Sheriff Barron grabbed a gym bag from beneath his desk and gave her a lopsided grin. “Then either I’ll be back soon, or Guthrie will, and you can go home to bed.”
“Take your time.” Cassie glanced around the office. “Where’s Marnie?”
“She’s telecommuting,” the sheriff said. “She can handle dispatch from home.”
“I have no doubt about that,” Cassie said. “That woman could juggle knives and talk a jumper off the ledge at the same time.”
He nodded. “Just lock up if you need to leave before I get back.”
“I should still be here. I want to do some more research.”
The sheriff’s gaze softened. “Making any progress on finding your friend?”
Cassie sighed. “Not really. You’d think that after four months, we’d have found something. Anything.”
“And yet, there’s been nothing.” The sheriff shook his head. “No new leads?”
Cassie shook her head, her lips tightening. “I still think it’s her ex-boyfriend who’s done something with her.”
“The detective in Los Angeles questioned him. He was at work when she disappeared. His alibi is airtight.”
“Then he paid someone to do his dirty work,” Cassie said. “He was an abusive bastard. I tried to get Penny to leave him. Every time she said she would, he’d start acting right again and apologize for his treatment of her.”
“It’s a vicious cycle. The abused woman tends to think she’s the one at fault,” the sheriff said.
Cassie nodded and frowned. “You’re not getting to the gym by standing here, talking to me. I won’t have Doc Adams chewing me out for delaying you from the lifestyle he’s prescribed for you.” She grinned. “Don’t worry. I’ll stick around and answer anything that comes up.”
The sheriff drew in a deep breath and let it out. “Okay. I’m going.” He pushed through the door and paused on the threshold. “If anything comes up, I can be here in less than ten minutes.”
Cassie chuckled. “This is Eagle Rock, Montana. Since the James McKinnon abduction case was solved, we’ve had a dry spell of crime.” Cassie laughed. “Not that I’m complaining. We’re lucky to get one speeder every other day.”
“And you’ve met your quota for the next two days.” Sheriff Barron nodded. “Yeah. Yeah. I’m outta here.”
Finally, the sheriff made it through the door and out to his service vehicle.
Cassie shook her head. Barron was a good man who did a lot for the community he served. They were lucky to have a man with such solid values and a desire to help others.
Now, if only she could find Penny and bring her home.
Cassie went online to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons database, hoping for any updates that might give her a lead to follow in Penny’s disappearance.
She suspected Penny’s ex because of his track record as an abuser.
Penny’s car hadn’t been found. For all Cassie knew, Penny and her car could have been driven off a cliff into the ocean or into a lake where no one would find her or the car for decades.
Deep down, Cassie hoped to find Penny someday, alive and maybe held captive, not dead and buried. The odds of finding a missing person after more than forty-eight hours were slim. Four months had passed with no leads, no sightings and no sign of her car or her on any video surveillance cameras or in any airports, car lots or parking garages. It was as if Penny had disappeared off the face of the earth.
“No,” Cassie said and searched even harder. She wouldn’t give up.
Deep in the NamUs database, Cassie jumped when the phone on the sheriff’s desk rang.
She leaped to her feet and answered. “Deputy Douglas.”
“Cassie,” Marnie’s voice sounded in her ear, curt and anxious. “Is the sheriff around? He’s not answering his cell phone.”
“He’s gone to the gym,” Cassie said. “What do you need?”
“Got a DB at the Lucky Lady Lodge.”