Page 56 of Moonlight Over Montana

“Yes, they’ve started to look for her. Once I hear back from Linc, I will let you know.”

“What else can we do?” Maggie didn’t have to look at Jed; he would be right by her side until Susie was home safe.

He clenched his fist. “Don’t tell us to go back to the ranch and wait. That’s not going to happen.”

He clasped his hands on the top of his leg. “I figured. My people are going to be stretched thin with the storm and under normal circumstances I wouldn’t advise you to do anything but wait. However, in this case, can you start with the stores near the library and ask if anyone has seen her or a stranger around. If someone tells you they have seen anything, let me know right away. In the case of a vehicle, probe for the best description possible.”

Maggie stood up with Jed mirroring her. “We’ll start right now and please, if you hear anything at all, call me or Jed. You have our numbers from the fire, right?”

“I do.” He rested a hand on his belt.

She felt all color drain from her face. “Do you think this is connected to the fire? Could the person who burned down the diner have taken Susie?”

“That’s highly unlikely. They are very different scenarios.”

“You mean crimes, right?” Maggie’s heart felt as if the vise that had started to compress it was getting tighter by the second.

“We’re not going to jump to any conclusions. Susie may have gone off with a boy for the day, not realizing the consequences.”

“She doesn’t have a boyfriend.” Once again tears formed on her lashes, and she blinked them back. She didn’t have time to cry. “Not that I know of.”

“Try not to panic yet. She’s only been unaccounted for the last few hours.” Tye walked them past the desk sergeant. He handed Maggie a pad of paper and a pen. “Write down everything you learn. No detail is insignificant.”

She grabbed his arm. “We’ll find her, please?” The last word came out in a sob.

“We’ill do everything we can.” He looked at Jed. “Drive safe out there.”

Jed’s phone buzzed in his pocket and Maggie waited while he answered.

“Linc, what did you find out?” He nodded, “Nothing else?” He closed his eyes as if deep in thought. “We’re with the sheriff now, I’ll tell him. And our next step is to talk to everyone we can find in town and see if anyone saw anything.” He paused again. “I’ll touch base later.”

“What?” Maggie had been focused on him during the entire phone call and he knew something.

“One day last week, Clint saw Susie driving one of the quads toward the entrance of the ranch. He didn’t think anything about it at the time, but then Zak mentioned he’d been out mending a fence near the road and saw Susie talking to a guy in a gray truck.”

Maggie’s mouth went dry. “Was it a dually with tinted windows?”

“He didn’t say, just that it was a late model, dark-gray truck.”

“That’s good information,” Tye said. “When you’re talking to shop owners, ask specifically if anyone has seen a truck fitting that description but don’t mention the dual wheels straight up. Let’s see what we can discover out first. Being that we’re in ranching country, gray trucks are common.”

“But when we add in the dual wheels and tinted windows, that is less so. A lot of cash tied up in a work vehicle.”

“Unless that someone spends a lot of time driving long distance,” Maggie said.

“What are you getting at?” Jed asked.

“Call the ranch and see if anyone can check to see if Susie’s laptop is in the cabin. She has a horse sticker on the cover. If it’s there, we need to get back to the ranch. She’s been chatting with someone and I’ll bet it was Cash. Don’t ask me why I’m leaping to this conclusion, but it makes sense. She’s become more argumentative since the fire, and she’s talked about him more in the last month than she has in fifteen years, then there’s her sudden interest in barrel racing and the rodeo. Who else could it be?”

“Talking to the man is one thing, but going someplace with him is another,” Tye stated.

“That man could charm a snake, and if he wanted to, he could convince his own child of almost anything. But why now, after all these years of silence, would he be interested in being a part of her life and why not just ask to see her instead of going behind my back?”

Jed placed a calming hand on her shoulder and gently turned her so she was looking at him. “We don’t know that it’s Cash, but if it is, he’ll be easy to track down. Give Tye the particulars of his life with the rodeo and he can start investigating.”

She nodded. “I can do that, and you’ll call Linc again and ask about her computer?”

“Of course, and then we’ll start with the shops closest to the library and fan out from there.” He tipped up her chin. “I said it before and I’ll tell you again, we will find her.”

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