“I’m sorry,” I said, running a hand over my head. “I know your hands are tied.”

“Our hands are tied, Carly, in case you’re getting some crazy-ass idea about getting out of this car and running onto the property.”

I hadn’t considered that, but I was also smart enough to realize it would be foolish for me to attempt such a thing on my own. I was an intelligent woman, but I was no criminal mastermind. I had no delusions that I could outwit a hardened criminal. Sure, I was mouthy with Bingham, but like Hank said, the devil you know. I had no idea what to expect with Charlie. “So what do we do?”

“You’re not gonna like it.”

“I’ll hold my peace until you’ve said yours.”

He nodded. “We head back to Drum.” He glanced at me, his brow raised as though waiting for my outburst. When he saw it wasn’t coming, he continued, “I’ll take you to Hank’s, then I’m going to call Detective White, see if I can convince her there’s something here. It hasn’t been a full forty-eight hours since Greta went missing, but it’s close enough.”

“She’s the detective who handled the Carson Purdy case, isn’t she?”

“She’ll be sympathetic to our case, especially since we have more information tying Lula and Greta to both men.”

“Okay.”

His mouth parted in shock. “No protests?”

“I’m no police officer, Marco. I can’t storm the property and demand he produce Lula and Greta. I’d likely get them, you, or myself killed. I have no problem handing this over to professionals, as long as they actually do something with it.

“If they still won’t open an investigation, I’m going to keep workin’ on it, Carly,” he said defensively. “I’ll find aerial photos of the property, look into the owners’ history, and I can check out the references on Charlie’s application. They likely lied for him, and we can find out why. I won’t just let this go.”

“I know you won’t,” I said. “And I’m sorry if I implied that you were.”

“We’re both frustrated. But let’s see if we can pull the big guns in.”

Chapter Thirty

Once we got back into Ewing, Marco tried calling Detective White on his cell, but her phone went to voicemail. He called the sheriff’s department next to see if she was available, and they told him she was off until Tuesday.

“Shit,” he said when he hung up. He sucked in a breath and blew it out. “It’s two o’clock. Let’s head back to Drum, and I’ll go to the library to start my research.”

“It’s closed on Sundays.”

He gave me a wry grin. “I have a key.”

I shook my head. “What’s with all the older women just droppin’ keys into your lap?”

“It’s my charm,” he said, but it lacked his usual laid-back tone.

“Can you tell someone else in the department?” I asked.

“Honestly, Carly, other than Marta, I’m not sure who I can trust with this. Purdy had his hooks in the sheriff’s department. Mobley obviously didn’t give up the operation. For all I know, he and his goon still have someone on the inside.” He glanced at me. “Don’t give up. I’ll figure out somethin’.”

We picked up lunch to go and headed back to Drum, neither of us in the mood to sit in a restaurant. We were quiet during the drive, both of us lost in thought. I shared my theory that Charlie had taken Greta but not Lula, but Marco quickly nixed it.

“I might have considered it if it weren’t for Mobley. His involvement indicates they took Lula because he found out she was pregnant.”

“So why take Greta?” I asked.

He snorted. “You saw Mobley panic after we dropped by. I suspect Mobley and Charlie thought Greta was going to blow their cover. They took her to cover their tracks.”

“Yeah,” I said. “I guess it makes sense. I mean, taking Greta wasn’t the smartest move if they wanted to keep this quiet, but Mobley’s clearly not some criminal mastermind. Why do you think Lula was so worried when Bingham walked in Thursday night?”

“Maybe he caught wind she was carryin’ packages for Mobley. Or maybe she was worried he’d figure out she’s pregnant. If she’s five or six months along, then people are bound to start noticin’ soon.”

“He still doesn’t know, or if he does, he’s not letting on.” Call me naive, but I was going with not knowing.

I barely touched my lunch because my stomach churned every time I thought about what might be happening on Charlie’s property. Were they out there? Had we made the wrong call?

“You need to be careful,” Marco said as we were approaching Drum. “In fact, I’m not sure you should be drivin’ alone. How about you come to the library with me until it’s time to head to the tavern?”

“Yeah,” I said, spooked out that Charlie or someone else might be watching me. “Maybe it makes me a coward, but I don’t want to be alone.”

“Not a coward, Carly. It makes you smart.”

But when we drove past the tavern, I saw the open sign was in the window. I’d planned on going to the library with Marco, but it was already three thirty. I’d only have about twenty minutes or so to do some digging before I had to quit.

“Can you drop me off at the tavern instead?” I asked. “Ruth’s already opened, and unless Max came back, she’s covering the bar on her own.”

“Yeah. No problem.” He turned and pulled into the back parking lot. “I’ll watch you go in, then come by later to take you home.”

“Thanks, Marco,” I said as I grabbed my bag out of the back. Before I left the car, I searched his face. “You be careful too. You’re not at 100%, which makes you vulnerable too.”

He patted his chest over his jacket. “True, but I’ve got a gun.”

“Still.”

A smile cracked his mouth. “I will.”

When I got inside, I quickly changed into my Max’s Tavern T-shirt. Tiny was working at the grill, but my heart sunk when I found Ruth behind the bar.

“Still no Max?” I asked, tying on my apron.

She frowned. “No.”

“How long have you been open?”

“Not long, so get that guilty look off your face.”

“Has anyone called Wyatt to see how Max is doin’?”

“Yeah, I called him this morning. He said Max is better, but he’s keepin’ him out at his place until tomorrow.”

I nodded.

“This is not your fault, Carly,” she said in a stern tone. “Max has had a drinkin’ problem for years, and we’ve been sweepin’ it under the rug, pretendin’ it doesn’t exist. If Lula hadn’t set him off, it would have been something else.”

I gave her a tight smile. “Yeah.”

She put her hand on my arm and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Why don’t you go call Wyatt and talk to him yourself? Maybe Max’ll talk to you. The sooner you two make up, the better.”

As much as I hated to call Wyatt, I really needed to hear Max’s voice. I had to reassure myself he was okay. “Yeah. I think I will. I’m going to call him from the office.”