Buy quality materials right from the start. What you save when buying cheap items costs much more in the long run.
—HAMMER GIRL BLOG
It was nearly noon when Ellie parked on the street a few storefronts down from the sheriff’s office. She’d circled the block, and most of the spots were taken for setup for the Dungeness crab and seafood festival on Saturday. Workers hung banners from streetlights and others banged together street-side booths along Main Street.
She was still a little shaken from her discussion with Jason. She had to stay focused if she wanted to find out what had happened to her sister.
The wind blew the sweet scents of vanilla, cinnamon, and lilac from the candle shop to her nose as she hurried to the sheriff’s office. Someone called her name as she started up the steps, and she turned to see Grayson exiting the coffee shop. The wind ruff led his thick blond hair, and as he neared, she realized again how big he was. His hands could about encompass her waist.
In spite of his size, she didn’t fear him the way she had initially. Maybe it was because he showed so much care about the pain she was feeling about Mac. He was nothing like her dad.
She pushed the baseball cap off her forehead a bit and smiled up at him as he reached her. “I see you found the coffee shop.”
“Would you believe there was no coffee in Shauna’s house? Only a few grounds in the bottom of the canister. Sad state of affairs so I had to make a stop to get some supplies. Who lives like that?”
“I should have sent a few groceries home with you last night. I doubt there was anything for breakfast either.”
“I had a sandwich at the coffee shop and ended up working there all morning.” He fell into step with her, and they went up the stairs. “We might as well talk to the sheriff together. I’m sure we have similar questions.”
“I actually thought I’d talk to Rosa, Mac’s friend who is a deputy here.”
“You know her? Good call.”
As she was talking to Grayson, a homeless man caught her attention. He was pushing a basket containing a sleeping bag, water, and all sorts of belongings, and he stood looking at the food truck selling crab Rangoon.
“Hang on a sec.” She walked past Grayson toward the food truck. She bought some food, then took it to the man, who thanked her with his hand on her shoulder.
She noticed Grayson staring at her as she jogged back to join him. “Nice thing to do.”
“That’s Ned. He’s had a hard life since he got out of the military. Any of us could be in his shoes.”
He held open the door for her, and she went past him into the cool wash of air-conditioning. Rosa was looking at a clipboard behind the desk, and she gave a little wave when she saw Ellie. She put down the clipboard and came around to hug her. “How you holding up?” She released her and shook her head. “Forget I said that. Did you get any sleep after the break-in?”
Grayson straightened. “Someone broke in last night?”
Ellie wished she could have warned Rosa not to say anything. She wanted the focus to stay on finding Mac. “Probably a Peeping Tom. He left as soon as he realized he’d been seen.”
Rosa glanced from him to Ellie. “You’re here to see the sheriff? He’s out right now.”
“I actually came to see you.” Ellie introduced Grayson to her. “Is there a room where we can talk?”
“Sure, this way.” Rosa led her down a hall to a small room on the left. She shut the door behind them and indicated the chairs around the table. “Have a seat. What can I do for you?”
Ellie slid into a chair and waited until Grayson settled too. “I found some interesting files on a computer at my house that Mac often used.”
Rosa’s dark eyes sparkled. “You brought it?”
Of course she should have thought of that. Ellie shook her head. “I didn’t. Anyway, it appears she’d been researching North Korea’s threat to use a nuclear EMP bomb. She ever talk to you about her interest?”
Rosa blanched. “A few weeks back she asked me how prepared we were for an EMP strike. It had been in the news so I thought that’s what triggered her question. You’re thinking it was more than that?”
“She had files on how to build them on the laptop. It seemed strange.”
“Very strange. I guess we’ll never know.”
Ellie flinched. “You think she’s dead, don’t you?”
Rosa sat back in her chair. “I don’t know, honey, but there was a lot of blood on that ship deck. If she’s not dead, she’s in pretty bad shape. I don’t know how to tell you this, but the sheriff decided to take some cadaver dogs out into the woods outside town after a tip came in about someone dumping something out there.”
A roaring started in Ellie’s head, and her vision blurred. “H-He found her?” She took a few deep breaths to calm herself.
“I haven’t heard yet, but he thought it was possible. He’s going to call you as soon as he’s done.”
Ellie felt faint. She’d thought she was ready for closure, but not if it meant finding Mac’s dead body.
Grayson leaned forward. “Has the sheriff taken a look at Dylan Trafford? I spoke to him early this morning, and I think he’s capable of taking her.”
“We’re looking at everything. You must have grabbed him the minute he hit land.”
“I did. He told me he took Mackenzie to the storage unit where they’d stashed the cocaine. She knew where it was.”
Ellie curled her hands into fists. “You can’t still be thinking she took it, Grayson!”
He held her gaze in a long look. “If we want to find what happened to her, we have to follow up every lead, Ellie.”
Was he right? Her throat was tight, and she swallowed down the lump forming there. If only they knew for sure which lead to follow.
Grayson touched her shoulder. “Let’s go get some lunch. I have things to tell you too.”
The Crabby Pot food truck line moved quickly, and Grayson ordered two bowls of crab chowder, then carried them to where Ellie sat waiting at a picnic table with a million-dollar view of the bay. Gulls squawked and wheeled over his head, and several kayakers paddled by in the calm water.
Ellie, her face pale, stared blankly out at the bay. She looked cute in that baseball cap with her chestnut ponytail dangling out the back keyhole. The muscles in her smooth, tanned arms showed definition with her hands clasped together under her chin.
He slid a bowl of chowder her way. “Here you go.”
“Thanks.” She lowered her hands and reached for the bowl. “I’m not sure what to do next. Do you think the sheriff has found her body?” Her voice was choked, and her eyes glimmered with moisture behind her glasses.
“He’ll let us know as soon as he checks out that lead.” He sat across from her. “You really need closure, Ellie. Living with the not knowing is hard. I’ve seen it tear people apart.” She didn’t want to face where everything pointed, but then, he hadn’t been totally forthcoming with her.
She took the lid off her chowder and blew on it. “It doesn’t look like Dylan took her since he was out of the port.”
“We’re still waiting on authentication of that picture of her in North Korea. She might be there.”
“She isn’t. After losing that much blood, she never would have been able to travel that far.”
“DNA isn’t back yet, so we don’t know for sure if the blood is hers,” he pointed out.
Her eyes widened. “Do you think there’s a possibility it’s not hers? That maybe she’s actually just missing and not likely dead?”
He shouldn’t have said that. “I’m trying to make no assumptions. Without DNA there’s no confirmation.”
Maybe he shouldn’t have given her that glimmer of hope. He suspected Mackenzie had gotten mixed up with the wrong people, then was killed. They’d dumped her in the water so there was no chance of finding the attacker’s DNA on her body. Ellie didn’t need to dwell on that, though.
Her large amber eyes studied him over the rim of her glasses. “There’s one thing you haven’t told me. What evidence do you have that she’s even involved with the cocaine’s disappearance?”
“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.” The truth was likely to upset her even more, but maybe it was time she understood this wasn’t just something the Coast Guard pulled out of a hat. She’d never believe in Mackenzie’s guilt until she saw all the evidence. “There were surveillance cameras in the storage room. We have her on camera directing several men as they carried out the cocaine.”
She inhaled. “There has to be some kind of explanation.”
“I’m sorry. I know you don’t want to believe your sister would do something like that, but the video is proof positive.”
“Could I see it? The video?”
“I don’t know what purpose that would serve other than to upset you more.”
“Please.”
It was impossible to ignore the plea in her beautiful eyes. “We’ll have to get my computer. It’s back at Shauna’s house.”
She rose. “Let’s go now.”
He shrugged and grabbed his chowder, but before he could stand, the sheriff waved and headed their way. Ellie’s mouth tightened, but she sat back down as the sheriff sat beside her at the picnic table.
His black hair was damp, and he mopped his forehead with a red bandana. “It’s going to be another scorcher. I thought I might find you here. Rosa told me she’d spoken with you.” His dark-blue eyes stayed focused on Ellie.
“Did you find a-a body?”
“We did, but it was just a dead deer. False alarm.” He stroked a long black sideburn. “I warned Rosa not to be running her mouth off again.”
“Is she in trouble for telling me?” Ellie asked.
Sheriff Burchell shook his head. “We got the DNA back on the blood. It’s Mackenzie’s.”
Grayson winced. “Was there an estimate on how much blood she lost?”
“Three to four pints.”
“Not likely survivable.”
The sheriff nodded. “That’s what the coroner said. If she got an immediate blood transfusion, maybe she could, but it’s not very likely considering where she was attacked.”
It was unlikely the attacker would provide any medical assistance anyway. Ellie was staring intently at the sheriff and gave a slight nod. “What about the picture?”
“Got that back too. The picture is doctored, so we can’t go by that.”
“What does that mean?” Grayson asked.
“It appears she wasn’t really in North Korea. My expert thinks she was actually standing in front of the Bomun Pavilion.”
“Who would doctor it and why?” Grayson asked.
“I think it was likely her attacker, and he was trying to get us off his tail.”
“I knew all along she wasn’t there,” Ellie said. “What’s next?”
Grayson caught and held her gaze. He hadn’t shared the video with the sheriff, but maybe he should. They could pool their resources. “I’m still pursuing the cocaine. I think it will lead us to Mackenzie.”
Ellie sent him a pleading look and gave a slight shake to her head, so he gave a quick nod. He could wait until she’d seen it first, but she needed to face facts. Her sister was involved in this up to her neck.