She pulled away and looked into his eyes. Kissing her on the forehead had been impulsive. He’d wanted her to know he had her back, that he would keep her safe. He pressed his hand against her cheek.
“Let’s get you home. I think we can maneuver this car back onto the road.”
He bent to stroke Frankie’s head. The dog was used to being around gunfire, but she had probably experienced some fear as well. “That’s my girl,” he said.
He put Frankie back in the kennel. The driver’s-side door was bent and wouldn’t open, so he crawled in through Lydia’s side and then Lydia got in. The vehicle clearly needed to go to the body shop but maybe it would get them back to town.
The car made grinding noises as he backed it away from the tree. His side window was a spider web. Then he turned the wheel to drive up the slanted dirt incline. It took several tries of backing up and moving forward before the front tire on his side touched the pavement. He got back on the road, pulling his phone out and pressing Eva’s number before he rolled forward.
“River, what can I do for you?”
“Can you find out who owns the land next to that hiking trail for me?”
“That should be easy enough. Those things are a matter of public record. I thought we were operating on the assumption that Elsie was taken away in that car.”
“I’m just wondering if the guy that owns that land was out there and saw something,” said River. “If you could send me a map of the area, as well, that would be good.”
“Can do,” said Eva. “I started the background check on Prentiss Grafton. He’s gotten into a lot of altercations, most of them pled down to misdemeanors, but clearly a guy who doesn’t have control of his temper.”
River thanked Eva and Lydia pressed the disconnect button for him while he drove.
“Got to follow every lead, huh?” Her voice sounded faint. She was losing hope. The last nearly fatal encounter had taken a lot out of her.
“We’re not giving up.”
She rested her palm against her forehead then patted his leg with the other hand. “Thank you.” After a long moment, she let out heavy breath. “Do you think that was the same man who came after me at my house?”
Though he had followed the attacker into the trees that night, River couldn’t say much about him except that he was tall, maybe six foot. “Same build, I would say.”
A voice came over the radio; the police officer who was his backup. “Officer Hanes here. I never caught up with the tan SUV. He kind of just disappeared. He must have turned off a side road but, honestly, I didn’t see any. Kind of weird.”
“Thank you for your effort.” River put the radio back in the slot.
The downward spiral of despair was almost palpable in the car.
“At least we know the make and model of the SUV, and it’s not looking good for Prentiss Grafton,” said River.
He supposed the next step should be to get forensics up to the trail to try to retrieve the rifle brass. With the help of the task force and the local PD, he was working this case from every angle and yet they didn’t seem to be getting anywhere. Elsie was still gone.
River stopped at the police station to leave the damaged patrol car to get repaired and to borrow another in the meantime.
The drive back to Lydia’s house seemed unbearably long. He only hoped he could keep her safe from another potentially deadly attack.
SIX
Lydia felt utterly defeated as River pulled up in front of her house. The patrol car was no longer parked out front. “I’ll stay with you until we can get another officer to stand watch. Let me call and find out when that will be.”
As she sat next to him in the patrol car, Lydia only heard one side of the phone call, but it sounded like they were short of officers because of a bank robbery. He shut off his phone and turned to face her, blue eyes holding an intense warmth. “I can stay with you for now.”
River got Frankie out of her kennel and escorted Lydia up the walk. She pulled her keys from her pocket. Once inside, River gripped her arm. “Let Frankie and me make sure this place is secure.”
She watched as Frankie and River moved from room to room and then stepped outside into the backyard.
Lydia slumped down on the sofa and grabbed a picture frame from the side table. Elsie in her princess costume. She pressed the photograph to her chest and closed her eyes as they warmed with tears.
River returned.
“Hey.” He rushed over to her and gathered her into his arms.
