Otto shuffled forward, wrapping me in a hug. “A couple weeks ago. I’ve been trying to acclimate. Sorry.”
I shrugged it off and gestured them in. “No need. Y’all come on in and tell me what’s going on.”
Otto made his way in and perched on the club chair by the window, leaving the loveseat for Jackson and his husband.
“Is Mitch here?” Clark asked, his voice tense.
“Not right now,” I said slowly. “He’s been working on finding homes for the goats that the county took from that hoarder a ways back and he left earlier to do an evaluation on a potential home. Why?”
“Do you know if he’s been in touch with anyone about his father’s case?”
I quirked a brow at him. Clark was a great guy and I’d worked behind the scenes to help him for several years but damn he could be tight-lipped. “I don’t think so. He hasn’t mentioned anything since the sentencing hearing.”
Otto growled under his breath. “Do you mind if we wait for him?”
“No, of course not but it’s going to be a few more hours.” I pushed off from the wall I was leaning against. “I was just about to eat. Can I make anyone a sandwich?”
They all demurred so I excused myself to scarf down my food. I’d barely had time to swallow the last bite when there was another knock at the door, this one hard and loud, a police flashlight against the wooden frame.
Clark was closer to the door, so he stood and pulled it open.
“Deputy.”
Deputy Sean Taylor seemed surprised to be greeted by our town director, but he accepted the offer of entry and returned the greeting. “Director, Mr. Boreal, nice to see you.” He stretched his hand out to clap Otto on the shoulder. “Otto, nice to have you home.”
“Can we help you, Sean?” I asked, forcing myself to stay calm.
“Hey, Dane. I’m actually looking for Mitchel.”
“He’s at work,” I said slowly. “What’s wrong?”
Sean’s face tightened a bit. “What time did he go in?”
“A couple hours ago. Why?”
Sean exhaled slowly. “We found his car off the side of a ravine about an hour ago. There was no blood, so I was hoping maybe he left it there and came in search of help to winch it out.”
The beast inside me surged alert, snarling to be released. I took a deep breath and forced him back. “Where is the car?”
“Just outside of town, caught in the trees on the way down the hill to the river. Do you know where he was headed?”
I shook my head. “He was going to check out an adoption application but he didn’t say where.” I drew in another centering breath. “You said no blood?”
The deputy nodded. “It’s a weird scene. The car came to a stop against a tree, but the airbags didn’t even deploy.”
I glanced over to where Jackson sat on the loveseat, bouncing his leg with his phone to his ear. He shook his head. “No answer and his voicemail is full.”
“You texted him?”
Jackson nodded. “Yeah. Doesn’t show read yet, so I tried calling.”
“Cell coverage is spotty in that area,” Sean chimed in. “If you haven’t heard from him in the next hour or so, call dispatch and we’ll see about starting a search.”
“Will do,” Clark agreed. “In the meantime, we’ll get the car out so you don’t have to tag it.”
I watched out the window as Sean climbed into his patrol car before spinning around to where Clark stood, body tense. “What the hell is going on? Where is he?”
Clark shook his head. “I don’t know,” he insisted. “We just needed to talk to Mitch. We got word this morning from an informant that Fraser plans to appeal his conviction. Says Fraser supposedly found a way to prove that Mitch lied on the stand. I didn’t want him to be blindsided by it.”
