“I would die for the people here, Caleb. This is home. I couldn’t ever leave. If you’ll just wait until this all over, you can leave and live your life doing whatever you want. With Everly or anyone else you want. Just wait. I need to know you’re safe. It’s only a few more days.”
Caleb groaned. He didn’t know what he expected, but it wasn’t his mother’s readiness to die for Rickdale. What had Rickdale ever done for her? He just didn’t get it.
“Can I use your car? I just want to see Everly at the cafe.”
“It’s Thursday. Isn’t she off today?” Jennifer asked as she joined him at the table.
“Nah, she’s working. No choice really with Garvey gone, and Edna’s refusal to replace him.”
Jennifer didn’t answer him right away. She ate her breakfast and drank her coffee. Caleb waited impatiently for her to answer. She hadn’t said no, and he knew better than to push her. She rose from the table, washed her plate, and refilled her cup. She rejoined him at the table with a long sigh.
“How long will you be gone?”
Caleb shrugged. Billy often accused him of losing track of time when he went to the cafe during his work break.
“Couple hours?” he said, a sheepish grin crossing his face.
“In other words, you don’t know.”
“I’ll do my best to keep track of time, Ma.”
Jennifer rolled her eyes. She knew what he would be keeping track of, and it wasn’t time. She lifted her keys from their hook and dangled them out.
“The curfew is still in effect, and I expect you back long before that, Caleb.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. I’m not a kid anymore, Ma. I’ll be fine.” He pecked his mother on the cheek as he took the keys from her. “Thank you.”
“Wash your plate first,” she said. “Do you need money?”
Caleb groaned but washed his plate. “Nah. My paycheck should be deposited this morning, but thanks.” He waved to Jennifer as he left. She followed him as far as the window and watched him drive away, her gut rolling.
“Why does it feel like my life is ending?”
Chapter Twelve
“Rickdale Sheriff’s office,” Randy answered.
“Randy?” The female voice sounded stressed.
“Speaking. What do you need?”
“It’s Edna Miller. Where’s Tom? I need to speak to Tom. It’s urgent. Where’s Tom? I need Tom.” Her voice rose in pitch, and he heard her soft sob as she finished.
“Mrs. Miller, first it’s important that you take a deep breath. Will you breathe with me?” Randy tried to calm her down, but she only got more frenzied.
“Don’t have time for this. Get Tom. I need Tom. It’s urgent. Tom, Tom, Tom!”
Randy’s eyes flicked over to Tom’s office. The fire chief and a few of the firefighters had come in about thirty minutes before and taken over Tom’s office.
“Tom’s not available right now. I can help you with whatever it is, Mrs. Miller. Tell me what’s going on.”
A cry of exasperation filled the receiver, and he pulled the phone away from his ear.
“Jim never came home last night. He’s not answering his phone, and his car isn’t in the garage.”
Randy covered his face with a hand. His eyes glanced over the list of names in front of him. His head shook. All of those people were missing. He scribbled Jim’s name on the paper and pulled out his notepad. Jim was the oldest person on the list. His movements would be easy to track.
“Okay, Mrs. Miller. We’ll find him. Please, will you take a breath for me? I need to get information from you, and it’s better if you’re calm.”
“I gave you all the information. Put Tom on the phone!”
“Ma’am, please.” Randy’s head throbbed. He had no idea how Carla fielded all these calls all the time. He’d only answered a few, and he was overwhelmed already.
“What’s wrong?” Tom said.
Randy shook his head and handed Tom the list. A woman’s panicked voice filtered from the receiver, and Tom held his hand out.
“It’s Edna,” Randy said.
Tom nodded. “Edna?”
Edna’s voice talked right over Tom’s and kept going.
“Edna!” Tom didn’t really want to shout, but it was the only way to get her attention.
“Tom? Jim’s missing.” She continued to babble on, and Tom shouted her name again. Edna stopped talking.
“Edna, please take a deep breath. I’m going to send Randy over with the rescue squad. You need to calm down. He will take a full report and drive you anywhere you need or want to go, okay? I’ll check with the hospital, too. Just please, Edna, please calm down. Don’t make me worry about you, too. Okay, sis?”
Edna wasn’t really Tom’s sister, but they’d grown up together. Her father was a deputy under his father, so their families did a lot together. He considered her a sister, and it bothered him that she was so upset.
“Randy, ride on out to Edna’s and get as many details as you can, please. I’ll send the ambulance over to check her vitals and make sure she’s okay.”
Randy nodded. “Are you calling the hospital, or do you want me to swing by on my way to Edna’s?”
“No, go straight to Edna. She’s pretty distraught. I’ll radio you if I learn anything. Hopefully, he’s just laid up and not really missing.”
“Will do, sheriff. Anything important I should know about Edna? Any information for the rescue squad?”
“Nah. They should have all her info, and if not, they won’t do anything until the doctor sees her, anyway. She’s a hard woman to knock down. She’ll probably fuss about the cafe, but don’t take her over there until you get all your questions answered. People will wait. They always do.” He cast a glance at the names on the list for the first time. Heaviness filled his chest, and he gasped for air.
“You okay, Tom?” Randy asked. He came around the desk and helped Tom sit.
“Yeah. This list—just overwhelming. This is what I wanted to prevent. I don’t know people will be too keen on leaving their houses today, anyway. We could probably shut the whole town down and not affect the economy.” Tom sighed. “Go on, take care of Edna. I’ll call the hospital then start working on this list.” He dismissed Randy by picking up the landline and hitting the speed dial. The hospital was always on speed dial.
“Rickdale Memorial, Gladys speaking. How may I direct your call?” The elderly receptionist’s voice was crisp.
“Morning, Gladys,” Tom greeted. “It’s Tom. Could you take a look, see if there’s a Jim Miller laid up there somewhere?”
“No need to look, sheriff. Jim’s here. He was brought in about an hour ago. I was just about to call you at the doctor’s request. Would you like me to patch you through?”
Jim released the breath he held. He was grateful for Gladys’ no-nonsense nature. She didn’t beat around the bush, and she answered questions with direct responses. He wished everyone was like that.
“Yes, please. Has anyone contacted Edna? She’s frantic.”