Chapter 46

46

Was it possible Sebastian had rented the place next door? Max hoped they got more information from Weaver in the morning. Regardless, they needed a more recent picture of Sebastian. And if he was in Russell County, could he have somehow gotten into Jenna's house?

But how? Deadbolts that required keyed entry were on both doors, and the windows were all locked. He'd meant to walk around the house to see if anyone had trampled the grass outside any of the windows. He'd do that as soon as they returned to her house.

Jenna glanced toward the Armstrong place. "That's a perfect place to set up and make meth or grow marijuana—we're short on deputies, and people around here tend to mind their own business."

Jenna had a point. He took out his notepad and looked back over the notes he'd taken Tuesday. "Kirk said the men came on Thursday or Friday—maybe to pick up a shipment of drugs?"

"It wouldn't have to be meth," Jenna said. She pulled the SUV close to the edge of the woods and killed the motor. "They could be making pills with heroin and fentanyl. And they could be taking it out in canoes or kayaks to a location on the lake."

"Good point." He climbed out of the SUV and waited for Jenna to join him at the tree line. "We're searching for anything that might look like a path."

"They could go a different way each time."

"True. Maybe we need to walk to the river and see if they tie up their boats at the same place each time."

She agreed with him, and they hiked through the woods to the riverbank. "The best place to tie up a boat is the sandbar."

Ten minutes later they approached the river. "Looks like there's been traffic through here." Max pointed at trampled grass near the bank.

Jenna hopped down to the sandy bar and pointed upriver. "Shoe prints! And a lot of them."

Yes! Max joined her and carefully skirted the prints. "Do you have any of that plaster casting material with you?"

"No, but Dylan and Taylor do. Do you want me to ask Alex to send them here?"

He slapped at a deer fly hovering around his face. "We don't actually have a crime here, so maybe we should just photograph the prints."

"Let me see what they're involved in." Jenna punched in Alex's number, and when she answered, Jenna put the phone on speaker and explained what they wanted.

"You think something is going on at the old Armstrong place?"

Max spoke up. "Yes, possibly drug action, but we don't have anything to base a warrant on. We've taken photos of the shoe prints, but casts would be better—just in case it turns out our suspicions are correct."

"Is there any chance this could be tied to Nelson's and Slater's deaths?"

"That's hard to say," Jenna said. "More likely it'd be tied to Rick Sebastian."

"Good enough. Dylan is busy right now, but I'll send Taylor."

"Good deal," Max said. "We'll see what other information we can gather. Tell Taylor to text when she gets to the woods and one of us will come get her."

"I will. Oh, and Jenna, we got more photos of Sebastian's key players in Chattanooga. I'll send them to you—email or text?"

Jenna turned to Max, her expression questioning.

"Text would be easier to access."

"Got it," Alex said. "You'll get them shortly."

Jenna disconnected. "I'd like to get inside the barn where Kirk said the mean guys scared him," she said.

"Without a warrant, anything we found couldn't be used in court."

"I know, but this is highly suspicious."

"I agree," Max said. "Once we get the photos of Sebastian's allies, we'll show them to Kirk and Bryan Bishop. Maybe they'll recognize one of Sebastian's men in the photos."

Max and Jenna searched the narrow beach until a text popped up on Jenna's phone. "Taylor's here. I'll go get her."

"I'll come with you."

Once Taylor made the casts, they followed her out of the woods, stopping once again at the barn where Jenna downloaded the photos Alex had sent and showed them to Kirk. He couldn't match any of the photos with the men he'd seen at the farm next door. "But there were some new cars over there today."

Max arched an eye at the boy. "I hope you didn't disobey your grandfather and drive your four-wheeler to the property."

"I didn't. I promise," he said, shooting his grandfather a quick glance before shifting back to Max. "But if you take that path, you can see the cars from over by the trees."

"Where?" Jenna asked.

"There's a path on the other side of the house. I can show you."

They followed Kirk to the back side of the house where a nar row path led toward the neighbors'. "Just follow this and it'll take you to the edge of their property."

"Is this how you saw the cars?"

Kirk kicked at a clod of dirt. "They didn't see me, I promise. There're trees you can hide behind."

"Promise you won't do that again," Jenna said. "At least not until the people who are there move."

"But—"

"No buts," Max said. "It could be dangerous."

The boy's shoulders drooped. "Okay. But I could sneak in there."

"Kirk, you have to promise us you won't go near this property again," Jenna said. When he nodded, she said, "I want to hear you say it."

"I promise."

"Good. Now go back to the barn with your grandfather."

They waited until Kirk disappeared inside the barn. Max chuckled. "He'll probably make a good deputy one day."

"Probably—if he doesn't get into trouble before that."

Max led the way to the farmhouse next door as they followed the path until the trees thinned except for a row of cedar trees. Probably the property line. Through the breaks in the trees a plank house came into view. Several cars were parked in the drive, all backed in where they couldn't see the license plate.

"Too bad Tennessee doesn't have a plate on the front," Max muttered.

"I've wished that more than once," Jenna replied.

"Any chance Alex might assign deputies to watch the house on the off chance the occupants might do something that would justify getting a warrant?"

"If the county had enough deputies, she would, but we're stretched thin as it is, especially with Mark Lassiter at the field trials and Alex's latest hire, Hayes Smithfield, at the police academy. Besides, we don't have a crime—just our intuition that something is wrong."

They watched the house for a good half hour, and nothing moved, not even a grasshopper. Even so, his gut told him something was going on at the old farm place, and it wasn't good.