Page 50 of Trail to Trouble
“Sloppy?”
“Dewey, call the gas station and see if they have video.”
“Yes, sir,” the officer replied as he rose and walked out of the room.
“What about a vehicle?”
Hannah perked up at the thought of the vehicle she saw parked near the front entrance.
“There was an old, rusty Ford Bronco parked by the entry. Maybe that was his.”
“Did you see him get into that vehicle?” the chief asked.
“No, but it seems like a vehicle that kind of guy would drive. And there weren’t many other people there. There was a lady with a couple of small kids, an older couple, and two guys getting breakfast sandwiches. They looked like construction workers. I suppose I could have missed seeing some other people. Honestly, I wasn’t paying attention. I just wanted out of there,” Hannah answered.
“Bianca?”
“I noticed the woman and kids and the mean guy, but nobody and nothing else. Sorry.”
Hannah’s breath hitched, and she felt taken aback by the lack of sincerity in the mechanical tone her friend used when she apologized.
“What exactly are you sorry for?” Chief Ricco asked. “Sorry you’re unable to recall details to help us find the person who murdered your friend, or sorry that you’ve been inconvenienced by all of this. Which is it?”
Whoa!Hannah’s pulse hitched at the attitude in the chief’s tone, coupled with the expression he wore. It was one thing for her to question her friend’s sincerity in all her confusion right now, but to have the chief imply the same justified her emotion, and that made her even sadder. Still, hearing him, a stranger, think bad thoughts about Bianca, made her want to defend her friend’s genuineness. Did he honestly think Bianca knew more than she let on? Did he think she had something to do with Alyssa’s murder?
Bianca’s eyes narrowed and her facial muscles tightened. The chief had struck a nerve.
“How dare you imply I don’t care about what happened to Alyssa. She was a dear friend. I loved her,” Bianca replied through gritted teeth.
“I didn’t imply anything. Just looking for clarification.”
Dewey stepped back into the room, leaned over, and whispered to the chief.
The man sighed and nodded, then returned his attention to Hannah.
“The gas station has video cameras, but, unfortunately, the recording system has been down for weeks. They’ve been waiting for a technician to come out and install a new system. However, we’re waiting for a call back from the employee who worked that day, hoping he can shed some light on who the guy is.”
Hannah shifted nervously in her seat. Could this random person from the gas station have killed her friend over a cup of coffee?
Her body quivered. Was SHE really the target?
ChapterThirteen
“I need to call my parents,”Hannah stated to Chief Ricco.
The chief nodded. “Okay. We’re done here for the moment.”
“My phone is dead. It got ruined when I landed in the water.”
He pointed to the phone on the wall. “You can use that one. Dial nine first.”
Hannah’s knees wobbled when she stood. The last thing she wanted to do was upset her parents more than they already were over this whole Sebastián thing, but she needed to hear her mom’s voice. She needed to tell her what had happened. She needed Mom to tell her everything would be okay, but would it?
With shaky fingers, she dialed her mom’s cell number. No answer. She dialed her dad’s number. No answer. Dread laced every cell of her being. They always answered. Of all days to not answer, why today, when she desperately needed to hear their voices?
She hung up and spun at the waist to look at the chief. “They aren’t answering. I’m going to try my brother, Kane.”
The chief nodded.
