Coon said, “The dead guy in Madison, Reif? Apparently, he was Robert’s nemesis. The two of them used to work together at one point and they founded the carbon-offset company together. But they had a falling out. Reif got disillusioned with either Robert or the cause or both, because he left ClimateSavior and spent all his time ripping our boy and the company on his own blog. He hated Robert and no doubt he damaged the credibility of Robert’s company and his cause. And then he turns up dead and Robert’s nowhere to be found.”
Joe said, “You guys need to run the spent casings on the lawn over there against casings found in Madison.”
“Already on it,” Coon said. “But there’s more. Like a double homicide in South Dakota of a couple with a giant RV. Robert had a thing against those big vehicles and he railed about it on his website. In fact, he tried to urge his fans to sabotage them.”
Joe said, “Keystone. That poor old couple.”
“Yeah.”
“And the Aspen wedding?”
Coon said, “Two trust fund kids with high profiles on the society and gossip pages. Two great big huge carbon footprints.”
Joe shook his head.
Coon said, “I don’t want to believe what it’s looking like. Plus, I believe in global warming and climate change. I don’t want this to screw up the effort. It’s up to all of us, you know. These guys could give it all a bad name.”
Joe grunted.
“There’s something else,” Coon said, stepping in closer and looking over his shoulder.
“What? Are you worried about your boss overhearing you?”
Coon leveled his gaze at Joe until Joe was uncomfortable.
Coon said, “I was watching your truck through my binoculars as we came in earlier. I saw you pull over and let somebody out.”
Joe looked away.
“Some big guy with a blond ponytail got out,” Coon said, taking another step toward Joe until they were inches apart. “That wouldn’t have been Nate Romanowski, would it?”
Joe said, “Who?” But he knew his face was flushed.
“So it was him,” Coon said. “You are a really lousy liar.”
Joe didn’t respond.
“If Portenson knew he was around, you would both be in a world of hurt,” Coon said. “Not that I told him what I saw.”
Joe nodded. He was grateful Coon hadn’t told his boss. And wished he were a better liar.
“What are you going to do if you find her, Joe?” Coon asked.
“I’m not sure.”
“Do you think you can save her?”
Joe met his eyes again. “I don’t know.”
Coon asked, “What
Joe shook his head. “Not much. But I know she deserves better than what’s happened to her. She needs to know somebody cares.”
Coon started to speak but stopped himself. Instead, he tilted his head back and looked at the big blue autumn sky. Finally, he said, “That’s admirable. It may not be protocol, but it’s admirable.”
He wasn’t sure how to respond.
“If she calls again,” Coon said, “you need to give me the number. I’ll help you track her down.”
Joe made a decision. He said, “It’s a deal.”
Coon walked away.
In the meadow, Sheridan kicked though ankle-deep cheatgrass toward a wall of trees. She had no destination other than to have a few minutes to herself. She didn’t want to simply go home. Not without April. The grass was dry and stiff and crunched underfoot. She noted she wasn’t the only person to have recently walked through it. There were two parallel tracks heading from the house toward the trees—one heavier than the other. Then she saw the blood flecked across the stalks of grass and yelled, “Dad!”
He came running.
While she waited for him there was another chirp. She pulled out her cell phone and read the message.
As her dad approached and saw the blood on the grass, Sheridan said, “It’s her.”
SHE HANDED THE PHONE to Joe. He looked at the display and his stomach clenched.
It read:
From: AK
im hurt and its getting bad. im in the woods. the car is crashed. i need u 2 come get me now. i think there r some men coming 2 get me. i hear them. idont know what theyll do 2 me. plz come get me sherry. take me home.
