Читать книгу Hiding In The Dark - Sava Mathou - Страница 9

Chapter Three

Talking to the credit card company and bank lead nowhere.

Frustrated, Ellie sat back in her chair and began to drum her pen on the notepad. Deep in thought, it took Ellie a minute to realize the phone was ringing.

“Moore Detective Agency.”

“Ellie. It’s Jim. You going to be in your office for a bit? I think we need to talk.” A nervous edge in his voice.

“Sure. I will be here for a bit. Just going over some stuff.” Wondering why his tone suddenly made her nervous.

“Great. Give me twenty minutes, and I will be right over.”

Click. And the line was dead.

Ellie sat, staring at the phone for a moment and began to wonder what that was all about. Something was up. She could feel the butterflies in her stomach begin to rise. Looking up at the clock on the wall, it was just after 5:30 p.m. No use getting all excited. She would just have to wait and see what Jim had to tell her. Instinct was telling her that she wasn’t going to like what she was going to hear.

*****

Jim arrived shortly after six. He came into the office and sat in the chair. Sliding the folder in his hands across the desk toward Ellie, she reached out as it slid toward her. Jim sat back in the chair and let out a deep sigh. Ellie tried to read his face and see what he was thinking. She decided to wait and let him begin.

“Ellie. I am afraid you have bitten off more than you can chew on this one. Looks like your girl was being investigated for some time now. She was dating a young man from up in Wolf Creek who has some drug ties.”

Ellie didn’t say anything. She listened and let Jim continue, just giving a nod now and then to let him know she was listening.

“Seems she had been seeing this Elliott character. Steve Elliott. He has been suspected in being involved in a meth ring, operating out of the area. So far, no one has been able to get anything on him. We have not been able to find much on his background either. Seems he just showed up here in and began to work. No one knows much about him and that makes us nervous.

“The drug task force hasn’t been able to get anything on him either. They have been trying to get some information on him from some of our local informants and nothing has come of it.

“Seems there is one thing that has a bit nervous. We did have a local informant who was doing some checking on him. Our informant suddenly went quiet and wouldn’t give a reason. Then our informant up and disappears. We have not been able to find hide nor hair of the fella. We don’t like it. Something has been going on out there in Wolf Creek, and we are trying to get to the bottom of it.”

“What does this have to do with Shelby?”

“Seems a person that sounded a lot like Ms. Wallace made a call into our tip line at the drug task force. The person simply said they had some information on Steve Elliott and the owner of the ranch he works for in Wolf Creek. The owner of the ranch goes by the name of Howard Long. Mr. Long is a native of California and has long been suspected of being the head of a major meth cartel out there. No one has been able to get any information on him either. Seems his background is a ghost too.

“We think that Elliott is working for Long as an enforcer. We are getting tips that something major is in the works, and now, we have two people who could possibly help us nail these guys disappear.

“It doesn’t look good any way you look at. I want you to know that you might be getting yourself involved here with some major players. If that’s the case, then you need to know what you’re up against.”

“What makes you think it was Shelby that called in the tip?” Her interest now thoroughly piqued.

“At first, we didn’t know for sure. However, a trace is put through on all the calls that come into the tip line. Seems the call was traced back to Ms. Wallace’s cell phone.”

“Well, now. That does make things interesting.”

“I am afraid you’re not going to find much in that report. Just your basic information and inventory of what was found in the car. The forensics team went through the vehicle and didn’t find any evidence of foul play.”

“But with her call in to the tip line, then it does start to make it all look pretty interesting.” Fingers drumming the desk. Ellie resting her chin in her hand in thought.

“We think that Shelby either found out, or saw something that got her worried. Worried enough to make a call anyway. Either way, with her missing, it doesn’t look good.” Looking concerned and tired, Jim sunk into the comfortable chair much farther.

He began to speak again. “I am afraid that this is all part of our ongoing investigation and has to remain between the two of us. This is the reason I came to your office. You can’t let anyone know what I told you. I don’t want to see you get hurt on this one. I worried that you might get into this and ask the wrong question to the wrong person and get yourself in a bit of a mess or worse”

Ellie’s head jerked up at the warning. Looking across the desk at Jim, she could see the concern written in his eyes. Looks like her first case was going to be a tough one and a dangerous one at that. Well, I wanted excitement and looks like I am getting it. She began to wonder if she was biting off more than she could chew.

As Jim left her office, she found herself, chewing on the end of her pen in thought. Maybe Shelby wasn’t missing but hiding. If she found out something about his drug ring, it would make sense to want to hide. Hopefully, something worse hadn’t happened to the girl. Ellie found herself shuddering at that idea and tried to remove it from her mind. She would need to interview her friends. Girls talk and maybe one of them knew more than they were saying.

Time to talk to Stacy and Lynn. They were the last ones to see her.

*****

Driving out to Wolf Creek.

Ellie found Stacy’s home easy enough. Her parents had a beautiful log home, overlooking Holter Lake. Pulling into the driveway, Stacy was standing in the doorway, waiting for her. The girl didn’t look eager to talk, standing there with her hands shoved deep in her pockets. Ellie thought this might be a tough nut to crack. Either that or this girl knew more than what she had previously said in her statements to the sheriff and Shelby’s father.

The girl said a quiet hello and lead Ellie into a study just off the entrance. Looking around the room, Ellie saw that this girl grew up with no shortage of money. The study was two stories high flanked with tall book shelves. Glancing at some of the titles on the shelves, she saw some rare additions that had to cost a penny or two over her budget. It was a library collection most would envy. She led her over to some reading chairs that weren’t quite your typical reading chairs But more of an overstuffed calfskin-leather-covered high-class BarcaLounger. Looking at the chairs, they probably cost almost as much as her car. The room was definitely built to impress for those brought into its presence.

Ellie sat down in the comfortable chair. She decided to take the tact that she would wait for the girl to speak. This was a tactic she had learned in her schooling. It would give the person being quiet the upper hand. It set a level of dominance between two people. Ellie felt like she would need the upper hand with this girl, but she also wanted to build a level of trust.

“I am not sure I have anything that can help you out with Shelby’s disappearance,” the girl said rather quickly.

“First, let’s get to know one another. Then we can get into all that. Are there any questions that you would like to ask of me?” She had heard the girl say Shelby’s disappearance and began to wonder why she used that term. It was an odd and interesting way to start a conversation. Most people thought Shelby’s was probably murdered, but this girl specifically said disappearance.

“Not really. You just don’t look or act the way you see private detectives on TV.”

“Well, that’s probably true. I think I am going to take that as a compliment!” she said with her best grandmotherly smile. She could see the girl begin to relax in the chair. It was amazing what a simple smile could do.

“How did you end up doing this?” Stacey asked, relaxing further back into her chair.

“Boredom, my dear. My life was at a crossroads, and I needed some excitement added to my life,” she answered simply and honestly, hoping to further the trust.

“Cool,” the girl said with little enthusiasm.

“How long have you known Shelby?” Simple questions first.

“We have been best friends since second grade.”

“That’s a long time.” She could see Stacy smile at the thought of their friendship and the compliment.

Ellie decided to start her questions. “Can you tell me about that night and what you girls decided to do and did?”

“Not much. We drove around for bit, then ended up down at the ball field at the school.”

“Where did you all drive around?”

“Let’s see. We mostly drove around up at the lake and the campgrounds. We were wanting to see if any cute guys were camping up at the lake.” A blush filled her cheeks on her last statement.

“Did you find any? Cute guys, that is.”

“No. Just a couple of high school kids with their parents. We stopped and swam for a bit down at Log Gulch Campground. They have a nice sandy beach there, and more people tend to come down and swim there. It’s not so rocky on the beach like at the other campground.”

“Did Shelby talk to anyone, or seem to argue with anyone while you were there?” Ellie was trying to move the conversation along.

“No. We were all together. Steve drove by with his friends, and they stopped by for a minute. But there wasn’t an argument with anyone.”

“Okay. So there were no arguments. Are you talking about Steve Elliott? Didn’t he and Shelby just recently break up, or quit seeing each other? How was their conversation at the beach?” There his name again. The man keeps popping up everywhere.

“They didn’t argue, but Shelby tried to end the conversation quickly.” A nervous edge back in her voice.

“Why did she try to end the conversation so quickly?” Now I am getting to the meat of the matter.

“Shelby didn’t want to see Steve anymore. He kept coming around, and she had been trying to avoid him.”

“Why was she trying to avoid him?” Odd. Maybe it was just a young lover’s thing?

“Shelby said that sometimes Steve was too intense. When he got that way, it made her nervous. Shelby wanted to have fun, and Steve would get in one of his moods and ruin her fun times.” Stacy sounded like she was avoiding the answer.

“What specifically made her nervous?”

“Well. Shelby said he would get jealous of other guys when she talked to them. He started wanting to know where she was at and what she was doing all the time. Sometimes she felt like he was keeping too much of an eye on her.”

“Do you think he was stalking her?” Right to the heart of the matter.

“I wouldn’t say that, but he did show up at strange times. But then it’s a small town, so you’re bound to run into one another sooner or later.”

“Was this while they were dating, or after they broke it off?” Ellie was beginning to get the sinking feeling that somehow this Elliott character was involved in this whole thing. Her gut feeling was telling her to look more closely at their relationship.

“Both,” Stacy said too quickly.

“Sounds like Shelby was becoming afraid of Steve? Do you think Shelby would take off on her own to get away from Steve?”

The girl’s mouth suddenly fell open as though maybe she had said too much. Stacey didn’t say anything, so Ellie continued.

“I think you know more than what you’re telling me. You need to trust me that I am here to help Shelby and not get her into trouble. If Shelby is in trouble in some way, then you need to let me know. I can help her and have friends who can help her and keep her safe. If Steve is the reason that she is hiding, then I need to know.” Ellie laid it all out on the table.

The girl bounded from her chair, saying, “I am sorry that I can’t help you anymore.” It was obvious the conversation was over. Ellie handed the girl her card and walked out the front door and back to the car. She was about to turn around to say goodbye when the door closed quickly behind her.

Once in her car, Ellie backed out of the driveway. It had been an interesting conversation. She knew now that the girl was not missing but in hiding. That had become obvious. Ellie drove and wondered if she jumped too quickly at the end of their conversation. It was obvious the girl wasn’t ready to say more, yet she hoped that by giving her the business card that she would use it. Something definitely had to have happened for the girl to feel she needed to hide.

When Ellie arrived at Shelby’s friend Lynn’s house. It was abundantly clear that the girl no longer had anything to say to her. In the time it took to drive from Stacy’s parents place on Holter Lake and reach Lynn’s house over on Highway 434, the phone lines must have been burning. Lynn wouldn’t even come to the door. Her mother answered the door, saying that her daughter was terribly upset and now was not a good time to talk. Ellie barely had time to give the mother her business card before the door was closed in her face.

Ellie said loudly through the door, “I am here to help the girls. I know that something bad is going on. I can’t help if the girls don’t talk to me. My number is on the card. Please get your daughter to use it. I really want to help them out and bring Shelby home!” She could hear the footsteps move away from the door, hoping that her plea had not fallen on deaf ears and that the mother would talk some sense into the girl.

*****

Getting back to her office, Ellie stretched out on her comfy sofa and tried to piece the afternoon’s events out in her mind. First, she found it odd that Stacy had specifically used the word disappearance. There were so many other words that the girl could have used to explain what she thought had happened. But she had started off the conversation with that word. Second, when she mentioned quite by chance if there was a reason for Shelby to hide from Steve, the girl suddenly looked like she had let the cat out of the bag. That one, thankfully, didn’t have a good poker face. Third, the other girl, Lynn, would no longer even talk to her. It was strange in itself. After all, she was hired by Shelby’s father, and you think her best friends would be jumping at the chance to help?

Something was definitely going on with these girls, and since she couldn’t sleep anyway, it was time to take a ride back up to Wolf Creek and do a little tailing of the girls. Ellie walked to the back room and grabbed her go bag with all her equipment in it. She set the bag on the desk and started to prepare for her first stake out. She checked through the bag to make sure everything was there.

Binoculars. Check.

Camera and lenses. Check.

Handheld video camera. Check.

Digital tape recorder. Check.

Flashlights. Check.

Extra batteries for everything. Check.

Ellie grabbed the bag and headed to her car. She would stop at the house and change vehicles and drive John Sr.’s old Ford Explorer with the tinted windows. The girls wouldn’t know this car, and she doubted they would expect her in this kind of vehicle. She grinned. Besides, what would a sweet old lady be doing driving a big truck like this?

After picking up the other vehicle, she made a quick stop at the store to pick up a few things to nibble on before she headed out. Might be a long night, and it was better to be prepared than wishing she had made a stop earlier.