Jake cursed. Sarah had been the target?
He could feel his heart begin pounding.
But why? Who would’ve wanted to harm her?
And why had they taken Piper a year later?
Jake quickly rummaged through the rest of the box but found nothing else of interest. He wondered what to do next. Should he wait around for Eddie to come back home? Would the man show up around here at some point today? Jake could hear the sound of the tractor from up the street growing louder outside the trailer. Pushing open the door, he noticed the man on the tractor driving along the dirt road. Stepping out, Jake hustled over to flag the old man down. The tractor driver looked to be in his seventies with a long white beard and wearing blue jean coveralls. Spotting Jake, the man came to a stop in the dirt road, turned off the tractor, and peered down at him.
“You all right?” the old man asked.
“Yes, sir. Sorry to stop you like this, but I was wondering if you knew the man who lived here in the trailer.”
“Eddie? Sure, I know him. He’s been here about two years.”
“Have you seen him around lately?”
The old man shook his head. “Not in the past couple of days. He comes and goes. Sometimes I don’t see him for a while.”
“Any idea where he goes when he’s not here?”
The tractor driver shrugged. “No clue. He mostly keeps to himself. We chat here and there, mostly about nothing. I don’t really know Eddie too well.”
“But you for sure haven’t seen him in a couple of days?”
“Nope. And I drive up and down this here dirt road on my tractor every single day. Eddie in trouble or something?”
“Nah, I’m just an old friend trying to find him. I sure do appreciate the help.”
“You bet. Have yourself a good day.”
Jake stood there as the old man drove off on the tractor. For a second, he thought about calling the phone number listed for Eddie on the contact list he’d gotten from the tow company earlier. If Eddie answered, could he possibly bargain for the release of Piper? However, Jake had only about a hundred bucks left in his pocket. Not much to bargain with, and he didn’t have access to his bank accounts without the debit card in his wallet. Plus, he feared that if Eddie recognized he’d been exposed, he might do something drastic with Piper. Jake didn’t want to take that chance. But if Eddie hadn’t been around his trailer for a couple of days, Jake also didn’t have any motivation to wait around here for him to return.
Again, he thought about the possibility that Sarah was at the center of all this. Who could’ve wanted her dead? Had Sarah known she was in danger? Thinking back, Jake couldn’t recall anything she’d said or done leading up to the night of the crash that made him pause. Of course, at the time, he’d been completely consumed with his own world of mounting football losses, an angry fan base, and an administration wavering in their support. There was also a distance between him and Sarah, so he might not have been able to pick up on whether something was off in her world.
But Jake did know someone who would have.
Her best friend, Jill.
TWENTY-ONE
Dani took more than forty minutes to get to the address Mitchell had sent to her because her dog had no interest in expediting her morning plans by quickly going to the bathroom. When Dani finally arrived, she was troubled to find multiple police and emergency vehicles already sitting in front of the house with their lights flashing. She cursed. This couldn’t be good. It was the second time in twelve hours she’d pulled up to this kind of chaotic police scene. But this was unexpected.
What the hell had happened? She swallowed a sudden knot in her throat. Could it be Jake? According to Drew Beamer, Jake was clearly on a mission to track down the resident of this house. Jake had put himself in a precarious position at the bar last night to get the address. Could something have happened to him here this morning? Another thought hit her, made her stomach turn. Could Jake have actually done something to McGee?
After parking her Mazda, Dani hustled up to the house. Mitchell was already there and waiting for her out front. He handed her a cup of coffee with a lid.
“What the hell is going on?” Dani asked him.
“We’re too late.”
“Too late for what?”
“He’s dead.”
She felt a punch to the gut. “Jake?”
Mitchell cocked his head, squinted at her. “No, Judd McGee.”
Dani felt a wave of relief move through her.
Mitchell said, “Shot and killed this morning. I guess his stepdaughter found him and called the police a few minutes ago.”