“I might be able to help with that,” said a young man, walking toward them. “I work the desk at night. When he left, he dropped off the keys. I knew he was leaving early and asked if everything was alright with his room. He said it was wonderful but that he needed to leave earlier than expected because of business he has in Nashville.”
“Did he say what kind of business?” asked Jonas.
“No, sir. Just that he was headed to Nashville. I asked if he wanted hotel recommendations, and he said he would find something suitable.”
“That’s very helpful,” said Carl. “He’s not going to stay in something low-budget. He likes his luxuries, and that’s what he’s going to look for.”
They saw four men get off the elevator in uniform, Rett, Sebastian, and Conor following them. They spoke in low voices, the men shaking their heads.
“Anything?” asked Carl.
“She was strangled to death,” said Conor. He looked at the sheriff. “I’m sorry, sir.”
“I want this man brought in. I want to face him,” he said.
“We’ll get him,” said Jonas.
“It appears that they were intimate, but initially, there didn’t seem to be any reason to believe it wasn’t consensual. Unfortunately, it looks as though that might have changed later in the evening. Your text messages were on the screen of her phone. She had a photo of the two of you together. If he saw that, he might have gotten scared,” said Conor.
“Damn,” he said with trembling lips. “We were so close. She was such a good kid. Worked her way through college, then insisted on paying off her debts herself by getting another job. I never worried much about her. I knew when she was supposed to leave the restaurant and when she would usually get home.
“Last night, when she didn’t come home by one, I started to get really worried and texted her several times. She said she was having drinks with a friend but would be home soon. When I didn’t hear from her again, I started texting. This is my fault.”
“It’s not your fault, sir,” said Jonas. “A father worrying for his daughter is the most natural thing in the world. You couldn’t have known what she would encounter. I think we have to make this guy’s face appear, as it is now, all over the country. We need to make this so that he can’t get into a hotel, resort, motel, travel lodge, nothing! He’ll be so frustrated, he’s liable to do something stupid, and that’s what we need.”
“I can help with that,” said the sheriff, wiping his eyes. “I can make sure that his face is plastered all over the country. Every law enforcement agency will know what he looks like and what he’s done.”
“There’s no evidence that he’s carrying a weapon, but we believe he most likely is. Make sure that the post says he is armed and dangerous and to approach with caution,” said Carl. “We would prefer that any information be fed to you and your team, then to us. Can you do that for us?”
“I can definitely do that for you,” he said, nodding. Jonas stepped forward, shaking the older man’s hand.
“I’m so sorry for your loss, sir. I promise I will not stop until I get this man.”
“I know you’ll succeed, son. There’s nothing more dangerous than a man hunting with a vengeance.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Khloe looked at the chart of her next patient and frowned. A seventy-three-year-old woman who hadn’t been to a doctor in almost seven years. She was complaining of abdominal pain, among other things.
“Here are her labs,” said Kelsey, handing her the results. “Blood sugar is high, cholesterol, triglycerides, all out of whack. Her blood pressure is high. This lady has the makings of a disaster.”
“Great,” frowned Khloe. “Welcome to the team, right?”
“Don’t worry, honey,” laughed Kelsey, “it gets better. Come on.”
They walked into the room to find the old woman seated on the table, wrapped in the gown they’d left her. Unfortunately, she had all of her clothing on beneath it.
“Mrs. Grenadin, we needed you to remove your clothing,” smiled Kelsey.
“I ain’t removin’ my clothes for nobody but my husband, and he’s dead. So unless you got him here, this is how it’s stayin’.”
“Alright, ma’am,” nodded Khloe. “I’ll see if I can take care of things this way. To start with, your blood work doesn’t look good, and your blood pressure is sky high.”
“Well, I don’t feel so good either,” she said. She lifted her right bottom cheek from the table and expelled a large gas bubble. “Woo-ee, that feels better.”
“Yes, ma’am, I’m sure it does,” smirked Khloe. “Do you often have gas like that?”
“All the time. Grandmama always said, better out than in, or you’ll explode.” Khloe and Kelsey laughed, shaking their heads.
