Cactus Flat came into view. Would Ian Guidara run? He had a lot to lose and Detective Hawke feared the worst. He was a white man, according to Amy Winters. She felt he loved her daughter, but Hawke had reservations.
Hawke had contacted the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office to accompany them to the residence. Since he had no jurisdiction off the reservation, help from the sheriff’s office was required when he approached to speak to this man.
The dirt road slung the tiny particles all over the place. Silence grew thick as they closed in on Ian Guidara. Hawke’s vehicle led the way followed by the local law enforcement’s white SUV.
The residence came into view. A small rundown trailer in the middle of open land with tall trees surrounding it. Guidara had a wonderful view of the surrounding mountain vistas. To the right of the trailer stood a barn with horses grazing about.
His grandfather’s words echoed in his head, “The horse has unearthly powers. Remember, to follow your pathway, and destiny will follow.” As always, his grandfather’s words brought him serenity and a feeling of connection with all his wise ancestors who had crossed to the other side.
They stopped in front of the trailer. The grass was knee high, garbage piled all over the yard.
“It looks abandoned,” Hawke said as he opened his door to step out.
Just then a man ran out the back door. “There he goes!” Melina called
The deputies darted in pursuit. Hawke and Melina followed, guns drawn.
Determined to catch the man, Hawke rounded the tree line just below the barn. “Ian Guidara,” he called. “You run like the rabbit, in fear. We are here to help you. If you loved Abby Winters, come out and we will work on the situation, whatever it may happen to be.”
Agent Wolfe stood beside Hawke, waiting. Would his words manage to get this man out of the woods?
A crunching of leaves drew his attention. A deer appeared. The sign of gentleness. Quickly, the animal turned and leaped into the obscurity of the brush and briars.
Then their man came out of the woods, holding his arms toward the sky.
“Okay, I surrender,” the man they assumed was Ian Guidara said.
“I am Detective Hawke with the Pine Ridge Police Dept., and this is Special Agent Melina Wolfe with the FBI. These other men are from the local sheriff’s office. Why did you run? We’re here to speak to you about Abby. We need to know everything you can tell us about her disappearance. Running makes it look like you are hiding something.” He wouldn’t mention her death just yet. He’d wait to see if Guidara incriminated himself.
“Listen, I don’t know why you’re here. Strange cars come rolling onto my property, I get scared.” His eyes darted around to the other officers, their handguns drawn. “Abby worked for me, and we dated, but I know nothing about her death. The first I heard about it was when I read in the paper about her body being found at Eagle Nest Butte. I thought she ran away because she changed her mind about marrying me. I loved her, planned on marrying her, but now that will never be.”
Hawke listened close to his words. “Why would Abby think she had to marry you?”
“Well, she was pregnant. We were going to have a baby. We loved each other and planned to be together forever. Her mother didn’t know about the pregnancy. We planned to tell her over weekend about the baby, but we never got the chance. Suddenly Abby vanished, and I had no clue where she had ran off to.”
Hawke sensed lying. He would play along just to gain his confidence. Hawke placed a hand on his shoulder. He glanced at Melina as he said, “Son, I know you are hurting inside and will probably never get over this. I can say I understand for I love someone very deeply, too.”
A blush kissed her cheeks. She cleared her throat before turning her attention to Abby’s boyfriend. “Ian, we need you to answer some questions. The last time you saw Abby was when?”
He wiped the tears away and replied, “The day she went missing. She left work at the end of her shift and as far as I knew was headed to her home on the reservation. She never made it. I called her mother after I couldn’t reach her by cell.” He shrugged. “She claimed she hadn’t seen her. Abby wasn’t one to run around, so her mother and I searched and filed a missing persons report.”
Melina’s gaze swept to Detective Hawke
He nodded. “Yes, I found the report in her file.”
“Can you tell us of anyone who would want to hurt her?” Melina asked.
“No, she had no enemies. The only other thing I can think of is we went out to this bar one night, the one in Cottonwood, near Interstate 14. She had a few cross words with this other girl, but they did not know each other, I don’t think. So, I’m drawing a blank as far as enemies.”
“Do you know this girl’s name?” Melina looked up from the pad she jotted her notes on.
“No. I didn’t know her either. Probably whoever done this to Abby is long gone and will never be caught.” Ian sobbed some more. Hawke couldn’t help but wonder if these were false tears.
Perhaps Melina wondered the same thing. She stared at Ian for a long moment. “Okay, Ian, that will be all for now, but if you remember anything, please call us.”
“We may be back to question you some more. Don’t leave the area. No vacation until this murder is solved. Mark my words: We will find who killed Abby and dumped her body like she was garbage.” Hawke promised.
Ian nodded. “Sure. I ain’t goin’ nowhere. I’ll call you if I think of anything. Please find the person responsible for doing this.”
Hawke glanced at Melina. “Are you ready to go?”
She nodded. “Ian, please follow Hawke’s instructions. Make sure you stay in the state. We need to be able to get in contact with you, anytime, day or night.”
“Sure. I’ll be here or at my restaurant, if you need me. I’ll speak to Abby’s friends, too, and ask if they saw anything on the last day we seen her.”
“Mr. Guidara, we’re headed to your restaurant now to speak to the employees.”
The tearful man tensed.
“I’m sure somebody knows something. Abby will not rest until we catch her killer.” She gave Ian a hard stare. “Neither will I. Our solving the case will help Abby to cross over into the spirit world where she will be with our ancestors.”
“Please make sure you let me know what happens. If you want, I could accompany you down to the restaurant. I love Abby. She had a beautiful heart. My love for her will always be. I mourn for her every day. I wanted to be her husband and father to our child.” His sobs echoed off the trees and rocks. It almost seemed as if he could turn them on and off like a faucet. “My employees will feel freer to talk if I’m there with you.”
“No need to bother yourself. We’ll leave you to your grieving.” Melina snapped her notebook shut.
“Ian, we’ll need for you to stay here with the local authorities and answer some more questions. They will want a list of Abby’s friends, as well We haven’t been advised by the medical examiner she was pregnant, so please refrain from stating this until we get official word. We don’t need you to accompany us while we speak to your employees, or Abby’s friends, for that matter. Call my office in the next couple of days and maybe I will have more information to go on.” Hawke handed him a card with his contact information. So did Melina.
Ian nodded as he took their business cards.
A few minutes later, Hawke and Melina sat in their vehicle, comparing their impressions. Hawke shifted in his seat. “I sense he’s hiding something. Did you notice how he pretended to be a victim, himself? Maybe he’s the killer in a tearful disguise.”
“Yes, he gave an Oscar winning performance, didn’t he? No doubt he wanted to be nearby when we interrogated his employees. I’m thinking to give them a hard glare to intimidate them.” She removed her cell from her purse. “I’m calling my office to have a background check run on him. Ian Guidara bears watching.”
Hawke backed his vehicle and then executed a wide U-turn. “Looks like we’ll have a long day. The first of many, I’m afraid. It’ll take us a couple of days to speak to the local people. I have a feeling there is more to this Ian Guidara then we can imagine.”
Melina nodded as she made a call. He drove toward the center of Cactus Flat. Tonight would be interesting when they arrived to speak to the employees of Guidara’s Streak House. They’d forgotten to tell him they would be back many times so they could speak to all three shifts and to the local people of the town of Cactus Flat. Hawke grinned. Forgotten or neglected?
Was Ian the killer? Det. Hawke hoped not for the sanity of Amy Winters. She’d welcomed him into her life, her home, and perhaps her heart.