I gave them all my best smile. “Don’t go anywhere. I’m sure I’ll have more questions.”
I turned to Kayden. “Give me a sec, and I’ll grab my bag.”
He looked at me like I’d just poked a hornet’s nest, which I was absolutely certain I had.
I rushed to the guest room and grabbed my backpack and phone that I’d put on charge when I’d arrived. By the time I returned to the dining room, everyone but Kayden was gone. I smiled at him. “Lead the way.”
Outside, the heat hit me like I’d walked into a wall.
I followed Kayden out into the yard, trying to keep up with him. As he did his best to lose me, my mind whirled with everything I’d learned in the last twelve or so hours.
Frank had been missing for weeks with no report filed. Doug Walker’s items had been found, but Bob had taken no action to recover them. There was a station float with cash in it that nobody kept tabs on. And, there were multiple missing persons connected to Koolaroo Ranch. Three.
On top of all that, I was absolutely certain every person at that dining table had been hiding something from me.
Maybe going alone with Kayden wasn’t the smartest decision I’d ever made. I watched his broad back, his shoulders swaying with his angry strides.
No. What am I thinking? Kayden still had animosity toward me, but he’d never hurt me.
We walked around to the rear of a massive shed, and the helicopter came into view. “So, when did you get your pilot’s license?” I called to his back.
He glanced over his shoulder. “I didn’t.”
“Oh. Joy.” Farrk.
He raised his chin. “So how come you want to see this eastern outstation? Bob’s already seen it.”
“What? When?”
Kayden’s brows shot up. “Last week, when he was here.”
What the hell?
I frowned. “He didn’t mention that.”
“I reckon there’s a whole heap of stuff Bob hasn’t mentioned.” He opened the passenger door. “Get in.”
He was right. There was a lot Bob hadn’t mentioned. I held up a finger. “Just give me one minute, will you?”
“Sure, Sapphire. Because I don’t have anything better to do.”
“Thanks. Sorry.”
His expression softened just slightly, and he shook his head.
I stepped away from him, pulled out my phone, and called Bob.
It rang out.
I tried again.
Same.
In four years of working under Bob Ackerman, he had answered his phone every single time. It was a point of pride with him. What’s the use of a senior sergeant who goes to ground when you need him? He’d said it to me in my very first week, and he’d lived by it every day since.
Until now.
I put my phone away and walked back to the chopper.
