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Race to Rescue. Dana Mentink
Читать онлайн.Название Race to Rescue
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Автор произведения Dana Mentink
Жанр Современная зарубежная литература
Издательство HarperCollins
He shot a look back at Leeman, who still had the remnants of a smile on his face as he backed away from the dog. Anita wouldn’t come back. His heart seemed to have developed an unsteady rhythm.
Would she?
The oppressive desert heat pressed down on Anita as she neared Rockridge in the battle-scarred Dodge she’d rented. It seemed hostile already, this place that hid her brother somewhere, in some sizzling corner. From the airport, she’d placed one frantic phone call to Wild World Magazine. The secretary confirmed Drew hadn’t been heard from in several days. The second phone call went to the police. Their professional coolness infuriated her as it had when she’d called the first time from the Seychelles. This was her brother they referred to with such detachment. She made arrangements to meet with them as soon as she arrived.
The road reflected the summer heat back at her in angry waves. The Dodge seemed to feel it too: the engine rattled and coughed, causing her to slow to a crawl several times.
Her stomach finally convinced her to pull into a dust-covered diner. She ordered a sandwich to go and waited while they prepared it. As she collected the bag and paid, she noticed a truck pull up by the side of her rental. The driver, whose face was concealed by sunglasses and a baseball cap, peered in the side window.
Anita held her breath and watched him from the restaurant. Why was he so interested in a dented old Dodge? She stood frozen with indecision. Should she go ask the stranger what he was after? Drew’s terrified words came back to her. Her brother was involved in something bad, and for some reason he hadn’t shared any info with the police. Was this nosy stranger linked to his disappearance? Or was she sinking into paranoia? There was only one way to find out. Anita took a deep breath and pushed through the door.
The person in the truck turned a quick look in her direction and immediately drove off.
She tried to shake off the fear. You’re a stranger in a small town, Anita, she told herself. You’re a curiosity, like a new animal at the zoo.
But not a complete stranger, she reminded herself. There were at least a handful of people who remembered her last visit, and it was possible that some of them would just as soon not see her roll into their town again. Especially a certain rugged rancher.
She checked the rearview mirror as she pulled out onto the highway.
The intense sunlight made the passing landscape luminous, sprinkled only sparsely with vegetation. It brought her back to the spring study she’d done here, tracking the lesser long-nosed bats on their travels through the nectar corridor, the thousand-mile path of cactus and agave plants that stretched from Mexico to Arizona.
It never ceased to amaze her how God caused the plants to bloom in sequence from south to north, providing an enticing path for the bats and a winged platoon of pollinators. Back then the desert had seemed like some sort of Elysian field, made even sweeter because of her own attraction to Booker. Now, with her brother lost in the wide panorama and Booker out of her life for good, the air vibrated with a vague sense of threat. She’d tried calling Drew’s apartment several more times with no result.
By the time she made it to the Rockridge Police Department it was late afternoon and her clothes were wrinkled and sweaty. Stealing a look in the cracked rearview mirror, she decided she looked more like a high school kid than a confident adult. She pulled her uncooperative kinks into a knot at the back of her head and applied some lipstick. There was nothing she could do about the smudge of fatigue under her brown eyes.
Her efforts yielded a slight improvement. She was a world-class researcher, a woman of science, and the police would take her seriously if it killed her.
I’ll make them.
Sergeant Williams sat in a chair and dutifully typed out Anita’s comments. The miniscule squad room was dank, the air conditioner unable to keep up with the relentless heat from the bank of windows that looked out on a series of warehouses. “What did he say when he called?”
“Like I told you on the phone, he said something about trouble and murder. The magazine he works for told me he hasn’t been there in four days. There’s no answer at his apartment, and the super says he hasn’t been there, either.”
Williams lifted a heavy eyebrow. She rubbed a finger along her chin, glossy and black as the cold mug of coffee that sat at her elbow. “I called her, too. She says his rent is due. Not the first time he’s been late paying it.”
Anita stiffened. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“Just an observation. Perhaps the situation isn’t as dire as it appears. He’s disappeared before, around the time the rent was due. I spoke to the magazine, as well, to…” She consulted a notepad. “To the owner, a guy named Cyrus Leeman. He says your brother is a bit on the unreliable side. This is not the first time he’s been a no-show at work.”
This surprised her. Leeman didn’t say a word against Drew the last time they’d met. Anita felt a fire building in her chest. “My brother is in trouble, Sergeant. He was terrified when he called me. I don’t care what his past history is.”
“We’ve got to take past history into account when a missing persons report is filed, Ms. Teel. It doesn’t mean we won’t look for your brother.”
She slammed her purse on the desk. “Listen, I flew here straight from the Seychelles Islands.”
The officer folded her arms. “Long trip.”
“Yes.” Her tone was icy. “I interrupted critical research to come and find my brother. Do you think I would have done that if I didn’t fear for his life? My work is very important.” As soon as she said it, the arrogant tone of her own words struck her, but she was too caught up in the anger to give it much heed.
Williams leaned forward, her tone level, eyes burning. “Thank you for filling me in on your status. You see this folder here?” She stabbed a thick finger at the bulging manila sleeve. “This here folder is filled with important people just like you, who need this tiny police department to help them. Your request will be added to theirs. You will be given the same attention and services that they will receive. We do our absolute best for anyone, no matter how important they are, or aren’t.”
Anita clamped her mouth together, trying to figure out how to undo the damage.
Williams handed her a card. “I will continue to check into it. Here is my card and the number for the Department of Homeland Security. They manage the Border Patrol office in Westview, that’s the next town over.”
“Border Patrol? I thought this would be a police matter. Missing persons.”
“Leeman says your brother was photographing some rock formations south of here. Rockridge is twenty miles from the Mexican border, Ms. Teel. I don’t need to tell you what kind of trouble that causes. This is a dangerous town.” She patted her hands on the folder. “Very dangerous.”
Anita blinked as she left the relative cool of the police station and headed back to the car. Her thoughts spun in dizzying circles. Drew was missing, and the police weren’t convinced it was foul play. She had to admit with his erratic behavior at work and skipped rent payments, his character wasn’t exactly unimpeachable. He’d managed to keep her away from his apartment and his office during her last visit.
And I didn’t do much to further his cause. She mentally kicked herself for her attitude.
Figuring the best course of action was to talk to Leeman and then head to Drew’s apartment, she wrenched open the car door, ducking away from the blast of heat. As she bent to slide behind the wheel, her gaze fastened on the deflated tire. Then on the other. She ran around and checked the other side. Four tires, completely flattened, the jagged holes showing where they’d been punctured.
She got out and slammed the car door so hard the windows rattled. Who would