“If she had no family, what would she be doing here?” Sheriff Wallace asked.
“She could have been on the run,” Ellie suggested. “Looking for a safe place.” Instead, she’d run into the hands of a killer. “Can you and your crew look for abandoned cabins or properties in the area where she could have holed up?”
“I was going to suggest that,” he said, his tone irritated.
“I figured as much,” Ellie said, offering him a saccharine smile.
Without another word, he turned and headed back to his lunch date, seemingly in no hurry. What if the killer was hiding out in one of those places now?
She needed extra manpower. Frustrated, she phoned Deputy Landrum, explained and asked him to come.
“Be there ASAP,” he said.
“Thanks.” She ended the call then headed to the counter where Daisy was serving two teenagers burgers, fries and milkshakes.
“Did you hear they found a body?” the pale black-haired girl said.
The sandy-blond girl grabbed the ketchup and dumped some on her fries. “I know. I wonder who she was.”
“Maybe that girl from way back when,” the first girl muttered.
Ellie cleared her throat, and the girls turned, eyes widening at the sight of her badge. “Hi, ladies,” Ellie said then introduced herself. “Daisy.”
Daisy gave her an anxious smile as the teens turned away from her. “Detective, I figured you’d stop in here sometime,” Daisy said.
Of course she would. Local diners were the hub for gatherings and gossip quickly floated from one table to the next.
“Who are the girls?” she asked Daisy as the teens dug into their chili fries.
The sandy blond is Carrie Ann Parker,” Daisy replied. “The pale brunette is another Bramble. Kat Jones.”
Bramble? Ida had been pregnant in school and married Joe Jones. It must be their daughter.
Daisy fluttered her fingers to her throat. “Did you identify that poor soul from the woods?”
“We did,” Ellie said. “That’s the reason I’m here. Her name is Bonnie Sylvester. She was a foster child from Cleveland.” Ellie pulled her phone, accessed Bonnie’s picture, then addressed Daisy and the girls.
“Have any of you seen her around town?”
Carrie Ann eyed the photo with a squinted look then shook her head. “Don’t think so.”
“Not really. It’s a small town, if there was someone new, they’d stick out,” Kat said. “And she’s not one of us.”
“Daisy?”
“Afraid not. Can’t remember names worth a flip, but faces stick in my mind. I’d remember if she came in here.”
Ellie knew it was a long shot. If Bonnie had managed to make it this far from Cleveland, she might have laid low to avoid detection. Especially if she didn’t want to be sent back to herfoster family. “Well, if you think of anything or remember her, please let me know.”
“Sure will,” Daisy said, her friendly smile slipping back in place.
“The picture will be posted on the news, so tell your friends to pay attention,” Ellie told the girls.
They nodded and Ellie moved on, canvassing the room. But no one in the diner claimed to know Bonnie or have seen her.
Emanuel Black, the man who’d found Bonnie’s remains, sat in the back corner deep in concentration over his laptop and sipping a beer. She caught his eye as she approached and he lowered his laptop screen.
“Detective?”
