Chapter Nineteen
“This is a rural area,” Becs toldEvan as he drove them through Dripping Springs’s main drag.“Which means the cell radius for the tower Charlie tracked her to can be up to twenty-five miles away.”
She wasn’t even sure the town was that wide.Granted, it wasn’t as small as Coyote Ridge, but with less than five thousand people, she figured it was still considered small-ish.They had big-name stores like HEB, Tractor Supply Co., and Home Depot.Sprinkled in with the various retail stores were all sorts of fast-food joints, including McDonald’s, Dairy Queen, Taco Bell, and Whataburger.And of course, there was a Starbucks.
Becs wasn’t positive, but she had read somewhere that Jensen Ackles and his wife had a brewery somewhere in town.Family Business Beer Co.or something like that.Admittedly, she didn’t drink much beer, but she was a hugeSupernaturalfan.She wondered whether he hung around there much.
Not that they had time to find out.
This town, with its plethora of businesses on the main thoroughfare, was nothing like Coyote Ridge, but she liked the feel of it.If only it were smaller, perhaps they stood a chance of finding Allison Bogart.
Becs sighed.“She could be anywhere.”
“Or nowhere.”
“Maybe a little optimism’ll get us further,” she said, not looking at Evan.
“Oh, sorry.She could be right around…” Evan took a right.“…This corner.Oh.Nope.Not here.”
She understood his frustration, even if it annoyed her.There were far too many large businesses along a bustling highway for them to do any sort of door-to-door.
“I’m runnin’ a property search, but I doubt I’ll come up with anything.”
“What about her parents?Do they own any property around here?”
“Oh, well, why didn’t I think of that?”Becs quipped.“I’ve already checked.And no, they don’t.Her mother remarried after divorcing her dad when he went to prison.Looks like she’s relocated to Arkansas.And Allison’s father’s residence is behind secured bars and walls in Abilene.”
“She have any other family?”
“Already looked.And no.”She held up her hand to stop him when he opened his mouth.“And if you tell me to ask JJ to check, I’m gonna punch you in the arm.”
When he reached the intersection, Evan stopped and looked over, his smile growing.
She hated that smile.Hated it because she loved it so damn much.More than she was willing to admit to anyone.Including herself.
“Stop that,” she said, holding up a hand to block his face.
“Stop what?”
“Smiling.”
“You don’t like it when I smile?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“I just don’t.”
“I think you do.You just don’t want to admit it.”
“You think wrong.”She pointed at a parking space.“Let’s find the hotel she stayed at.See if anyone recognizes her.”
“Thinking like a detective already,” he said with a laugh.
What she was thinking was she needed to get out of the car and away from him for a few minutes.It was difficult enough to sit beside him, to smell his light musky scent.It reminded her of the night they’d made out on the couch in his office.She’d been beside herself with lust that night.Never had a man made her feel the way Evan had.Not that she had a lot of experience.Her ex-husband was the extent of her history with men.He’d been her first boyfriend in high school, and she’d gone on to marry him like an idiot.And since the divorce, she hadn’t bothered to date.It seemed futile at this point in her life when the only thing she wanted to focus on was her daughter and her job.In that order.
Once out of the SUV, Becs armed herself with her cell phone, which had a picture of Allison Bogart on it.It was all they had to go on and she only hoped someone here would recognize her.
