Fifteen minutes later, every available sheriff in town surrounded McField Hall and panned outward, checking for clues or any signs of struggle.
It was after noon before they gave up. They found not a single trace of evidence she’d ever been anywhere near the building. They’d been hoping for a dropped object—a phone, purse, keys…anything. They asked every person inside and around the building if they’d seen her. No one had.
Logan leaned against the brick wall on the side next to the parking lot and pressed into his eyes with the thumb and middle finger of one hand.
“It’s not your fault.” He heard Trace’s low voice laced with sorrow, not blame.
“Like hell it isn’t.”
“It’s not, and you know it. So shake it off and let’s move to the next step. It could have happened anywhere any day. You couldn’t have stayed glued to her every hour for the rest of her life.”
Logan didn’t respond. He kept reciting that message over and over in his head. Back off. From what?
The logging site? Her job? Their ménage?
He dropped his hand and met his brother’s gaze. “What the fuck are we going to do now?”
“Keep looking.” Trace nodded behind him. “I have men going door to door in the dorms as we speak. Corbin is headed for the logging site.”
“Sir?” A timid voice spoke from Logan’s right, and he whipped his head to the side to see a student standing two feet away, wringing his hands.
“What?” Logan twisted his body and stepped closer.
So did Trace. “Do you know something?”
“No.” The kid shook his head. “I mean, I don’t know where Amanda is, but I think I know who has her.”
Chapter Thirty-One
An hour later, Logan paced the precinct, unwilling to accept even a cup of coffee from his brother or any other deputy. The clock was ticking, and still no answers. They had nothing to go on but a handwritten note on a piece of paper that looked exactly like the previous notes they’d received.
Trace stepped out of the interrogation room on the right, his head hanging. He spoke softly. “Kid knows nothing about her disappearance. I believe him. He was quick to tell us he met with her in the stairwell on Wednesday, though. In fact, he waited for her there and ambushed her—”
“What?” Logan’s voice wasn’t as soft.
Trace nodded. “To talk to her. To warn her that many people were not in favor of her new job’s existence and wanted her to turn it down.”
“Are you serious?” Logan asked. “And you believe him? How do we know he didn’t kidnap her himself and hide the body?” He shivered. “I mean, where was he when we were asking everyone in the building if they’d seen her?”
“He was in the library. Says he was there all morning. He has at least five alibis who can place him in the library.”
“Fine. So he wasn’t working alone,” Logan gritted out. “That little turd was the first to run around spreading rumors about Zachary last year when he saw him with Laurie and Corbin at the resort.”
Trace nodded. “I’m aware of all that, Logan. But I’m telling you it’s not him. That’s why he came forward. He’s nervous and thinks his pastor and some other parishioners might have something to do with her disappearance. Why bother to come forward at all if he had anything to do with this?”
“To cover himself?” Logan proposed.
Trace shook his head. “Look, I know you want to blame someone and find Amanda as quickly as possible, but I’m telling you my gut says Caleb Parker isn’t involved other than having been instructed by his damn parents to let the church know she was applying for the job. When he saw her on campus, he waited for her to warn her of his church’s involvement. He followed her a few times, and that was the end of his role.”
“Can I talk to him?” Laurie asked.
Trace stared at her a second and then nodded. “Sure,” he muttered.
Logan grabbed his brother’s arm. “If anyone can feel the kid out, Laurie can.”
“What I know,” Trace added, “is that I can’t do anything legal with her gut instincts.”
Logan’s blood boiled. “And you would let Amanda die somewhere because you don’t want to deal with whatever Laurie has to say?”
Trace narrowed his gaze, his face turning red and his teeth clenched. He jerked his arm free of Logan’s grasp and leaned in closer. “You know I would do anything to find Amanda. And I’m doing it. So back off and let me do my job.” Trace nodded at Laurie and motioned for her to follow. He pointed at another deputy on his way out of the room. “Get Pastor Edmund in here for questioning. Send someone to pick him up. And his wife too. And if anyone else is at the church, bring them also.”