Missing in Cottonwood Springs Read online

  “I’ve got some homework I need to do, so if it’s okay with you guys, I’m going to let you have some alone time,” Holly said when they’d finished dinner. She stood up and collected Brigid and Linc’s plates, carrying them to the sink.

  “That’s fine,” Brigid said as Holly returned and leaned over her, giving the older woman a hug. “Make sure you let Jett back in when you get home.”

  “I will,” Holly said as she hugged Linc. “Don’t have too much fun while I’m gone,” she said with a wink.

  Linc raised his hands. “Wouldn’t dream of it, boss.” He waited until Holly left before standing up and changing the song on his iPhone. Turning it up, he smiled at her. “Remember this?” he asked as he took Brigid’s hand.

  She smiled. “Of course I do,” she said. “Our first dance.”

  “That’s right,” he said as he pulled her into his arms and began to slowly dance with her, swaying back and forth. “So, what has you so distracted? You hardly said a word during dinner.”

  “The wedding, for one thing. I definitely think we’ll do it in the yard,” she said. “It’s intimate and means something to us.”

  Linc nodded. “Sounds great, but what else is bothering you?”

  “What do you mean?” Brigid asked, looking away.

  “I know that’s not all of it, so come out with it,” he said forcing her to look at him.

  “I’m just worried Holly will like this Aunt Katie’s place more than mine and want to stay there permanently,” she admitted.

  “I don’t think that’s possible,” Linc said easily.

  “You don’t?” Brigid asked.

  He shook his head. “There’s no way she could be nearly as cool as you. Holly loves you. You know that. Don’t worry so much about the things you can’t control. Let them happen the way they’re meant to. You’ve already made a tremendous difference in Holly’s life, and she knows that. She’s like a new person. She’s much more confident now and holds her head high. You’re the one who encouraged her and allowed her to do that,” Linc said as he pulled Brigid closer until their bodies were pressed tightly together.

  “I guess you’re right,” Brigid admitted. “I just worry about her.”

  “I think that’s what being a parent is all about, and that’s true as it applies to you even though you are only an informal or semi-adopted parent,” Linc said gently. “You just have to hope you did a good enough job with the time you had.” He looked down at her and said, “She’s a good kid. Don’t worry so much.”

  “Okay,” Brigid said. “I’ll try.”

  “Good, now I think we should have dessert,” he said smiling his boyish grin.

  “Oh? You made dessert?” she asked.

  “No, but we will,” he said with a wink as he pulled her toward the bedroom.

  CHAPTER 5

  Brigid and Mike were still at the flower shop talking with concern about Olivia, Mike’s wife, suddenly missing, when Mike said, “I can’t believe something like this happened in our small town. How could my wife just disappear into thin air? It makes no sense.”

  “Don’t worry, Sheriff Davis will figure out what happened to her,” Brigid said reassuringly. She may have been distracted and tired this morning but now she was fully awake. While she was used to people being murdered, there was something eerie about a young woman simply disappearing. Of course, with time they should have some leads, but for now, it was as if she’d disappeared into thin air.

  “I really want you to help, Brigid,” Mike said. “I know it’s not a murder, at least I pray it isn’t, but Corey’s told me how good you are at getting to the bottom of things.”

  Brigid shrugged. “I think it has more to do with the fact I’m not the police. Many people freeze up around someone in uniform. I’m not in law enforcement, so I believe they feel more comfortable talking with someone like me.”

  “I’m going to call Corey and let him know that I asked you to help,” Mike said as he moved behind the counter. He pulled out his phone and began to punch in the numbers as Brigid started piecing together what she knew.

  Olivia had gone to the market earlier this morning by herself, and in a small town like Cottonwood Springs, she’d probably spoken to a few people while she was there. Brigid began to formulate a plan while Mike was speaking to Sheriff Davis.

  “Corey asked if you could meet him over at the grocery store in a few minutes. I said you could because if Olivia was here, you’d be spending time here, so I figured you’d already set aside some time,” Mike said after he ended the call.

  “Not a problem,” Brigid said. “I gave you my cell number. Let me know if you think of anything relevant. I’ll keep you posted, and I’m sure Sheriff Davis will too. Try not to worry, Mike. We’ll do everything we can to get her back home quickly and safely,” Brigid said reassuringly. She wasn’t quite sure how they were going to do that, but she wasn’t going to tell him that. More than likely, he already knew.

  “Thank you,” he said. “I’m worried sick. I feel like I should be doing something, but my mind won’t calm down enough for me to think,” he admitted.

  “Just try to relax,” she said. “Go stay with friends or family if you need to. Being alone is one of the worst things you can do. Your mind has too much free time that way.” Brigid couldn’t imagine what the poor man must be going through. How would she feel if Linc or Holly disappeared? There would be no consoling her.

  “I better go meet Corey,” Brigid said, after she was certain Mike was okay. “I’ll let you know what I find out later today.”

  Mike nodded and she went out the door. Brigid had watched enough true crime shows to know that even though this wasn’t a murder, time was of the essence. Would someone come forward asking for a ransom for Olivia’s return? It was always possible, but Brigid had a feeling her disappearance wasn’t that simple.

  It wasn’t like Olivia was some billionaire’s daughter. No, she was just a small business owner who was trying to make a living and help pay the monthly expenses. More than likely, if someone had kidnapped Olivia, this person had a much worse motive in mind than money. They had to find her before it was too late.

  A few minutes later Brigid arrived at the grocery store. Sheriff Davis’ deputies were combing over what she assumed was Olivia’s car, a dark blue sedan. As she walked across the parking lot, Sheriff Davis stepped out of the front door of the store, the doors squeaking as they slid open.

  “I’m glad you’re here,” he said. “Think this is gonna’ be an ‘all hands on deck’ sorta’ situation.” He took his brown hat off and ran his hand through his thick dark hair.

  “Happy to help if I can,” Brigid said. “What do you know so far?”

  “Not much. Follow me,” he said as he turned and walked back into the store. “The manager’s bringin’ up the footage from the security cameras right now. It took some time before anyone actually realized somethin’ was wrong, so we’ll have to track a few people down. Plan is, we see who was here and what happened outside. Then, we talk to everyone to make sure she didn’t stage this herself. Ya’ know, get a feel for her mindset and all.”

  Brigid nodded. “That makes sense. We can also find out if she gave away any clues that she knew something would happen.”

  “Right. Hopefully, the video from the security camera will provide us with somethin’ to help us find whoever did this, and more importantly, find our victim before somethin’ really bad happens to her. People usually see more than they realize, so we’re gonna’ have to talk to anyone who saw or talked to her while she was here at the store. Good thing it was so early in the day, cuz’ there weren’t many people here at that time, Sheriff Davis said with a determined look on his face.

  “Mike Ford’s one of my best friends,” he finally admitted. “I can’t imagine what he’s goin’ through.”

  “We’ll find her,” Brigid said. “I’m confident of it.”

  “I know we will,” he said. “Guess I’m more worried about what s
he may be goin’ through right now. I’ve heard about these human traffickin’ people showin’ up in places besides big cities. It seems like it was only a matter of time before they came to realize how relaxed we small town folks are.” He shook his head with worry. “I jes’ hope that ain’t the case. These guys move fast. I’ve heard once they get across the border, it’s almost impossible to catch ‘em.”

  “Then we have to be quick,” Brigid said determinedly. “If that’s the case, we can’t give them that option.”

  “Yeah, yer’ right,” he said, but Brigid could see the tension in his shoulders. He was taking this crime to heart, and she couldn’t blame him. As the sheriff, more than likely he felt as though he had to protect everyone in his jurisdiction. Having someone disappear was certainly unnerving. What if whoever had done it didn’t stop with Olivia?

  They walked to the back of the store and stopped just outside a door marked “Security.” Sheriff Davis opened the door for Brigid, and they stepped inside. The office was fairly plain with white walls and an off-white tile floor. An older woman with chin-length salt and pepper hair was in the room sitting in front of a computer screen.

  “It’s ready to go. This is the parking lot footage,” she said as they walked over and stood behind the desk where she was sitting.

  “Go ahead and play it,” Sheriff Davis said.

  They watched the screen as a woman Brigid assumed was Olivia moved to the passenger side of her car. She opened the door and put her shopping bags inside as a white van pulled up next to her, obstructing the security camera’s view. A few moments later the van quickly pulled away, and Olivia was gone.

  “Either they knew the camera was there or these guys got dumb luck,” Sheriff Davis said. “Not only could we not see what was happenin’, there’s no way to see the license plate, and their windows are tinted so dark ya’ can’t even see the driver.” He sighed. “At this point, all we got is a vehicle description.”

  “I’ve got the store footage queued up whenever you’re ready,” the woman said.

  “Go ahead,” Sheriff Davis instructed.

  She started it and they saw the inside of the store displayed on the screen. They watched as Olivia entered and picked up a hand-held grocery basket. Slowly, she moved among the aisles and then stopped when she started talking to someone.

  “That looks like MaryAnn Thompson,” Brigid said as they watched the two women chat for a few moments before Olivia moved on down the aisle.

  Sheriff Davis wrote her name in his notebook. “Yer’ right. I remember her from when Holly’s mother was murdered. Good eye, Brigid.”

  Olivia continued walking down the aisle. She picked up a bag of chips before she stopped to talk to Eve Sterling.

  “That’s Eve Sterling,” Sheriff Davis said as he began to write in his notebook. They fell silent again as Oliva turned down another aisle and continued on. She looked as though she was getting ready to leave when she paused.

  “And that’s Missy,” Brigid said. There was no mistaking her friend.

  “From the church? Right?” Sheriff Davis asked.

  Brigid nodded as they watched Oliva move to the checkout counter and start talking with the cashier.

  “Looks like we got four people that we need to talk to,” Sheriff Davis said. He looked up at Brigid, “Ya’ think ya’ can handle that part while my people search her car and parkin’ lot for evidence?”

  “Not a problem,” Brigid said.

  Sheriff Davis tore the list out of his notebook and handed it to Brigid. “Here’s the list. Why don’t’cha start with the cashier, since she’s still here. I’m gonna’ do some callin’ around and see what I can find out. If there are kidnappers or human traffickers in the area, they’ve probably been to other places and maybe somebody knows somethin’. No sense tryin’ to reinvent the wheel.”

  Brigid nodded. It looked like it was time for her to start questioning people again. She wasn’t sure if it was a good thing that she was beginning to feel comfortable doing it, but she was more than happy to help. There was no way she could just sit this one out and pray for the best.

  CHAPTER 6

  “Can you tell me where I could find the cashier who was working when Olivia checked out earlier this morning?” Brigid asked the manager.

  “She should be in the break room. Step outside, turn left, and go through the swinging double doors. The break room is on your right,” the woman said.

  Brigid thanked her and stepped out of the office. There were a few customers milling about, oblivious to what had happened there earlier that morning. Could it be that human trafficking had made its way to their small town? She didn’t like the thought of that.

  So many people in town left their front doors unlocked because they’d grown up that way. They felt safe, even with their doors unlocked. That might be about to change given the shocking circumstances of what had happened to Oliva.

  There was no such thing as a stranger for many of the town’s residents. Brigid’s stomach began to burn at the thought of how so many people could be susceptible because of their innocent faith in people. There was a good chance Olivia was just being friendly to the people in the van, and she wound up being missing because of it.

  Following the manager’s directions, Brigid found the break room. A young woman, who looked to be about nineteen, was sitting at the table in a folding chair. Brigid recognized her from the video she and the sheriff had just watched, but now the woman looked uneasy.

  “Excuse me,” Brigid said as she entered the room. “My name’s Brigid. I came to talk to you about the woman who disappeared this morning.”

  The girl nodded, her black hair hanging down in her eyes. When she brushed it away, it was obvious she’d been crying.

  “Are you okay?” Brigid asked.

  “I’m fine,” the girl said. “I just feel terrible.”

  Brigid noticed the name tag on her shirt indicated that her name was Cadence. “It’s not your fault, Cadence. Sometimes these things just happen.”

  “I know. It’s just, I wish when I heard the van peel out that I would have gone outside and gotten their license plate number or something. Instead I just continued to read my magazine,” she sniffled.

  “I’m afraid hindsight is always 20/20,” Brigid said as she consoled her. “Why don’t you tell me everything you can remember? Was there anyone in the store who seemed out of the ordinary?”

  “Not really,” Cadence said. “I didn’t notice anyone come in the store that I hadn’t seen before. Just the regulars. With the big windows out front, I try to watch the parking lot, but I don’t remember seeing that van pull in. I only noticed it when it took off.”

  Brigid pulled the notebook she’d started keeping in her purse out and began to write in it. “What did Olivia talk about while she was checking out? Anything specific?”

  Cadence shook her head. “Not really. She talked about the weather and how nice it was that it was warming up. She mentioned maybe going for a walk this evening if it stayed nice.”

  Nodding, Brigid made a note. “She didn’t seem worried or stressed or anything like that?”

  “Not at all,” the girl said. “If anything, she seemed happy. Chipper, even. Like, too happy for that early in the morning,” she chuckled, then her face grew somber as she asked, “You don’t think this is like those other people, do you?”

  “What do you mean?” Brigid asked.

  “Some of my friends were talking about it last week. There’s a handful of people around the area that have gone missing lately. Mostly women, but there were a couple of young men, also. Almost all of their cars were found, but there’s no trace of them.” Cadence shivered. “To be honest, it kind of freaks me out.”

  Brigid tried to hide her growing concern. She hadn’t been on social media or anything like that for some time, so she hadn’t heard anything about this. If it was a growing problem, maybe she shouldn’t be letting Holly ride her bike everywhere. She knew Holly would balk at h
er worries, but if this sort of thing had found its way to Cottonwood Springs, it was time to make some changes.

  “I really don’t know,” Brigid said honestly. “I certainly hope not. Is there anything you can tell me about the van?” With it being the only clue they had at the present, Brigid was hoping to get better details about it.

  “Let me think,” the girl began. “Well, it was white, pretty basic if you ask me. Almost too basic, now that I think about it. There weren’t any side windows, and the one up front on the passenger side, at least the one I saw, was tinted pretty dark. All I could see was a guy’s arm.”

  “Are you sure it was a guy?” Brigid asked.

  “I can’t say for certain, no, but something about it seemed like a man. Maybe the way he was driving or something. I’m not sure. Or the size of the arm maybe? It just seemed like a man’s arm to me.”

  Brigid nodded. “Anything else stand out about it?”

  Cadence thought for a moment more. “I think the back windows may have had something just inside them, like maybe some sort of wire or screen. I think they may have been tinted, too. Do you know what I’m talking about?”

  Brigid nodded. “I think so. Almost like that cage stuff they put in the back of service vehicles? Like to protect the windows or something?”

  “Yeah, it was kind of like that,” Cadence said. “That’s all I can think of for now.”

  Brigid nodded. “You’ve been a big help. Try not to worry too much. I’m sure we’ll find her.” She patted the girl’s hand reassuringly.

  “Do you think we should all be more careful now?” she asked, her eyes wide. “Like, should we go places in pairs and stuff?”

  “I never think it’s a bad idea to err on the side of caution,” Brigid said carefully. “After all, you just never know what could happen. If you have someone with you, at least you’re a bit safer.” She didn’t want to worry the girl, but she also didn’t want to blow off her concerns. It was always better to be safe than sorry.