Cathy, the daytime receptionist, greeted them when they walked inside. Her earrings swayed as she rose from her chair to give Emma a hug. “I’m so sorry about what happened, honey.”
“Thank you, Cathy.”
“The prayer circle is hard at work and we’ve already taken up a collection of items at the diner. Clothes, household supplies, toys for Lily. It’s not much yet, but it’s something to get you started.” She stroked Sadie on the head. “I think there’s even a doggie bed.”
New tears pricked Emma’s eyes. She blinked them back. “Thank you so much.”
“It’s nothing, honey. We take care of our own.” The older woman patted Reed on the arm. “I’m so glad you’re all okay. Deputy Irving has already called in. I told him to focus on recuperating and we’ll call if we need something.”
“You did exactly right,” Reed said. “Is Cooper here?”
“In the conference room, waiting for y’all. Have you had lunch yet? Should I order something?”
“No, thank you. We were at my aunt’s earlier, and she fed us until we nearly exploded.”
They all laughed. Emma gave Cathy one more hug and said another thank-you before following Reed to the conference room.
The Texas Ranger looked up when they entered. Cooper was sporting a three-day-old beard and his complexion was pale. At his elbow rested several discarded to-go cups from a local coffee shop. He’d been working the case nonstop, and Emma was certain that, like them, he was running on very little sleep.
Will sat in one of the chairs, typing on a laptop. He barely looked up to greet them. His fingers flew over the keyboard. Sadie walked around him and settled down for a nap in the corner of the room.
“What’s going on?” Reed asked.
“We’ve had a breakthrough in the case,” Cooper said. “Will’s working on getting us a search warrant.”
Emma gripped the back of a chair. “Have you found Mike?”
“Not yet, but we did find where he was staying, thanks to you.” Cooper opened a file folder and pulled out several photographs, sliding them across the table. “Since you followed Mike and were able to give a description of the motorcycle as well as the license plate, we put out a BOLO on it. A police officer from nearby Harrisburg spotted the bike sitting at a motel off the highway.”
Reed flipped through the photographs before handing them to Emma. The motel was run-down, with chipped paint and slanted numbers on the doors. Mike’s motorcycle sat in the parking spot for room 103.
“Mike wasn’t in the hotel room, and as often happens in these kinds of places, the front desk clerk didn’t know anything about anyone.”
“What about security cameras?” Emma asked.
Cooper snorted. “In our dreams. We did obtain a search warrant for the room, however, and found two things of interest.”
“What?”
He pushed another photograph across the table. “Two glasses partially filled with beer were on the table. One had Mike’s fingerprints. The other had Joshua Lowe’s.”
Emma sucked in a breath. “So they do know each other.”
Cooper nodded. “We located a neighbor who was living near the Lowes when Joshua was a kid. She told us Mike and his brother, Charlie, were regular visitors. Joshua’s dad and Mike were especially close.”
“What else did you find?” Reed asked. “You said there were two things of interest.”
Cooper’s mouth drew down. Will stopped typing on the laptop. The stillness in the room was unnerving. Emma shifted closer to Reed.
“We found a ton of cash, along with a pile of jewelry,” Cooper said, flipping to a new photograph. “Among the items were a set of etched gold hoops.”
Emma glanced down at the earrings before focusing on Reed. Recognition flashed across his features. “Are these what I think they are?”
“What?” Emma asked. A sinking feeling settled in the pit of her stomach. “What are they?”
Will cleared his throat. “We have one photograph of Bonnie taken on the day she disappeared by an ATM camera. She was wearing a set of earrings exactly like those.”
Cooper ran a hand over his beard. “I had them compared by my analysts at the state lab. The earrings we found and the ones in the photograph from the ATM are consistent.”
“So...” Emma picked up the photograph. “These are Bonnie’s earrings?”
“Yes. We’re getting a search warrant for Joshua’s property.”
“I want to search it first with Sadie.”
“Emma’s right,” Reed said, before turning to her. “Maybe your theory about my sister being alive was right. We were just looking for her on the wrong property.”
She nodded. “That’s how her bracelet ended up in my shed. She escaped from Joshua’s and made it as far as Uncle Jeb’s shed before she was caught again.”
Cooper held up a hand. “Guys—”
“You don’t have to say it, Cooper.” Reed rocked back on his heels. “I know it’s a long shot, but it won’t harm anything to try. I need to do this.”
The Texas Ranger glanced at her. Emma straightened to her full height.
“Sadie and I are ready. Get the search warrant and we’ll look for Bonnie.”
The wait for the search warrant didn’t take long but for Reed, it might as well have been an eternity. He didn’t want to get his hopes up. The possibility of Bonnie being alive was slim, but a part of him wouldn’t let go of the idea. Only when he had definitive proof would he accept she wasn’t coming home again.
Emma sat in the passenger seat, staring out the window.
“You don’t have to do this,” Reed said as they pulled off the highway and onto the country road leading to Joshua’s property. “We can get another team to search.”
“No. I wouldn’t have agreed if Sadie and I couldn’t do it. We want to help, if we can.”
Joshua’s ranch came into view. The driveway was filled with law enforcement vehicles and several deputies and troopers lingered outside. Reed and Emma had stayed behind, allowing the initial search of the house to take place before they arrived on the premises. It was safer for Emma and Sadie
