Her lips twitched. “I’ve got a whole pot with your name on it.”
They were on the porch when Callie let out a bark and streaked off. A Sweetgrass Police Department SUV turned into her drive. Janet whistled, calling her dog back, as Chief Rod Jackman climbed out. Mid-forties with a shaved head and a fondness for aviator sunglasses, he’d taken over as police chief last year. His reputation was solid, but his choice in employees made her leery.
Her spine stiffened when the passenger side of the SUV opened and the reason for her misgivings came into view. Winston Maxwell had a wad of Skoal tucked in the bottom of his lip and spat out a stream of dark spittle before swaggering around the vehicle. His handsome good looks were offset by a rattlesnake’s temperament. She’d done her best to avoid him, but it seemed her luck had run out.
Shaking off the bad vibe, she focused on Chief Jackman. “Any news?”
“Not yet, but I have a few follow-up questions to ask, if you don’t mind.” He nodded to Todd standing nearby. “Duncan.”
“What questions?” Janet asked.
“Ain’t you gonna invite us inside?” Winston rested his hand on the butt of his gun. He glanced at the mug in Todd’s hand. “I hope Southern hospitality hasn’t disappeared.”
The idea of him anywhere inside her house made her skin crawl.
“My house is a mess at the moment because of the construction.” She tilted her chin up. “Here’s fine.”
Todd slanted a glance in her direction, his brow furrowed. It wasn’t like her to be rude and he knew it. He edged closer until the two of them were side by side.
“Suit yourself.” Chief Jackman removed a piece of paper from a manila folder in his hand. “Are you sure this is the woman you saw on the road yesterday?”
He flipped it around. Janet’s breath caught. The sketch artist she’d worked with from the sheriff’s department had managed to capture the woman’s features, as well as her sense of terror.
“It’s her.” She tore her gaze away from the rendering to study the chief’s expression. His eyes were hidden behind the sunglasses, but his mouth was in a tight line. “Why?”
“She’s not a local and no one matching her description has been reported missing in the county for the last twenty years.”
“What does that mean?” Todd asked.
“It means we don’t have an ID on her. I’ve had search dogs out to the location where the incident took place. They didn’t pick up on anything. Normally I’d assume it was because the perpetrator transported her by car, but you didn’t see or hear a vehicle.” He gestured toward the road. “Your property is on one side and on the other is Mabel Bertrand. She didn’t see or hear anything.”
“Mrs. Bertrand is ninety years old. I’d be surprised if she had heard or seen anything.” Janet crossed her arms over her chest. “It doesn’t mean someone didn’t cut across her property.”
“Then the dogs would have picked up on it.” Winston’s mouth twitched, and he rocked on his heels. “If you need to tell us something, now would be the time?”
Heat flooded Janet’s veins and rose in her cheeks. Beside her, Todd stiffened. “Are you accusing her of lying?”
“Hold on, hold on.” The chief lifted his sunglasses and shot his officer a dirty look before focusing back on Janet. “Let’s not go off the deep end here. Listen, the tox screen at the hospital didn’t show anything in your system. However, you did hit your head when your vehicle fishtailed. That kind of injury can cause a person to hallucinate—”
She smacked her hand against the porch railing. “I did not hallucinate her. I did not dream up the attack or being drugged.”
She closed her eyes. She was letting her temper get the best of her. Not a great way to convince them she was telling the truth.
But it was just so insulting.
The woman’s face flashed in her mind. Janet sucked in a breath and let it out slowly. “Listen, I know the story sounds crazy and there are things I can’t explain, but Chief, the woman is real. She had rope burns on her wrists and bruises on her face. I think she’s in serious danger.”
“Unfortunately, at the moment, I have no physical evidence collaborating your version of events.” He placed his sunglasses back on his face. “Until I do, there’s nothing else for me to investigate.”
The two men ambled to their vehicle, and she watched them go with a burning knot in her belly.
They might not investigate, but she would.
This was far from over.
Four
Todd pried his fingers from around the coffee mug and flexed them. He was surprised it hadn’t shattered in his hand, grinding into pieces of dust under the force of his anger. Those jokers were the town’s law enforcement? He wouldn’t put them in charge of a neighborhood watch group, let alone a police department.
He slid a glance at Janet out of the corner of his eye. Her curly hair was loose, framing her face and highlighting the color in her cheeks. Shadows from a restless night’s sleep marred the skin under her eyes and her lips were flattened into a hard line. She turned to go back inside the house.
“I know that look,” Todd said, following. “It’s the same one you get when we fight about the construction and you’re determined to get your way.”
Inside, it smelled like a mixture of cinnamon, sugar, and fresh coffee. Tarps were spread over the furniture in the living room, and several paint color samples graced one wall. Callie bolted in. Janet grabbed her before she could cross the house.
Taking a towel from the coat hook, she wiped the dog’s feet. “I refuse to accept nothing can be done to identify the woman or find her.”
He shrugged out of his jacket. “What about your brother? Isn’t he in law enforcement?”
“Yes, but Grady’s recovering from a gunshot wound in Nashville with my older sister. I don’t want to
