The Lawman's Nanny Op

“He said Layla was showing the place to some out-of-towner and called him a few minutes ago to tell him there’s a vehicle parked in the old barn. That’s all I know, but Tom wants us there.”

“Be there in ten,” Caleb said and clicked off.

Caleb set the beer on the table, grabbed his car keys and headed out. It wasn’t unusual for the Grayson men to act as backup for each other when something came up that didn’t sound right.

Tom was a cautious man, which was one of his strengths as sheriff. Caleb, on the other hand, had a tendency to be impatient. He knew it was a fault of his, one that he’d have to work on to become the kind of deputy he wanted to be.

Even though it was almost eight in the evening when he pulled down the dirt lane that led to the Miller place, the sun was still warm and bright, although lowering in the western sky.

Tom’s car was already parked in front of the house, along with a car he recognized as belonging to Layla West, Black Rock’s most aggressive real-estate agent and Portia’s best friend since high school.

“What’s going on?” Caleb asked as he approached where the two of them stood in the front yard.

“Layla was just about to tell me,” Tom said.

“I had an out-of-town client, and I brought him here on Saturday to look at the house. Today he wanted to come back and check out all the outbuildings.” Layla pointed to the barn in the distance. “We went into the barn and in the back of it, underneath some blankets, is a car.”

“What kind of a car?” Caleb asked.

“I’m not sure. It freaked me out and I got my client out of the barn and called Tom.” She looked at Caleb’s brother. “Nobody should be parked in there, Tom. This property belongs to the bank and it definitely wasn’t there when I showed this place a couple of months ago.”

At that moment Benjamin pulled up and Tom quickly filled him in on what had occurred. “You go on home, Layla,” he said. “We’ll let you know what’s going on when we know something.”

It was obvious she would have preferred to linger and find out the scoop. “Come on, Layla, I’ll walk you to your car,” Caleb said. Tom shot him a grateful smile.

“Portia told me about the break-in,” she said as they walked across the tall grass. “Are you going to find out who did it?”

“I’m doing my best,” Caleb replied.

“You need to do better than your best,” Layla said with a touch of censure.

Caleb opened the driver’s side door of her car. “We’ll figure out who’s bothering Portia, but in the meantime we need to figure out what’s going on here.”

“Be sure and let me know,” she said as she slid into the driver’s seat. “And be nice to Portia,” she added as she started the engine with a roar.

Caleb didn’t wait to watch her drive away, but rather turned and hurried back to Tom and Benjamin. “Shall we check it out?”

Tom nodded and the three brothers walked side by side to the barn. “I haven’t received any reports of stolen vehicles,” Tom said as he pulled open the doors.

“Maybe somebody just didn’t want to pay to have it hauled away,” Benjamin said.

“Or it’s being hidden from creditors,” Caleb added. “Nobody likes the repo man.”

They found the car in the very back of the barn, and just as Layla had said, it was covered with old blankets. Only the grill was showing and the sight of it sent a chill through Caleb.

As Tom and Benjamin yanked the blankets off, the chill deepened. Brittany’s car. For a moment none of them said a word.

It was Benjamin who broke the silence. “I’ll go get some gloves,” he said and hurried out of the barn.

Caleb peered into the driver’s window, careful not to touch the side of the car. “Her keys are in the ignition, but I don’t see her purse anywhere.”

Caleb felt sick and one look at Tom let him know his brother felt the same way. Tom’s face was pale and his jaw clenched tightly.

There was no way to believe there wasn’t foul play involved. Brittany wouldn’t hide her car and just walk off with somebody.

Caleb’s gaze lingered on the closed trunk and a rising fear thickened in the back of his throat. As Benjamin came back into the barn, half out of breath from running, he handed each of them a pair of latex gloves.

Caleb pulled his on and opened the driver’s side door. Carefully he leaned in and pulled the keys from the ignition.

His feet felt as if they weighed a thousand pounds apiece as he walked to the back of the car. Benjamin and Tom joined him there as he carefully put the key into the trunk lock.

For a moment it was as if the entire universe held its breath. He could smell the fear in the air. Caleb twisted the key and the trunk lid popped open.

He nearly fell to his knees in relief.

It was empty.

“I’ll call the men,” Tom said, his voice deeper than usual. “We need to process this car and see if we can find anything that will let us know what’s happened to Brittany.”

None of them spoke of the fact that it might be too late, that if the car had been hidden here right after Brittany disappeared, then it had been five weeks since anyone had seen their sister alive.

Chapter 3

At ten the next morning Portia was back in town to buy paint. She hadn’t slept well. Every creak and groan of the house had put her on edge, but thankfully the night had passed without further incident.

It was Ed Chany in the hardware store that told her about Brittany’s car being found at the Miller place. Her heart ached for what all the Graysons must be going through.

Portia knew what it was like to have somebody disappear from your life, to wonder where they had gone and if they were still alive. Her father had walked out on Portia and her mother when she’d been twelve and for years she’d wondered where he’d gone, what he was doing and if he were still alive.

She’d never tried to find him, had believed that if he had wanted a relationship with her, he would have contacted her.

She hoped there was a logical explanation for Brittany’s disappearance, but the fact that they’d found her car hidden in a barn at the Miller place certainly didn’t promise a happy ending.

She’d just loaded the cans of paint into the trunk of her car when she heard Caleb call her name. As he hurried toward her she couldn’t help but notice the shine of the sun in his rich, dark brown hair, how he walked with a confident stride that was instantly appealing.

“Caleb, I heard about Brittany’s car. I’m so sorry,” she said when he stood just in front of her.

His eyes darkened and he nodded. “Thanks. We’re doing what we can to find her, but so far all the leads go nowhere.”

Portia fought the impulse to reach out and take his hand, to offer comfort to the man she’d once loved with all her heart and soul. “Hopefully she’ll turn up safe and sound,” she replied.

“We can only hope. Tom is still out at the Miller place conducting a search but he sent me back here to hold down the fort with Sam.” An edge of frustration tinged his voice and she knew he’d rather be out actively involved in the search than on duty in town. “And speaking of Sam,” he continued, “he thought he saw somebody this morning who might be behind the trouble you’re having,” he said.

“Who?” she asked curiously.

“Dale Stemple.”

The name blew a cold wind through her. “Oh, my God, I hadn’t even thought about him.” She frowned. “But isn’t he in prison?”