshod over everyone he talked to, but this was Shane’s home. He lived with these people, day in and day out, and most everyone thought he was a failure anyway. He didn’t need to go alienating folks right and left. “Jared, you wouldn’t mind us taking a look at your surveillance tapes so we can see what happened to these ladies, would you?”
Jared’s eyes went wide, and he looked from Shane to Dakota and then back to Shane. “You need a warrant for that.”
“We can go get one, sure. I’ve got no problem calling up the judge and getting one signed. But we can also ask you to help us out since we’re investigating a multiple homicide, and you’re within your rights to give us permission. You knew Libby. Maybe you want to help, save us the day we’ll lose if we need to go getting a warrant for your surveillance system.”
Jared sighed. “Yeah, yeah, okay, okay. But, look, if you see thingsotherthan what you need to catch whoever killed Libby and that other girl—”
“Amber,” Shane said.
“—then just remember I was cooperative, okay?”
“What might we see, Jared?” Dakota asked.
“I’m justsaying—”
