“Did you find her?”
“No, but we found her car.” He explained where it was and in what condition.
“Shit. Brett said that Julia went home early. Apparently, she was sick.”
His mind spun. Could Julia have been the one to run her off the road? “Thanks. You locked up?”
“Yes. What can we do now?”
Liam looked over at the sheriff. “Trevor and Seth want to help.”
“Tell them to go to the Double G Bar and see if they can pick up any gossip.”
When Liam placed the phone to his ear, Trevor told him he heard. “We’ll head there now.”
Once he disconnected, Liam called Benson and told him the news, along with the fact he was with his uncle and the deputy.
“You said her phone was on the floor?” Benson asked.
“Yes.”
“That seems odd she wouldn’t take it with her. Maybe she left it in the car on purpose.”
Liam tried to think why she would but came up empty. “Maybe. Mason said he wanted to stop by our place to brainstorm. If you, Preston, and Ariel want to come by later, please do. I’m sure the sheriff will be doing everything he can to find her.”
“We can be there anytime. Call when you get home.”
“Sure thing.” He then disconnected.
Liam nodded to the deputy who had a bag with everything from the car. Benson’s comment had him thinking. Had Tawny left the phone there on purpose? “Have you checked to see if she tried to call anyone? Or leave a message?” Liam asked the deputy.
“Not yet.”
Tawny’s dad walked over to the evidence bag. “Let me see the phone.” Once the deputy handed it to him, he punched in her code. When he swiped the messages, he stilled. “She left a voice message for Alex, but she didn’t have the chance to send it—or didn’t want to send it.” He pressed play.
What did that imply if she couldn’t press play?
CHAPTERTWENTY-FOUR
“Liam and Alex.”Tawny’s voice wavered and sounded distant and breathy, as if she was stunned after being smacked in the face by the airbag.“Someone ran me off the road. Help me. Blue truck.”She sucked in a breath.“They’re coming. It looks like Rich…”
The sound of a squeaky car door opened and then a clunk, as if she’d dropped the phone or tossed it to keep them from spotting it. Tawny’s weak pleading tore at Alex’s soul. Her father turned off the phone and placed it back in the evidence bag.
“Do either of you know a Rich?” the sheriff asked.
“Not that I can think of. We’ve been speculating that Julia or Brad Smith might have been responsible for shooting Zach and maybe running her off the road. Tawny has never mentioned any Rich.”
“I’ll try cross-referencing a blue truck, the name Rich or Richard, and see if they match the fingerprints on the car door.”
“Let’s hope he or they weren’t wearing gloves,” Liam said.
Alex had never felt so helpless in his life. The best case would be a ransom demand or some set of instructions, though why target the sheriff’s daughter? That wasn’t the brightest move on their part. Liam wasn’t sure which of the Granger brothers was the richest, but it wasn’t the sheriff.
The rumble of the tow truck came toward them and parked on the side of the road, its lights flashing. With some help from the deputy and Liam, the sheriff made it back up the hill. Alex followed.
The sheriff placed a hand on Liam’s arm. “Go home. We’ll find her. If you hear from Tawny or learn any news, call me.”
“Of course.”