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“Absolutely.”

I got out and watched him drive away. I thought he might turn right, but since he didn’t, I knew the first place I was going to explore on my own.

I grabbed my pack from inside, locked all the doors again, and hopped into the Jeep. As I passed the diner, I spotted Trisha in the window. She was taking an order at the front table. She sent me a frown and then a nod. She knew I wasn’t going to be able to just sit back and wait for someone else to solve these mysteries, and she knew Joey’s whereabouts was one of them. She was glad I was on her side.

I sent her a return nod and steered the Jeep back toward The Wild.

CHAPTER

25

FROM ALL OUTWARD appearances, Danielle Harold despised the human race. She loved horses, though, which had given me pause a few times over the years. Since I was somewhat of a misanthrope myself, I wondered if maybe she was on to something.

I was fond of horses, all animals, but I wasn’t in a position to take proper care of any creatures. Or plants.

The mounts in my father’s museum as well as Jack, the wild owl who visited me, were as close as I would probably get to caring for other creatures.

Thoughts about Jack made me hope again that he was okay and just taking time away.

I stopped in front of Danielle Harold’s house. I put my concerns over Jack on a back burner and took in the dilapidation around me.

If there was ever a place that belonged to Black Vulture, it was Danielle’s house. The downtown could blow over with a strong wind, but her house gave the impression that a good sneeze would be enough.

The barn and corral, however, were in good enough condition. There was no indication that those structures would crumble anytime soon. Horses would be okay.

There were none there today, though. I hadn’t thought of asking Calloway about the animals, but I should have. If he’d told me that there were none on the property, I would have known for sure that Danielle was gone, maybe never to come back.

Thalia was gone too, but her empty house didn’t seem so permanent.

The good news was that if the horses weren’t there either, Danielle was most likely okay. But where had everyone gone? The same place or different locations?

I did a quick walk over the property and peeked into a front window, confirming that there was furniture inside but no one was around. I came to no clearer conclusions as I hopped back into the Jeep and turned to head to Minnie’s trailer.

But I changed my mind and pulled a tight U-turn.

There was someone else I wanted to talk to first.

It was easier than it should have been to find my Aunt Susan. An internet search and then some guessing sent me to a house on the edge of the county. In fact, it was in a small township that straddled the border of two counties. Like the traffic signs in kilometers, things in this part of the world didn’t run on normal rules.

You couldn’t see much of the house from the road because of the thick overgrowth. There was no welcome sign. There was no sense of invitation at all. Whoever lived there amid all the desert plants didn’t want visitors.

Too bad.

I parked the Jeep and stood in front of the property a moment, my hands on my hips. I didn’t spot any cameras, but I suspected there was at least one trained right on me. I wanted to give whoever was watching enough time to size me up, and see the bulge of gun in my back waistband. Maybe realize I was related to the woman inside.

I wasn’t law enforcement, but most people around here thought of me as adjacent to law enforcement. I was going to use that and hope no one thought they even had the option of turning me away.

I found a small break in the foliage and took the walkway up. Creosote, sagebrush, all kinds of cacti filled the space. I found it wild, out of control, and beautiful.

I knocked on the door, hearing footsteps only a second or two later. A young man opened the door and frowned.

“Can I help you?”

“I hope so. I’m here to talk to Susan Shaw.”

“Do you have an appointment?”

“I do not.”