“Okay.” There was a pause before Sophie spoke again. “I really missed my babies.”
“I bet you did. You’d just brought them home, right?”
“Yeah. That guy said he was going to buy me some more chicks, but I wanted my own.”
Mattie straightened, all of her attention focused on Sophie. “Had you already told him about your new chickens, sweetheart?”
“No, I didn’t tell him anything about them. I didn’t want him to kidnap them too.”
“So did he use those words? Did he say, ‘I’m going to buy you some more chicks?’”
Sophie paused as if thinking. “Yeah, that’s what he said. I’m pretty sure.”
“Did you talk about your chickens with him then?”
“No, first he said he was going to take me away that night. Then he said once we got where we were going to live, he was going to buy me some more chicks. I was scared and trying not to cry.”
Adrenaline was pumping through Mattie. “Thanks for telling me about that, Sophie. It might help us find the guy. If you think of anything else, let me know. I’ll talk to you later today, but for now, could I talk to your dad again?”
“Sure.” There was a pause, and Mattie thought she’d hear Cole’s voice next, but Sophie evidently wasn’t through talking. “I love you, Mattie.”
Her breath caught. “I love you too, sweetheart.”
Now it was Cole’s voice she heard. “Mattie?”
“Did you hear that about the chicks, Cole?”
“I did.”
“Who knows? Who knows besides Gus Tilley?”
“He’s the one I was thinking of.”
“It’s not him. I’m sure of it. Think. Let’s make a list.”
“The family, Tess, Gus, all the kids in her class and their parents.”
“Do you know Brooks Waverly?”
“Sure.”
“Was he at the feed store when you went?”
“No, I’m sure he wasn’t.”
Her mind conjured an image of a tall, lanky young man with a friendly grin and scruffy brown facial hair. “Who sold you the chicks at the feed store?”
“Moses checked us out. A kid carried the box to the truck.” Cole paused, and when he spoke again, his voice was charged with intensity. “That’s the guy.”
“I’ll go right now and talk to him.”
“I’m coming too.”
“Cole, stay put. You have to stay out of this. I’ll call you back as soon as I know something.”
He made a sound that could be taken as agreement, and they disconnected the call. Mattie headed to her closet to retrieve her service weapon, dialing Stella as she went.
When Stella didn’t answer, Mattie left her a message summarizing Cole’s information and their conclusion. “The feed store opens at six, and I think this kid works the morning shift. I’m going over there now. If he’s there, I’ll take him to the station for you to question.”
Robo hopped into the back of the Explorer, and she drove across town. When she parked in front of the store, no other vehicles were around. Releasing the holster strap on her Glock, Mattie opened the cage door, and Robo followed her out of the car. The sweet scent of grain wafted out and around her when she stepped inside the feed store.
Moses Randall, looking like Santa with his white whiskers, sat on a stool behind the counter, and his eyes lit when they zeroed in on Mattie. “Our local hero! And Robo! To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?”
Mattie leaned against the counter, turning to scan the store. “I want to talk to one of your employees. Not Juanita, but the young man. What’s his name?”
“That’s Jed. Jed Franklin. You’re lucky to catch him. He’s leaving me today.” Randall smiled. “Came in for his last paycheck, but I needed his young back to unload and stack some feed out in the yard before I give it to him. I’ll call him in.”
“No, let me go out there to talk to him,” Mattie said, heading toward the back room. “Is there a door that leads out to the yard here?”
“Yeah, just go through there and out the back.”
She hastened down a narrow aisle in between stacks of feed and stepped out the door into a large area surrounded by solid board fencing. She scanned the space, taking in the packed dirt dotted with stacks of lumber, barrels, fence posts, and fencing. Her gaze paused on two vehicles—Randall’s white Toyota, loaded with feedbags and parked by a shed, and across the way, a silver Jeep Liberty, an older model.
As she focused back on Randall’s truck, Jed Franklin sauntered out of the shed, spotting her at the same time she did him. Without hesitation, he broke into a run, charging toward the Jeep.
Mattie sprinted toward him as she shouted, “Stop! Stop or I’ll send the dog!”
He ran even faster.
“Robo! Take him!”
Robo streaked ahead, arriving at the Jeep as Franklin opened the door and jumped inside. Robo grabbed his pants leg and tugged. Franklin held onto the steering wheel as he started the engine, jerking his leg to free his pants, but succeeded only in hauling Robo partway into the vehicle.
He slammed the door on Robo’s chest and tried to kick him off. Robo hung on, growling and shaking his head. Franklin pushed the door wide, getting ready to slam it on Robo again. But her dog wrenched hard and pulled the man’s leg out of the Jeep at the exact moment the door swung in. There was a crack, and Franklin howled in pain.
As Mattie reached the Jeep, Franklin jammed it into reverse. He spun out backward, billowing a cloud of dust and dragging her dog. Still Robo wouldn’t release his grip, and he skidded along, braced, his paws digging into the dirt. The front tire narrowly missed him as the Jeep yanked him along.
There was no way Robo could win this battle. She pulled her weapon, planning to call him off.
A pickup truck with a vet unit in back screeched to a stop across the open gate that led into the alleyway, blocking the exit.
Cole.
“Robo, out!” she shouted, training her weapon on the Jeep’s windshield, even though she knew she couldn’t risk a shot. Not with Cole parked behind.
Robo released Franklin’s leg and ran back toward her. Franklin poured on the gas, revving the engine as he stared at Mattie, not turning to watch where he was going. Speeding backward, he was giving her a sardonic smile when the sound of metal crunching on metal resounded through the yard. The Jeep crashed into the passenger side of Cole’s truck, snapping Franklin’s head back before throwing him forward into the steering wheel. The vehicle stalled, and he rolled out the open front door, landing on his shoulder in the dirt. He lay there, stunned.
What about Cole?
Mattie couldn’t check on him now. She raced forward, her weapon trained on Franklin, Robo forging ahead in attack mode. “Robo, guard! Don’t move, Franklin! Do not move, or this dog will attack!”
Franklin groaned as he blinked at her and then stared at her Glock, four feet away from his face. His eyes widened when they went to Robo, crouched merely inches away, his sharp teeth glistening.
“Hands on your head,” she told him. As he complied, she added, “Roll to your stomach. Move slowly.”
Within seconds, she caught his hands behind his back and cuffed him. Robo waved his tail as she called him off, looking like he’d survived the ordeal without major injury. She glanced up to find Cole standing beside the wrecked Jeep, squinting in the sun.
“You got him!” Cole headed her way.
She narrowed her eyes at him. “I thought I told you to stay home.”
Cole smiled. “And miss all the fun? I wouldn’t have missed getting to see you and Robo take this guy down for anything.” Then he sobered. “He’s the one, Mattie.”