Page 50 of Colorado K-9 Rescue
“Evan’s the one who found him,” Cassidy said, wrapping Mckenna in a hug. “Sorry, I know you want to believe that he’s this special guy, but he is who he is—someone who’s difficult to work with and keeps to himself.”
“Well, thanks for letting me know,” Mckenna said. She would not cry in front of everyone in the office. And especially not with her sister right now. “I better get going.”
“Okay, call me later. Let me know that you’re good. But at least you don’t have to worry about Toby anymore.”
“Yeah, that’s true,” Mckenna said, pretending she was relieved.
She and Mocha got to her vehicle and then she leaned back against the driver’s seat, holding in the tears. She was hurt, but the tears were there more from anger. Anger at still being the one who everyone thought was weak. The one who was broken or damaged. But she wasn’t, anymore. Like the bird on her side that was taking flight, so was she. She would figure out where she and Lily were kept.
If Toby really was the one who took her, then at least she’d have the closure of figuring out where they were kept. But if, like she suspected, Toby had been framed, then maybe she could help bring a kidnapper to justice.
The sound of his phone ringing made Evan startle. He was waiting for a deputy to arrive to watch the scene until thecoroner and evidence team could come. Even though Keith had offered to check on Rex, Evan was the one who wanted to find him. Mckenna would be safe once Evan slapped cuffs on Rex and booked him for kidnapping and at least a double homicide. Keith was calling and Evan hoped he had some news.
“Agent Knox,” Evan answered, pacing back and forth.
“Keith here. I checked the house. Sorry, but no one is home. No sign of Rex at all. In fact, I peered in through his bedroom window because the shade is up and I think he may have left town.”
“What makes you say that?” Evan asked.
“I can see the safe is open and there’s nothing in it. Looks like he packed all his belongings, because the bedroom closet is empty.”
“You don’t by any chance see any boots around the house, do you?” Evan asked.
“Let me look around.”
There was only the sound of Keith breathing as he looked in the windows. “I do see some boots outside the back door.”
“Any chance you can tell the brand? Size?”
“Sure, hang on a second.” Silence again and then, “Ariats. I’d say around size 9 or 10. I don’t see the size label and I don’t have gloves to handle them. But they are men’s boots.”
“Okay, thanks. I appreciate your help.”
“My pleasure. I’m heading back to my office for some appointments. If you need anything, just call.”
“Yeah. Okay.” Evan hung up. If Toby had covered for Rex, then maybe they’d had a confrontation that ended out here at the National Forest. But why out here? Why not at home? Or maybe this had turned into a testosterone battle since both the brothers had been with Penny Gardner. Rex might not have appreciatedthe “open” relationship Penny wanted—especially with his own sibling.
On a whim, he decided to dial Rex’s phone. You never knew if someone would be dumb enough to answer a call from the FBI. Stranger things had happened in the past. To his surprise, he heard a faint ringing. Peering around the parking lot, he realized the sound was coming from the Jeep. Nobody was in it—he’d already cleared the vehicle, but he hadn’t seen a cell phone. The ringing stopped as the call switched to voice mail.
Evan grabbed gloves from his bu-car and then jogged over to the Jeep. He dialed Rex’s number again and pulled on the gloves. Would he get lucky and find the car open? Luck was on his side as the driver’s-side door was unlocked. Evan carefully peered around. He didn’t want to disturb much so that the evidence team could do their job, but he finally found the phone between the seat and console.
Now Evan was puzzled. There was no sign of Rex in the area, but he’d have the sheriff send more deputies so they could search a larger area. Maybe Rex was out here somewhere. Maybe this was turning into a murder-suicide. Or Rex had taken off like Keith thought and left his phone behind to stay off the grid. A headache was starting to form, and Evan went back to his vehicle to get water and ibuprofen.
His phone rang again. “Hello, Sheriff. I was getting ready to call you.”
“What about?”
“You first,” Evan said.
“My deputy who went by Penny Gardner’s place found her dead. Single gunshot wound to the head, just like Toby. We found the bullet. It’s a .45 like Toby and Autumn. We’ll send it to ballistics to see if it’s a match.”
“You’re kidding me.”
“I wish I was,” she said. “I’ll get our crime scene team out there to start processing things. Guess the coroner is going to be busy today.”
“You can say that again.”
“So why were you calling?”
