Page 19 of Bound By Truth (An Island Bound Novel)

“Not really,” he growled. “Let’s see what’s going on up there.”

* * *

Sierra tried to be inconspicuous as she waited on the curb, not listening as Reed talked in low tones to Officer Eric Jones. But it was hard not to overhear Reed’s hushed words as the two men stood not two feet away from her in the gateway to the house.

“You shouldn’t have let them in here,” Reed said, gesturing to the small crowd of people who now hovered around the front yard of the house. The rental property was a quaint three-bedroom cottage that’d been renovated and updated with all the modern luxuries. It was a favorite of the tourists who came to stay on KI. Especially because the view from the front verandah was straight across into the rugged bushland that edged the small township. It felt almost rural, but still with all the comforts of town.

“They just want to help,” Eric replied, chin jutting defensively. “Everyone’s first priority is to find this little girl. That’s all that really matters right now.”

Sierra could see by the way Reed clenched his teeth he was holding back what he really wanted to say. Sierra was acquainted with Officer Jones and she liked him, found him easy to get along with, affable, but also prepared to do his sworn duty when required. The way Eric was glaring at Reed right now, however, made her revise her judgment of him. She added resentful and defensive to his list of traits, something she’d never experienced before. All this alpha-male dominant thing always made her smirk. Men could be so predictable sometimes. Sierra guessed Reed probably had more experience in working these kind of crimes than Eric would ever see in his lifetime. But Reed was also the new recruit out here, and he’d have to be careful what he said if he didn’t want to alienate the rest of his team.

“I agree,” Reed said patiently. “But the Sarge said we need to keep the crime scene sterile. At least until forensics get here. The last thing we want is those mainland boys accusing us of shoddy policing.” Reed lifted his hands in the air in an imitation of a self-effacing shrug and Sierra was impressed. He’d handled the situation well. “At the moment, this job is more important than being out there, searching with the others.”

Sierra turned away to hide a small smile. He was good.

Her gaze landed on the two people standing up on the veranda staring down at them. The murmur of Reed’s conversation faded into the background. A woman was holding a girl’s hand. The girl looked to be around nine or ten. They had to be the mother and sister of the missing girl. Reed had said there was an older sister. She couldn’t see anyone who looked like they might be the father, and surmised he was probably out searching. Sierra blinked and looked away. She couldn’t bear to see the naked, haunting fear in the woman’s eyes. It went straight to Sierra’s soul. She knew how that mother felt. Knew the raw anguish that’d be scouring her insides, turning them into a barren wasteland. A lump formed in Sierra’s throat, and she crossed her arms over her chest, taking a step away, as if to escape from the horror of poor woman’s despair. This was a bad idea. She shouldn’t have come. Perhaps she should get Reed to take her back into town and then she could get in her car and drive home. Where it was quiet and safe.

A warm hand landed on her shoulder, making her jump. “Right, let’s get started.” She pulled herself together enough to nod her agreement.

He gave her a hard stare, and she thought he might be going to ask if she was okay. Those astute black eyes bored into her. But then they clouded over, became preoccupied, and he said, “I talked to the parents earlier. The last time they saw Jessica was at breakfast, around seven A.M. The mother was busy tidying up—they were supposed to check out this morning—and the father was in the shower.” Reed walked as he talked. “The mum, Heather, sent the two girls off to the living room to watch TV while they packed up the house. But the older sister said Jessica kept talking about wanting to see the kangaroos one more time before they left. Supposedly she was obsessed with them. Taylor, the older sister, said she ignored Jessica and started watching some cartoons on TV. That was the last time she saw her.”

They were almost back to his squad car now. She could hear voices coming from the surrounding bushland, people calling Jessica’s name. And there were more people walking up and down the road, poking into bushes and looking in ditches. The place was overrun with people trying to help.

“Grab your high-vis,” Reed said as he unlocked the car. “Do you have water?”

“Sorry, I came in such a rush when I heard,” she apologized.

He didn’t answer, but dug around in the back seat of the car and came out with two plastic bottles of water, handing her one and opening his and taking a swig.

“So, if you were a five-year-old girl who was obsessed with kangaroos, where would you go?” His question surprised her. But then she glanced back down the street toward the house, where Eric was finally ushering the well-meaning people out of the front yard. The house sat toward the end of the street nearest to town. She swiveled around and faced the other way, where the street kept going for around a hundred meters or so, before taking a sharp, right bend. Where the road bent right, the bushland opened up into a flat, grassy plain. The perfect spot for kangaroos to graze, although she couldn’t see any there at the moment. All this activity had probably scared them away.

“That way.” She pointed to the clearing.

“I was thinking the same thing,” Reed said adamantly. “Shall we start down there?”

“As good a place as any,” Sierra agreed.

“Do you mind staying behind me as we walk, until we get to the clearing?” he asked. “I know it’s probably useless, lot of people have already tramped up and down here. But I just want to keep an eye out for anything that might be a clue.”

“Sure,” she acknowledged. “I’ll keep my eyes peeled as well.” As long as she could keep her eyes on the road and away from his backside, that was. Away from those nicely-shaped thighs she’d first noticed on the ferry, that were just as agreeable now she saw them encased in the dark-blue pants of his uniform. Concentrate, Sierra. This was not what she was here for. Lowering her gaze, she stared at the gravel along the side of the bitumen. At least it hadn’t rained in the past twenty-four hours. Any signs should still be preserved. She wasn’t sure exactly what she was looking for. Footprints perhaps? What else would a little girl leave behind? She trailed behind Reed as he walked, head down, concentrating on the ground around the edge of the road. They stopped level with the open field. A wire fence cut the road off from the open area. Would the little girl have been able to climb though that fence? Perhaps she just went up to it and peered through, pushing her forehead up against the wire, to see the kangaroos feeding. Reed stepped gingerly closer to the fence. Sierra stayed by the roadside, not wanting to interrupt him. While she waited for him to conduct his surveillance, she cast her gaze around for anything out of the ordinary.

That’s when she saw it.

A discarded candy wrapper.

On the ground by her feet. Right at the edge of the road.

“Reed,” she called, not sure if she should bother him. When he lifted his head, she said, “I don’t know if this is anything, but do you want to come and take a look?” He turned, and she lowered her gaze back to the wrapper, scared it might suddenly disappear.

Reed crouched down to get a better look at her find. He snapped a shot of it on his phone, then pulled out a pair of latex gloves and put them on before he gingerly picked it up. “This wrapper is fresh. Not wet or covered in dirt. Which means it could’ve been here for a day or two. No more.”

“Is it…” She didn’t know how to finish her question. Could it be related to Jessica? Or was it just coincidence? People dropped candy wrappers all the time, threw them out their windows. There had been people traipsing up and down the road all morning. Could one of them have dropped it? It was a wrapper from one of those chewy caramel candies. Sierra knew it well; it was commonly sold in all the local stores.

“I don’t know,” he replied. “But I’ll bag it up and keep it for evidence. Document where you found it. Every little bit helps. I’ll ask the mum later if her daughter had access to any of these kinds of candies.”

Sierra stared at him as he stood up next to her.

“You’ve got good eyes. Observant.”

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