Jericho tensed. This was not a good sign. When the police sent out four squad cars, you could bet it was going to be a major fuck up.
Billy caught his attention then. He looked like a deer caught under a hunter’s shotgun.
Seeing Jericho’s hard stare, he bent and kept picking up the trash, hoping to go unnoticed by the police, while the other men were loading their tools into vehicles, anxious to head out.
With an experienced eye, Jericho studied the officers as they got out of their cars picking out the one with the most pompous attitude.
“Can I help you, Sheriff?”
“Who’s in charge?” Giving him a narrowed look, which Jericho bet was practiced in front of a mirror, the officer set out to intimidate. It wasn’t going to work, though. Jericho had little left to fear in life, and this asshole wasn’t on that list.
“That would be me.” Jericho stared each man in the eyes, knowing that to look scared was like feeding raw meat to hungry sharks, before repeating his question. “Can I help you?”
“We have a report of a missing woman who escaped from the mental facility twenty miles from here.”
“If she’s on foot, then why would you think she would be here? We haven’t seen a woman hanging around. Believe me, my men would have noticed.”
The few men who had stepped closer to overhear the conversation started catcalling and whistling.
“Shut up!” one of the officers yelled at the men.
“They’re just letting off some steam. A lot of them have been away from home for a while.” Jericho’s tone warned he wouldn’t let the men be harassed for any reason.
The officer stuck out his chest, which only emphasized his paunch. “One of your men was seen with the woman last night.” Jericho didn’t have to ask who, but the officer told him, anyway. “The manager at the Stop and Go identified him as a Billy Smith and said he works for this construction crew.”
Jericho cursed to himself. The crew often stopped at the convenience store to grab a coffee or a quick snack.
“He does,” he admitted.
“Is he here?”
Before Jericho could say anything, Billy spoke up, “I’m here.” He walked to stand in front of the officer.
The sheriff smiled, showing his shark teeth. Here was a man he could intimidate.
“Did you see this young woman?” The sheriff produced a picture from the folder he was holding. It was a grainy black and white image of a young woman with dark hair.
“I talked to a lot of women last night.” Billy tried to smile when the men standing around started to cheer again.
When Jericho saw the officers getting angry, he motioned the men away.
“Long, dark hair, blue eyes, and a white dress.”
Even Jericho could see Billy had seen the woman. He couldn’t hide the guilty look in his eyes.
“I gave her a ride to the Stop and Go last night when I left the bar.”
“Mind if we check out your truck?”
Jericho spoke up, “Got a warrant?”
Another officer handed him the signed warrant.
Jericho sighed, unable to prevent the inevitable. “Show him your truck, Billy.”
Billy turned as two officers followed him to his truck. Jericho watched as they searched. Ten minutes later, they came back empty-handed.
“Looks like she’s not here,” Jericho stated.