Hiding In The Dark. Sava Mathou

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      Chapter Three

      Talking to the credit card company and bank lead nowhere.

      Frustrated, Ellie sat back in her chair and began to drum her pen on the notepad. Deep in thought, it took Ellie a minute to realize the phone was ringing.

      “Moore Detective Agency.”

      “Ellie. It’s Jim. You going to be in your office for a bit? I think we need to talk.” A nervous edge in his voice.

      “Sure. I will be here for a bit. Just going over some stuff.” Wondering why his tone suddenly made her nervous.

      “Great. Give me twenty minutes, and I will be right over.”

      Click. And the line was dead.

      Ellie sat, staring at the phone for a moment and began to wonder what that was all about. Something was up. She could feel the butterflies in her stomach begin to rise. Looking up at the clock on the wall, it was just after 5:30 p.m. No use getting all excited. She would just have to wait and see what Jim had to tell her. Instinct was telling her that she wasn’t going to like what she was going to hear.

      *****

      Jim arrived shortly after six. He came into the office and sat in the chair. Sliding the folder in his hands across the desk toward Ellie, she reached out as it slid toward her. Jim sat back in the chair and let out a deep sigh. Ellie tried to read his face and see what he was thinking. She decided to wait and let him begin.

      “Ellie. I am afraid you have bitten off more than you can chew on this one. Looks like your girl was being investigated for some time now. She was dating a young man from up in Wolf Creek who has some drug ties.”

      Ellie didn’t say anything. She listened and let Jim continue, just giving a nod now and then to let him know she was listening.

      “Seems she had been seeing this Elliott character. Steve Elliott. He has been suspected in being involved in a meth ring, operating out of the area. So far, no one has been able to get anything on him. We have not been able to find much on his background either. Seems he just showed up here in and began to work. No one knows much about him and that makes us nervous.

      “The drug task force hasn’t been able to get anything on him either. They have been trying to get some information on him from some of our local informants and nothing has come of it.

      “Seems there is one thing that has a bit nervous. We did have a local informant who was doing some checking on him. Our informant suddenly went quiet and wouldn’t give a reason. Then our informant up and disappears. We have not been able to find hide nor hair of the fella. We don’t like it. Something has been going on out there in Wolf Creek, and we are trying to get to the bottom of it.”

      “What does this have to do with Shelby?”

      “Seems a person that sounded a lot like Ms. Wallace made a call into our tip line at the drug task force. The person simply said they had some information on Steve Elliott and the owner of the ranch he works for in Wolf Creek. The owner of the ranch goes by the name of Howard Long. Mr. Long is a native of California and has long been suspected of being the head of a major meth cartel out there. No one has been able to get any information on him either. Seems his background is a ghost too.

      “We think that Elliott is working for Long as an enforcer. We are getting tips that something major is in the works, and now, we have two people who could possibly help us nail these guys disappear.

      “It doesn’t look good any way you look at. I want you to know that you might be getting yourself involved here with some major players. If that’s the case, then you need to know what you’re up against.”

      “What makes you think it was Shelby that called in the tip?” Her interest now thoroughly piqued.

      “At first, we didn’t know for sure. However, a trace is put through on all the calls that come into the tip line. Seems the call was traced back to Ms. Wallace’s cell phone.”

      “Well, now. That does make things interesting.”

      “I am afraid you’re not going to find much in that report. Just your basic information and inventory of what was found in the car. The forensics team went through the vehicle and didn’t find any evidence of foul play.”

      “But with her call in to the tip line, then it does start to make it all look pretty interesting.” Fingers drumming the desk. Ellie resting her chin in her hand in thought.

      “We think that Shelby either found out, or saw something that got her worried. Worried enough to make a call anyway. Either way, with her missing, it doesn’t look good.” Looking concerned and tired, Jim sunk into the comfortable chair much farther.

      He began to speak again. “I am afraid that this is all part of our ongoing investigation and has to remain between the two of us. This is the reason I came to your office. You can’t let anyone know what I told you. I don’t want to see you get hurt on this one. I worried that you might get into this and ask the wrong question to the wrong person and get yourself in a bit of a mess or worse”

      Ellie’s head jerked up at the warning. Looking across the desk at Jim, she could see the concern written in his eyes. Looks like her first case was going to be a tough one and a dangerous one at that. Well, I wanted excitement and looks like I am getting it. She began to wonder if she was biting off more than she could chew.

      As Jim left her office, she found herself, chewing on the end of her pen in thought. Maybe Shelby wasn’t missing but hiding. If she found out something about his drug ring, it would make sense to want to hide. Hopefully, something worse hadn’t happened to the girl. Ellie found herself shuddering at that idea and tried to remove it from her mind. She would need to interview her friends. Girls talk and maybe one of them knew more than they were saying.

      Time to talk to Stacy and Lynn. They were the last ones to see her.

      *****

      Driving out to Wolf Creek.

      Ellie found Stacy’s home easy enough. Her parents had a beautiful log home, overlooking Holter Lake. Pulling into the driveway, Stacy was standing in the doorway, waiting for her. The girl didn’t look eager to talk, standing there with her hands shoved deep in her pockets. Ellie thought this might be a tough nut to crack. Either that or this girl knew more than what she had previously said in her statements to the sheriff and Shelby’s father.

      The girl said a quiet hello and lead Ellie into a study just off the entrance. Looking around the room, Ellie saw that this girl grew up with no shortage of money. The study was two stories high flanked with tall book shelves. Glancing at some of the titles on the shelves, she saw some rare additions that had to cost a penny or two over her budget. It was a library collection most would envy. She led her over to some reading chairs that weren’t quite your typical reading chairs But more of an overstuffed calfskin-leather-covered high-class BarcaLounger. Looking at the chairs, they probably cost almost as much as her car. The room was definitely built to impress for those brought into its presence.

      Ellie sat down in the comfortable chair. She decided to take the tact that she would СКАЧАТЬ