Chapter 24

TWENTY-FOUR

Lily went to speak to her client and arranged for one of the other stylists to finish blow-drying her hair. She smiled at her stylists as they drifted into the break room. “I figure we can take a break at three as we don’t have any more clients this afternoon until four. I’m going to get us some pizza.” She hurried out the door and headed for the pizzeria.

She put in an order and then turned around slowly, scanning the booths alongside the wall. She spotted Hallon, wearing a dark brown sheepskin jacket with his cowboy hat pulled down low over his eyes. She wandered up to the booth and then slid inside and sat down. He glanced up, holding a piece of garlic bread in front of his lips and his eyes widened with shock. “Don’t make a fuss. I need to ask you something.”

“You know darn well we made an agreement not to meet up in town where people could see us.” He kept his voice to just above a whisper. “What the heck do you want and why is it so important that you couldn’t have called? That’s why we bought those darn burners in the first place, wasn’t it?”

Running a hand casually through her hair, Lily tipped back her head and laughed. “Maybe looking at me like we are friends rather than enemies would cause less suspicion. It’s not unusual for old friends to chat while they’re waiting for a pizza. I chat to everyone in here, even people I don’t know just to pass the time. It’s no secret that we were all at college together. What are you doing in town anyway? Shouldn’t you be out on the ranch riding the plains or something?”

“There’s not too much to do right now. When it dries up some, I’m guessing I’ll be repairing fences from sunup to sundown.” Hallon sipped a glass of soda and nodded slowly. “Once we’ve taken out feed to the cattle, I only spend a short time doing chores. When you live on a ranch, coming to town and buying pizza is a luxury.”

Lily smiled at the handsome cowboy. “How’s your wife, and you have a son, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I dropped Dawn by her mom’s for the day. They don’t want me around, so I’m just hanging. Although, if one of her friends sees us together and Dawn gets some crazy notion I came here to meet up with you, things will change real fast. She’s the jealous type.” He sighed. “So what’s so important you came here to speak to me?”

Lily leaned forward on the table, to make sure no one could overhear their conversation. “Marissa is missing. No one has been able to get in contact with her since she left Aunt Betty’s Café yesterday at lunchtime. Josie dropped by her place and her truck is gone. She looked through the windows and the fire has been out for a long time, so we figure she didn’t get home last night.”

“Maybe she went to visit someone?” Hallon leaned back in his seat as the server came with his pizza. Without waiting, he picked up a slice, folded it over, and bit into it.

Shaking her head, Lily stared at him. He wasn’t concerned at all. “She had lunch with Josie yesterday and she would have mentioned if she was going to visit somebody else. They’re very close friends and discuss everything. Another thing, Marissa is very reluctant to go anywhere alone. It’s not as if she would visit a client’s home, for instance. She always insists that they come to her office, and she always keeps her weapon in the drawer just in case there’s a problem.”

“So you figure something happened to her on the way home from Aunt Betty’s Café at lunchtime yesterday?” Hallon shook his head slowly. “That would be difficult as she only lives a few blocks away and it was in the middle of the day. There would be people around. Her vehicle would have been abandoned on the side of the road or something. I’m sure if Josie drove to her house, she’d have noticed if her vehicle had been left somewhere along the road. In any case, why would anyone want to abduct Marissa? It’s not as if she has anyone who could offer a ransom for her recovery.”

Lily bristled at his attitude. “It’s not anyone we’re worried about. Are you sure it wasn’t one of the guys putting the fear of God into her because she wanted to go to the sheriff?”

“I haven’t heard anything, and if there’d been some sort of plan, they’d have involved me.” He bit into another slice of pizza and chewed slowly. “In case you’ve forgotten, we’re all involved. Any decisions that we make must be as a group. If one of us breaks the silence, it makes all of us look worse, and the sheriff will never believe the truth of what really happened.”

Of course, what he was saying was true. They’d stuck together all these years and perhaps they could ride out this current investigation. “I agree with you, but I can see the merit of what Marissa was suggesting. She figured it would be easier on us if we gave ourselves up before they discovered who we are. You know darn well the sheriff has an incredible team of investigators around her and it won’t be long before they discover the truth. Back when it happened, the old sheriff didn’t know what day it was. He just told everyone they’d run away together and that was the end of it. Now that they’ve both surfaced and a new investigation has been opened, you know as well as I do that this sheriff will never give up before she discovers what really happened.”

“I’ll talk to the guys about your concerns and get someone to give you a call.” He sipped at his drink and glanced at the counter and then tapped the number she’d placed on the table. “Your number just came up.” His eyes moved back to her face. “Unless I contact you, forget I exist. No more dropping by for a chat. Got it?”

Surprised by his attitude as they’d dated a couple of times in the past and she’d found him to be a very nice and respectful guy. Time changed many people, and the man sitting in front of her was no longer her friend. “Sure. Same goes for me.” She stood and went to collect her pizzas.

As she left the pizzeria, she glanced back at his booth to see him on the phone with a sour expression on his face. He was calling the guys to explain the situation. Talking to him hadn’t gained any information or assistance for finding Marissa. When she got back to the beauty parlor, she dumped the pizzas in the break room and headed outside into the street. She called Josie. “I’ve spoken to Jess and he was absolutely no help whatsoever. He doesn’t give a darn Marissa is missing. I’m tied up here at work. Can you get down to the sheriff’s office and report her missing? If we leave it any longer, she could be lying somewhere in a wrecked car on the side of the road. Did she even mention going anywhere else when she left you?”

“ Nope and I drove around on the way home, looking for her vehicle just in case she had broken down somewhere and walked. It wouldn’t be too difficult to fall into the rushing water alongside the road and drown. Stranger things have happened, but I couldn’t find her truck anywhere. Something’s happened to her, and she wouldn’t be offline for so long. I’ve been calling her every hour .” Josie sucked in a long shuddering breath. “I’ll head out now and report her missing. Maybe the sheriff will be able to track her car?”

A wave of panic hit Lily’s stomach. “You’ll need to be very careful what you say. Don’t mention anything about Cole and Abby. Jess turned quite hostile when I told him that Marissa wanted to go to speak to the sheriff before this all blows up in our faces. He knows you feel the same way and he’s going to call the guys to discuss what we should do as a group. He suggested we don’t go in and speak to the sheriff alone. It has to be all of us at the same time if it’s going to work.”

“My lips are sealed as always.” Josie cleared her throat. “ I’ll drop by the sheriff’s office now and don’t be surprised if you get a call from her as you’re one of Marissa’s close friends. I’ll call later and tell you what happened, but I’d say it would be just paperwork. They’ll take a few details and maybe drop by her place to make sure she’s not there. I wouldn’t expect too much to happen right away.” She sighed. “Catch you later.” She disconnected.

Despondent, Lily dragged heavy legs back into the beauty parlor and headed into the break room. Deep down inside, the terrible feeling that something bad had happened to her friend just wouldn’t go away. She needed a gallon of coffee right now to stay alert. After speaking to Jess, her nerves were shot. Where the heck was Marissa? If something bad had happened to her, they’d be coming for her next. A shiver ran down her spine. Her group of friends had been so close, and now she couldn’t trust anyone. Maybe she shouldn’t have told Josie she intended to talk to the sheriff. Dread dropped over her as she peered around the break room door and out into Main. Someone was watching her. She could almost feel their eyes boring into her. She pushed open the door and, looking both ways, dashed into the street. She hurried toward the sheriff’s office. Fear had her by the throat as she scanned the way ahead. If they saw her speaking to the sheriff, would she make it home alive?