and once she sees me, she’ll come out.”
“That’s what we’re hoping, too.”
“You were right—I do like Paige. And she vouched for you as a good guy.”
“Were you worried I was otherwise?”
“No, but it’s always good to have someone verify my first impression.”
“Glad I passed the test. Though I can’t say I’m all that comfortable knowing you two have been discussing my merits and flaws.”
“Ha! As if men don’t do the same with women.”
“I promise, I haven’t discussed you with anyone.”
Under other circumstances, that admission might have disappointed her, Maya told herself. But there were bigger things at stake right now. “What’s the plan for this morning?” she asked.
“I think you should hang around the main camp. If any of the search team spot Casey, or any signs of her, they can contact the base and we’ll get you to that location.”
That sounded like a lot of sitting around and waiting for other people to find Casey—not what she had in mind. “What are you going to do?” she asked.
“I want to take a look at the property adjacent to the place your sister and her husband owned. A few years back, a developer bought it and had plans to build a big resort, but he ran afoul of local environmentalists. The property is supposed to be vacant, but Paige told me last night she was up there a few days ago and it looked as if someone had been working there. If I can find whoever that was, maybe they saw something that will lead us to your sister’s killer. Or maybe someone there has seen Casey.”
“Or maybe this mysterious person is the killer.” Maya wrapped her arms across her stomach to ward off a chill.
“Maybe.” Gage looked grim. “It’s something I need to find out.”
“I want to come with you,” Maya said. “If there are other people working there, it makes sense that Casey would have headed in that direction.”
“I don’t know what I’m going to walk into,” Gage said. “I can’t risk putting you in danger.”
“I don’t care about that.” When he gave her a questioning look, she set her jaw. “No offense, Deputy, but I’ll do almost anything to save my niece. That’s more important to me than anything else right now.”
“And if I order you to stay away?” he asked.
“Then you would have a fight on your hands,” she said. “And when it comes to people I love, I’m not afraid to fight dirty.”
“The scary thing about that,” Gage said, “is that I absolutely believe you.”
“Why is that scary?”
“Let’s just say, I never met a teacher like you. I’m still making up my mind whether I like that or not.”
“You don’t have to like it. Just don’t stand in the way of me taking care of my niece.”
“I won’t stand in your way,” he said. “Unless you’re in mine. But I think we’re on the same side in this matter. Just respect that I have a job to do. I want to find your niece as much as you do, but I also need to find your sister’s killer. I think we can do both.”
“Are you going to take me with you this morning or not?”
She waited a long, tense moment for him to answer. If she had to, she would go to his brother, the sheriff. Or she would get the press on her side—there was bound to be a reporter at the site, surely.
“All right, you can come with me,” he said. “But if I sense anything dangerous, I’m taking you right back to camp—no arguments.”
“All right.” That would have to do—for now. Maya had meant it when she told Gage she would do anything to protect her niece. Anything at all.
Gage wasn’t used to people pushing back against decisions he made as an officer of the law, and his first instinct with Maya had been to shut her down. But he had heard the determination in her voice and seen the grief in her eyes, and recognized a fight he couldn’t win. He didn’t really expect to run into any danger on Henry Hake’s land, and if they did, he was confident he could protect them both.
He parked behind Travis’s SUV and the sheriff walked out to meet them. “The first group of searchers just went out,” he reported. “Lorna has her dog with her, and a couple of other people say they know a little sign language, so if they see Casey, they can try to communicate with her.”
“Thank you,” Maya said. She looked pale in the early morning light, and Gage read the disappointment in her eyes. She had been hoping for word of her niece when they arrived—she wanted to hear that the little girl had already been found.
Gage put a hand on her shoulder. “Wait over by the fire for me. I need to talk to the sheriff for a minute.”
She nodded and moved toward the fire, a sad but determined woman. Gage didn’t know if he would be as strong if he were in her position.
“What did you find out at the high school?” Travis asked, bringing Gage’s attention back to work.
“I talked to the head coach. He says they’re missing three gym mats, a climbing rope and some weights.”
Travis’s brow furrowed. “Nothing anyone could really sell, and I don’t see how any of those things could be used to manufacture drugs.”
“Right,” Gage said. “So maybe it’s just kids?”
“Maybe,” Travis said. “Though when kids vandalize a school, they do it to make a mess—graffiti, tearing things up. This doesn’t feel like that.”
“Yeah,” Gage agreed. “It feels like someone went in there looking for some specific items, grabbed them and got out.”
“More than one person, probably,” Travis said. “That’s a lot to carry. Those mats are bulky and the weights are heavy.”
“The mats are bright blue,” Gage said. “We’ll keep our eyes open around town—maybe we’ll spot them.”
“In the meantime, we’ll put extra patrols around the school,” Travis said.
“I want to take a look on Henry Hake’s property this morning,” Gage said. “It’s close enough Casey might have wandered over there. She might be hiding out in one of the buildings.”
“It’s a long way for a kid that little to walk,” Travis said.
“Only about a mile cross-country,” Gage said. “That little boy who was lost last year was over three miles away from the place his folks had last seen him.”
“Give
