She pulled back. Her cheeks grew hot when she looked into his eyes. “Sorry I just—” She smoothed her shirtfront, embarrassed that she had fallen into the arms of a man she barely knew. She stared at the ground.
“It’s okay. Don’t be embarrassed. You held it together pretty good the whole time we were searching.” He turned to go. “I’ll stay in touch with you.”
She pulled her key from the pocket of her jeans. She hadn’t taken her purse on the hike. Only her license and house key. She turned the knob to open the door. River was halfway down her sidewalk when he pivoted back to her. “Lock your doors. Just a precaution.”
“Yes, of course.” She didn’t want to believe that her life was under threat.
She stepped inside the dark room. Reminders of Elsie were everywhere, from her favorite stuffed animal to the crayon pictures on the refrigerator. She fell face-first onto the sofa and prayed through the flowing tears.
Oh, God. Please bring my littlegirlback to me. She’s all I have.
* * *
As he drove toward the burger place to do his interview with Danielle Potter, River could not get his mind off of Lydia. The comment about not having any family had stabbed at his heart. He’d do anything to end her agony and see light come back into those green eyes. He could still see the photograph of Elsie in his mind. Though he couldn’t neglect his duties to the task force, his mind was on finding Elsie. Hehadto find her.
The Ridge police had given him permission to take lead on Elsie’s case, but he’d have to run it by his task force supervisor too.
Only a few cars were parked in the lot of Ridge Burgers and More. Before he went inside, he pulled up the phone number for Second Chances rehab and called. He identified himself to the woman who answered and asked if Sloane Caldwell was at their facility.
A pert female voice responded, “What is this concerning?”
“An investigation involving a kidnapping of his daughter.”
“Oh my. I can tell you that Mr. Caldwell has been here for over a week, and he’s not allowed to leave the facility or make phone calls at this early stage of the program. He’s had no news from the outside world as per the protocol of the program. The only reason we break that rule is for death in the family. Finding out about his daughter could lead to relapse.”
“I understand. I just need to know if he had the opportunity to leave the facility.”
“I can talk to staff and see if he was present at his meetings today.”
“Thank you.” He recited his number and hung up.
He drew his attention back to the nearly empty parking lot of Ridge Burgers and More. It was well past the lunch hour. After deploying Frankie, he pushed through the glass doors and stepped up to the counter. Only two tables were occupied. One with a mom and two kids, and the other with an older gentleman eating alone. The scent of salt and grease hung in the air.
A boy of about sixteen stood behind the cash register. “Welcome to Ridge Burgers. What can I get for you?”
River pulled his badge. “I’m looking for Danielle Potter.”
“Oh yeah, she said a cop would be coming by. She’s in the back, cleaning the fryer. I’ll tell her you’re here.”
The boy disappeared and a moment later a woman with brown hair twisted into braids, arched eyebrows and a nose ring emerged. Her rich brown eyes had a sparkle to them. She couldn’t have been more than twenty years old. “Officer Jameson?”
He nodded.
After filling a paper cup with soda, Danielle came around the counter and pointed at an empty table. “We can just sit here. I’m due to take my break anyway. I have fifteen minutes.”
River took a seat and Frankie sat at attention beside him.
“Cute dog.”
Frankie thumped her tail.
Having his partner close always seemed to break the ice with people. “You called the task force because you thought you learned something about Gayle that might be helpful.”
She took a sip of her drink. “Gayle and I were friendly, but we weren’t friends. You know what I mean?”
“So, you didn’t get together outside work?”
“Exactly, but we got along real well, and she was always chatty when we worked a shift together. I’ve been thinking about it ever since I saw the news article about her body being found on that hiking trail.”
