Page 64 of The Sweet Spot
“Have they heard anything at all? Has anyone seen her?”
“No, surprisingly, no one has seen her. But given the time of day, most folks are busy with supper, so it’s unlikely they would have seen her walking through the neighborhood. Owen has joined the search. Robyn’s out there, too. Hannah and Killian are mobilizing the rest of the search and rescue team. They’re on their way. And Hannah’s bringing Scout. This is what Scout is trained to do—find people.”
Hannah’s been training her Belgian Malinois for a year and a half now to find missing people. Already, the dog has been credited with locating several missing hikers up in the mountains. The dog even located a kidnapped woman once.
As frightening as this situation is, I know these people—these friends of mine. They’re capable of extraordinary things, including finding my grandma.
The side door opens once more, and Chris and Micah walk in. With a cry, I run into Chris’s arms, and he holds me close, wrapping both arms around me.
“Your shoulder,” I say, my voice muffled against his shirt.
“It’s fine, honey,” he says. “You don’t need to worry about me.” Then he kisses my forehead.
Ruth crosses her arms over her chest. “Is there something you two need to share with the rest of us?”
Chris and I break apart.
“Oh, right,” I say. “We haven’t had a chance to tell you guys.”
“Tell us what?” Micah asks, raising a curious brow.
“Jennie finally took pity on me,” Chris says with a pleased grin. “We’re, um, dating.”
We hear a lot of commotion outside as multiple vehicles arrive. A moment later, Hannah McIntyre and her husband, Killian Devereaux, walk into the house. Hannah unfolds a county map and spreads it out on the kitchen table. “We’ll use your house as our command center, if that’s okay.”
“Of course,” I say. “Anything you want.”
Hannah notices Chris’s arm around me, but doesn’t say anything. I guess now is not the time.
Killian pulls out a pen and starts drawing a search grid on the map.
“We searched the town in all directions,” Chris says, “but we didn’t see her. We’re going to have to expand the search grid.”
“But she couldn’t have gotten that far,” I say. “She doesn’t have enough stamina. Unless someone gave her a ride.” That thought terrifies me. I pull Chris aside. “Do you think David could have anything to do with this? Could he have picked her up and driven her somewhere?”
Chris isn’t surprised at my question. “That has occurred to me,” he says, his voice low. “I’ve put out an APB on him as well. We’re looking for him, if only to rule him out as a suspect.”
My stomach plummets at the thought of him having my grandmother. She already doesn’t like him, or trust him. I find it hard to believe she’d get in his car.
Chris’s phone rings. “It’s Jack,” he says. “Go ahead, Jack.” He listens a moment, and then he says, “I’m putting you on speaker, Jack. Repeat what you just said.”
“We found a pink slipper at the mouth of a trail leading into the woods two blocks east of Jennie’s house. I’ll send you a picture.”
Her slipper?That means she’s heading into the woods with at least one bare foot.
Chris’s phone chimes, and he shows me the image Jack sent him.
It’s a very familiar fuzzy pink bunny slipper. “Yes, that’s hers,” I say.
While Killian redirects his focus to the start of the trail, he draws new search patterns on the map. Hannah starts assigning teams.
Maya McKendrick and Travis Hicks walk into the house then, followed by Maggie.
Maggie hugs me. “I’ll stay here with Dawn so you can join the search,” she says.
“Thank you,” I whisper as I hug her back. “You’re a mind reader.”
“I figured you’d want to be there.” She presses her hand to her abdomen. “Owen doesn’t want me out looking. Actually, it was his idea. Paul is watching the store.” Paul is her brother and a co-owner of Emerson’s Grocery.
