[Rogue Vows 02] • Burned by Her Devotion by Leigh Melinda

Author:Leigh, Melinda [Leigh, Melinda]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mystery, suspense, Romance
ISBN: 9781503995512
Amazon: B01GJA44Z6
Goodreads: 30345591
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Published: 2016-11-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHT

The sun beat down on Carly’s head as she interviewed the gas station attendant. “So you can’t describe the child?”

He shook his head. “I already told the police. I can’t identify the kid, not with the helmet and pads. Couldn’t even say for sure if it was a girl or boy.”

“She filled the tank?”

“And an extra container.”

“Which direction did she go?”

The attendant pointed to the woods behind the diner. “That way.”

Carly and Kenny spent the next hour interviewing diner employees and patrons to see if anyone had seen a girl on an ATV. No one had. Alex had disappeared.

“I don’t know, Kenny.” Carly got back into the police car. “It’s dinnertime. Where is she going?”

Kenny’s gaze swept the windshield. “Could be anywhere. That ATV probably goes sixty miles an hour.”

“It’s going to be dark in a few hours. I don’t want to think of her wandering in the woods in the dark. She could run into a bear, a cougar, coyotes . . .”

“Possible, but very unlikely,” Kenny said. “She’ll be all right, Carly. This kid has been on her own a lot. I’m sure she knows how to look out for herself.”

Sadly, this was true.

Kenny’s radio crackled and the dispatcher yelled over the speaker. “Kenny, you there?”

Solitude had one police chief, three officers, an admin, and a couple of dispatchers. Operations tended to be less than formal.

He picked up the mic. “Still at the truck stop.”

“Eric Hearne just called in a shoplifter at the hardware store. Said she drove off on an ATV.”

“I’ll head there now,” Kenny said, replacing the mic in its dashboard holder.

“It had to be Alex,” Carly said.

Kenny sped into town, and then parked in front of the store. A bell jingled as they opened the glass door and went inside. Like most Solitude businesses, the hardware store was small, carrying most of the essentials and few frills.

Eric came out from behind the counter. He’d dated Stevie once upon a time. “No point in taking a statement now. She’s long gone.”

Kenny drew out his notebook.

“I never even saw her come in. The bell didn’t ring or anything.” Shaking his head, Eric stroked his chin.

“Can you give me a list of the items she stole?” Kenny asked.

“Follow me.” Eric led them back to a closet-size office. A computer monitor sat on a scarred desktop. He clicked a few tabs and a security camera feed popped up on the screen.

“You have a surveillance camera?” Kenny’s voice rose in surprise. Most local businesses weren’t as modern. Eric must have updated the store since taking it over from his father.

“Sadly, we’ve had an increase in shoplifting in the past few years.” Eric rewound the digital recording and Carly watched Alex slip into the store, closing the door ever so gently to keep the bell silent. The camera didn’t cover every aisle, but the girl headed right to the camping supply section. Glancing over her shoulder, she grabbed a backpack, shoved items into it, then grabbed an ultralight sleeping bag.

“Is that a backpack stove?” Kenny asked.

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