Page 36 of Hidden Nature

Elsie poured out two more cups of coffee.

“He didn’t think too much of it, but texted her just to see, and the text didn’t go through. He tried calling, same thing. Tried some of their friends, nobody’d seen her. Worried enough, he went out looking.”

“Any signs of violence in the home? Any problems with the marriage?”

Elsie held up a finger. “No, Corporal Investigator. At least not that they said in the report. He found her car parked at their local grocery store. But nobody’d seen her there either. That’s when he called the police.”

Sloan had a dozen questions building up, but let her mother finish.

“They started a search, but nothing so far. He did an interview. Poor guy looked terrified. She’s ah, let me think. Twenty-four.”

“Did they show her photo?”

“Yes, a pretty brunette. Happy eyes.”

Sometimes happy took a hard turn, Sloan thought. But why leave the car?

“Keys in the car?”

“They didn’t say either way.”

“Purse, wallet?”

Elsie gave Sloan’s arm a light pat as she walked by.

“They didn’t give every detail, baby. I hope they find her. It was down to about twenty-eight last night. Anyway, I shouldn’t have turned on the news. Your father’s up, grabbing a shower. He’s making omelets.”

“Sounds good. If we’re still clear in here for a while after, I should use the fitness room, do some PT.”

“You do what you need to do, then maybe change into something besides sweats.”

“I can do that.” And find a few minutes to look up more information about the missing woman.

She managed half a cheese omelet and a triangle of toast, which seemed to satisfy her parents. Then she took her phone into the fitness room and looked up what she could find on the missing woman.

As that didn’t satisfy her, she made a call.

Captain Travis Hamm not only had been one of her inspirations for joining the NRP, but had been her father’s friend since childhood.

She called his personal cell.

“Hey! How’s that girl!”

“Doing good, Cap. Happy Thanksgiving.”

“Same to you. I’m coming by to see you in a few days, and I expect you to look a hell of a lot better than you did when I dropped by the hospital.”

“I can promise that one. Listen, I know I’m on leave, but I heard about the missing woman.”

“Janet Anderson.”

“Yes. Really, I’m just curious, and wonder if you can give me more details than I can get in the news.”

“No harm in that. You’re still NRP. It’s looking like she stopped working on some casserole—she was making Thanksgiving dinner—and headed to the store. Either she destroyed her phone or someone else did. Her neighbor thinks he might have seen her pull out of her driveway between four and four-thirty. He’s not a hundred percent on it. No keys, no purse in the vehicle. No family disputes. They were married just over a year, and by all accounts crazy about each other.”

“You’re leaning toward abduction.”

“It’s looking that way, but it’s possible she had a meltdown. She took a fall into the lake last summer, had to be pulled out, resuscitated.”

---