Missing In Blue Mesa

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“What did you do when you discovered Hunter was missing?” Ethan asked.

“I pulled on my clothes and ran out of the shower, calling for him. I thought maybe he wandered off. I stopped everyone I met and asked if they had seen him, but no one had. Then I went to Metwater’s motor home and pounded on the door. I screamed that I wanted my baby. He said he didn’t know anything about my baby and I needed to stop being so hysterical.” She could have killed Metwater in that moment. She had tried to push past him, to search for Hunter, but he had two of his bodyguards hold her back. “I accused him of taking Hunter and he told everyone I had lost my mind. After that no one would help me, so I came here.” She slumped forward, head in her hands. “I didn’t know what else to do.”

“We’ll help you.” Ethan took one hand and gently pulled it away from her face. “We’ll put out an Amber Alert for Hunter. Everyone will be looking for him. We’ll search the camp and we’ll question Metwater. We’ll find your son.”

She nodded. If they acted quickly, maybe Metwater wouldn’t have had time to take Hunter away somewhere.

“All those articles you had collected about David and Daniel Metwater,” Carmen said. “The ones I found in your trunk—they were because of your sister?”

Michelle stared at the other woman for a moment, before she remembered that Carmen had, indeed, searched her trunk—and she had discovered the item Michelle had been using to blackmail the Fish and Game officer Carmen was now engaged to. “I didn’t know you had seen the articles,” she said.

“I didn’t read them all,” Carmen said. “But I looked through them enough to see they were all about Daniel and David Metwater. I thought maybe you were trying to blackmail him, too.”

“I wish,” Michelle said. “I saved every article I could find, hoping it would give me some clue as to what really happened to Cass that night. The local police wouldn’t believe she had been murdered, so they weren’t doing anything about it. It was up to me.”

“So you decided to join Daniel Metwater’s family,” Ethan said.

“Yes. I called myself Starfall because I didn’t want to risk Metwater recognizing the name. Cass and I weren’t related by blood—her family took me in as their foster child when I was a teenager, but Cass might have mentioned me, so I thought it was safer to assume a fake name. A lot of the people who join his family do that. Asteria did it. She used to be some wealthy socialite.”

“Do you mind if I call you Michelle?” Ethan asked. “At least when Metwater isn’t around?”

She nodded. “I’d like that. Since he took my baby, I don’t want to have anything to do with him.” She sat up straighter. “And I don’t care if he knows who I really am now. I’m not going to let him get away with this.”

“Neither are we.” Ethan’s expression was grim. “I promise you—neither are we.”

* * *

HALF AN HOUR later Ethan glanced over at the woman who sat in the passenger seat of his FJ Cruiser. Starfall—Michelle—was still pale, the bruises around her mouth from where Metwater had hit her last night a painful-looking purple. “You hanging in there?” he asked.

She nodded and turned toward him. “What do you think he’s done with Hunter?”

“I don’t know.” It wasn’t the answer she wanted, but it was all he had to give her. “Would Hunter have gone with him willingly, do you think?”

“Probably. He’s a friendly boy, and he’s never had any reason to be afraid of anyone or anything. I made sure of that.”

“What about his father?”

She stiffened. “What about him?”

“Is it possible he would take the boy? That happens sometimes with custody disputes.”

“No.” She shook her head, curls bouncing. “He’s been out of the picture for months now. He was a mistake.”

“Still, he might decide he wants his son.” Ethan couldn’t imagine having a child who wasn’t a part of his life. “What’s his name? We can check his whereabouts.”

“It’s Greg Warbush. The last I heard he was in Seattle. But you’re wasting your time looking for him. He wouldn’t take Hunter. Greg was never even interested in him. He even said he wasn’t sure Hunter was his.” She shrugged. “Maybe he was right.”

Ethan tried not to let his feelings show on his face, but his expression must have betrayed something, because she said, “I was in a bad place after Cass died. She was the only family I really had—the only person I was close to. I went off the deep end, drinking and sleeping around. I snapped out of it when I found out I was pregnant. I didn’t want my kid growing up the way I had—unwanted. I straightened up and tried to make it work with Greg, but I guess when you start out that way, the relationship is doomed.”

The way she said that word—unwanted—as if it was just another fact in her life—sent a chill through him. Ethan’s parents had always been there for him. He couldn’t imagine living a life where the only person you cared about—the only person you thought cared about you—was a foster sibling.

“Is there anyone else who might want to harm you or your son?” he asked. “Someone with a grudge against you? Someone who is angry with you, for whatever reason?”

She sighed and tilted her head back to stare up at the ceiling. “I’m sure you’ve talked to Officer Redhorse. If you have, you know I’m not the most popular person in camp. I’m not the kind of person who gets close to other people, and I’ve done things to make enemies.”

“What kind of things?”

“I find out people’s secrets and use that to get them to do what I want.” Her eyes flashed, defiant.

“You mean blackmail?”

“Nobody in camp has any money. And most people don’t have big secrets, either. But if I need a guy to fix my car and he says no, I’ll snoop around until I catch him doing something like siphoning gas out of the Prophet’s ride and I’ll threaten to tell unless he make the repairs I need. I’m not saying I’m proud of it, but I do what I have to do to survive.”

Part of him could admire her resourcefulness, even if he didn’t approve of her methods. “By your silence, I can tell you don’t approve,” she said. “But don’t worry. I promise I won’t try to scam you.”

“I think I’m smart enough to spot a scam,” he said.

“Did I mention that I’m very, very good?”

Her teasing tone gave him hope—she was holding it together under horrendous circumstances. That told him more about her strength than any show of force. “Thanks for warning me,” he said.

* * *

ONLY A COUPLE of vehicles sat in the parking area outside Metwater’s camp. Ethan parked his vehicle, and two other Ranger units slid in beside him. Task force members Carmen Redhorse, Simon Woolridge, Marco Cruz and Michael Dance fell in behind Ethan as Michelle led the way up the trail through the woods. She was practically running as she neared the compound. They emerged into the clearing and the first thing that struck him was the silence. No children played, no one lounged in front of the camps, no groups stood around talking. “Where is everyone?” Michelle asked, looking around.

“We’ll spread out and check things out,” Marco said.

“I’ll see if Metwater is home,” Ethan said. He headed for the motor home and rapped on the door. It opened quickly. Asteria scowled at him. “If you’re looking for the Prophet, he’s not here,” she said. “He’s with the others, searching for Hunter.” She frowned at Michelle. “Why did you bring the cops here? Why aren’t you searching for your boy?”

Michelle shoved past Asteria, into the motor home. “Was Hunter here?” she asked. “Did you see him?”

Asteria looked confused. “What do you mean? Of course he wasn’t here.”

“Daniel Metwater threatened to hurt him,” Michelle said. “He was near the shower shack before I went in. He must have seen his chance and snatched my baby to frighten me.”

Asteria took a step back until she was pressed against the wall. “You need to leave,” she said. “The Prophet told us you were crazy and I didn’t want to believe him, but I see it’s true.”

Ethan put his hand on Michelle’s shoulder—she practically vibrated with anger, and he was sure if he hadn’t been there to hold her back she would have launched herself at Asteria. “Where is Metwater now?” he asked.

Asteria didn’t take her eyes off Michelle as she answered, “He and the others are searching the woods just outside camp past the shower shack. We thought Hunter might have wandered into there—he’s barely crawling, so he couldn’t have gone far.”

“Let’s go.” Ethan led Michelle toward the door. “Maybe they’ve found something.”

That bit of hope got her moving. But when they were outside, she glanced over her shoulder, back toward the motor home. “She would lie for him,” she said. “But I can’t believe she would do anything to harm Hunter. She loved him.”

“Maybe she really doesn’t know anything.” He put a hand at her back. “Show me this shower shack.”

She led him across the clearing, past a cluster of tents, to another narrow path that cut through thick underbrush. Halfway along, she stopped. “Metwater threatened me here,” she said, halting a few dozen yards down the path, where trees closed in on either side. “He must have cut through the underbrush and been waiting for me.”

“Did he follow you after he talked to you?” Ethan asked.

“He started walking back toward camp, but he could have turned around when he was out of sight.”

They continued to a wooden hut, open at the top except for a platform, on which sat a blue plastic barrel. The door to the hut was open A bearded young man was inside, painting the walls a light blue-gray. “What are you doing?” Michelle demanded.

He stopped in mid-brushstroke. “The Prophet told me to paint in here,” he said.

“Why aren’t you out searching with everyone else?” she asked.

“He told me it was more important to paint.”

“Were there any paint marks on the walls before you started?” Ethan asked. The young man must have been working for a while—all four walls were mostly coated with paint.

The man scratched his head. “I don’t know. I didn’t pay any attention. Anyway, I’m almost finished.”

Ethan nudged Michelle. “Let’s find Metwater,” he said. He could hear voices now, perhaps a sign the searchers were nearby.

“That’s the same color paint that was dumped on me,” she said. “Metwater must have ordered it painted to hide the evidence.”

“Maybe.” The voices grew louder and they emerged into a second clearing, this one empty of dwellings, but full of people. Ethan spotted Metwater right away—with his long, dark hair and all-white clothing, he stood out amidst his ragtag group of followers. “Metwater, I want to talk to you,” he called.

Metwater raised his head and fixed his gaze first on Michelle. Ethan couldn’t read his expression. When his gaze shifted to Ethan, Metwater looked calm—too calm. “I understand a child went missing from camp,” Ethan said as he and Michelle approached the self-appointed Prophet.

“His mother reported him missing,” Metwater said. “We haven’t found any sign of foul play—and no sign of the child.”