Page 107 of All You Want
Thankfully, he believes me.
* * *
~ Todd ~
The bloodhound comes up empty.
Well, not quite, because we found Tami’s hat and a strip of cloth from her jacket. We also found a pillowcase with a few blond hairs inside, and a gun which we’re going to dust for fingerprints.
Nancy loses the scent trail on a logging road where a mishmash of footprints disappears into a vehicle. Because of the fresh snowfall, it’s pretty easy to see where they’ve gone.
“Donnelly, get the Tahoe over here,” I call out to Shane. “Chad, you’re riding shotgun.”
At times like this, I trust my brother to have my back.
“What about me and Nancy?” Scott holds the leash to the bloodhound. “You might need us if you lose the tire tracks.”
“Okay, in the back then. They couldn’t have gone far.”
Moments later, Shane pulls up with the all-wheel drive, and we pile into it. Unfortunately, Scott was right. We lost the trail when the tracks turn up an embankment onto Highway 49.
“Any idea which way they went?” I kick the pavement in frustration. The traffic going both directions has covered up any tire marks.
“We don’t even have a vehicle identification to put out an APB,” Shane says. “Is Tami’s phone on?”
“I’ve been calling it, and it goes to voicemail immediately. Either it ran out of juice, or they turned it off.”
“We’re going to have to question Larissa again,” Shane says. “I’ll prepare a lineup. Maybe she got a glimpse of the kidnapper’s face.”
“It’s either Justin or Al. They’re the only two unaccounted for.”
“Assuming it’s one of the deputies and not someone unknown,” Shane says. “At this point, we have nothing.”
“Oh, we have Dillon. He’d better tell everything he knows.” I swing my body back into the Tahoe. “Meanwhile, we get the files on Al and Justin and put out an APB on them and their vehicles.”
I break every speed limit to get back to Colson’s Corner. We visit Justin’s apartment—no surprise, he’s not there. Neither are Al and Dillon at their homes. While Shane goes back to the Bee Sting to interview patrons, Scott goes with Nancy to give the news to Linx. I burst into the station and take Diana into the interview room.
“I told you I’m not speaking without a lawyer present,” she says. “I’m innocent of Viola’s murder.”
“I’m not here to talk about the murder.” I lean across the table and give her a hard stare. “Tami King has been kidnapped, and your nephew could be involved.”
“Oh, so now you’re going to pin this on my family, all to protect old King George. I get it. You cops are on the take, and now that we’re getting close to having a valid claim on Tami’s property, you want to derail us.” She doesn’t sound the least bit worried that Tami is lost.
“I’m trying to get to the truth because Tami’s in danger.”
She rolls her eyes and snickers. “Ask me if I care. That pretty princess has gotten her way her entire life. I’m sure this is all a big show on her part to drive business to her scary hotel which lies on top of my gold mine. If anyone has a motive to kill Viola, it’s Tami. Viola said she had the original claim on the Hanging Glory Mine, and it was written in Chinese.”
“Did she show it to you?” I’m seething to get to the bottom of Tami’s disappearance, but sometimes an indirect approach yields more information.
“Not yet. I paid her for the claim documents, but that old witch held out on me. She said the information was worth twice what we agreed to.” Diana’s upper lip curls into a snarl.
“In that case, you have motive to kill Viola.”
“Not until I get my hands on the claim papers,” Diana says.
“Would paper have lasted this long? Who would be around to notarize it or make it official? Are you sure Viola wasn’t selling you a load of bunk?”
“Our family is from the earliest days of the Gold Rush,” Diana says. “Back in the day, the Chinese and Hawaiians came up this way since they were discriminated against down in Coloma where placer gold was easy to pan. They came up over these ridges and worked the smaller streams where the gold concentrations dropped off big-time. The Hawaiian didn’t write anything down, but my ancestors, the Chinese guys did. They found the streams disappearing into the mountainside and discovered veins of underground gold. They took their pickaxes and pounded on the rock to break the gold free. It was hard, backbreaking work, and at first, no one else cared because the rest of the Forty-Niners jumped over this area for easier pickings elsewhere.”
