Page 59 of Hiding in Montana

Tate, one of the horse wranglers, said, “I heard a single shot around three but didn’t think much about it. Figured someone was shooting a snake or something.”

Feeling the color drain from his face, Clint whirled around and looked at Linc and Annie. “Do you think she was?” He couldn’t even bring himself to say the word killed.

Annie stepped forward and grabbed his arm. “No, never happened. We don’t know if it was a shot or not. You know how sound travels out here. For now, we are going to assume that Polly and Jed are fine and maybe even together.” She said, “Quinn, can you brew coffee? Linc, get maps of the ranch and town. We’ll set up search parties, and when the sheriff arrives, we’ll be ahead of the game.” She looked around the room at the men looking back at her. Clint could see the determination on their faces. They’d give their all to bring Polly and Jed home. And so would he.

The next morning, Clint was running on fumes as he dragged himself into the dining hall to get coffee and breakfast. He didn’t want to take the time, but if he was going to be any good to Polly at all, he needed to be strong. Other than basic chores, every ranch hand was gearing up for another day of searching. Was it foolhardy to think they hadn’t gotten off the ranch? Before he made it inside, his cell rang.

“News?” he demanded.

It was Linc. “We found a car that is registered to Matthew Parker. Doors open with no one inside.”

“Where?” He threw open the double doors, ready to relay information to the men inside.

“Do you remember the old entrance to Annie’s parents’ spread east of the main entrance to Grace Star?”

“Yeah. Haven’t been out there in years.”

“Annie found the car in the tree line about two hundred yards in from the road.”

A flicker of hope that Polly was going to be found alive flared in his chest. “Wait, the ex’s car? It was empty?”

“Yes. Clint, we found dried blood on the back seat.”

His blood ran cold. If he hurt Polly, there was nothing that was going to stop him from tearing the ex limb from limb. “I’ll have the hands meet us there and we’ll search. Ask Annie if she can think of any good places to hole up.” He didn’t want to say what was really on his mind—if there was a good place to dump a body. He couldn’t say that out loud. “I’ll be there as fast as I can.”

“I’ve called the sheriff and requested air support out here, too.” Linc was doing all he could to move things along.

“I’m on my way.” He strode inside. About ten ranch hands were in various stages of eating. They had been searching all night and deserved a break, but they needed feet on the ground.

“Listen up.” All the hands gave him their undivided attention. “Annie discovered a car inside the old gates of her parents’ place just east of here. There’s a strong possibility it was the car Polly was in when she left the ranch. We need to get search parties scouring the area. Get something to eat and meet me there as soon as you can.”

Quinn was standing in the swinging doorway. “Give me a minute and I’ll come with you.”

Clint strode across the room. “I need you here feeding everyone. Someone needs to be around if Polly or Jed come back. We need eyes and ears here, too.”

He got where Quinn was coming from. If someone he considered a friend was missing, he would want to be searching, but it made sense and he needed someone at the ranch he trusted.

Quinn met his gaze. “Go. But have someone keep me in the loop and if either of them shows up, I’ll call.”

There were no words Clint could have said at that moment. Quinn nodded in the direction of the door. “Go.”

He didn’t have to be told twice. He ran back the way he had come and jumped in his pickup. He briefly wondered if they might need men on horses or UTVs. If they did, they’d work it out.

It seemed to take years off his life as he raced to the homestead. When he arrived, he saw Linc’s pickup beside the old house. Someone had taken good care of it, but it looked as if no one had been in it for quite some time. The short-lived hope that she was being held inside died when he saw Linc shake his head.

“A bunch of men will be over soon.” Clint looked around. “Where do we start?”

Annie said, “There are a few caves but in opposite directions from each other. As a kid I used to play in one more than the others since it was bigger. Less chance of bats and other creepy things.”

“Which way? I’ll go there first.” Clint looked between Annie and Linc. “What are we waiting for?”

“You need to see this.” Linc walked down an overgrown path. “Look.”

His heartbeat slowed as he saw the trail of blood. It was going off to the right. “Do you think this is an animal?” But he knew it was human. There weren’t signs of a scuffle, but something large had been dragged. Was it Polly or Jed?

“Afraid not.” Linc nodded back to the truck. “Get your shotgun and we’ll get going.”

Clint ran back to the truck and withdrew his phone as it rang. “Quinn?”

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