“Yes. Did you see the tracks?”
Zach had mentioned the tracks before too. But the man finally answered. “What tracks? We looked, didn’t see them.”
“They’re in the mud. In front of the barn.”
The officer raised a skeptical brow. “Show me.”
They traipsed out into the morning light. Every set of eyes focused on Zach as they crossed the yard to the barn. Theirsuspicionhit him like they were throwing fist-sized stones.
He did his best to ignore the stares. A moment later, he reached the soft spot in front of the barn.
And sighed.
Dozens of tracks. Small, round divots, tearing up the mud in all directions. Willow must have square danced on the spot for an hour. It hadn’t occurred to him to put her back in the stall.
“There were tracks here this morning,” he said. “But the donkey walked all over them.”
“What did they look like?” The officer seemed willing to play along.
“Some kind of animal. A big dog, maybe.”
“You have a big dog.”
“This was much bigger.”
“Are you saying a giant dog pushed the car next to your barn?”
Zach conceded the point. “All I know is that it was alongside the car tracks, and that it wasn’t one of my animals.” He waved a hand at the mud. “But they’re gone, now, anyway.”
The officer scrutinized the ground. Then transferred it to Zach. Noted, no doubt, the nervous shifting of feet. The hands that never stopped moving. Zach was powerless to squelch any of it.
“Look, Zach,” he said. “I want to believe you. But there’s only one way to settle this, at least for now. I’m taking you to the station. I need you in a lineup.”
“A lineup?” Zach’s gut twisted into knots. He lacked sufficient profanity for the moment.
“Yeah. I need the women to confirm they’ve never seen you before.”
Zach’s desperation rose. Not the police station. Not again. “I wasn’t at the storage facility. Well, not in the way you mean. And Idoknow one of the women. We’ve met.”
“So you say.” The officer gestured to his cruiser. “We’ll soon know.”
* * *
Cara put the teapot on the table in front of Jessie. “It will take a few minutes.”
“I like mine strong,” Jessie said. The older woman moved like she was in perfect accord with her environment. The crystals chimed gently.
Jessie liked the effect. Should she try braiding a few into her own hair? She grabbed a strand and peered at overly vibrant locks. Shouldn’t the red be fading by now? She guessed the can’t-wash-my-hair-because-I’ve-been-kidnapped thing had an upside.
Or a down side, depending on whether she liked the red. Which she still hadn’t decided.
“I’ll give the tea a few minutes longer.” Cara smiled at her, and the issue lost importance.
Cara’s small house was tidy, but green. Filled with plants. They were everywhere. Many in full, riotous bloom. The indoor jungle was echoed by an outdoor version. Every square inch of the yard also had rampant growth.
The modest-sized house wasn’t that far from Jessie’s home. Although she’d lost track of the exact location when Cara wove through the side streets.
She wouldn’t have come at all if it weren’t for the woman sitting quietly across from her. Jessie had to admit she felt safer with Cara. She had no idea why. The entire property soothed her jagged nerves. And for the first time in days, when she thought of Braden, there was no conflict within her. The man was a monster. Period.
