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Pulling his phone from the clip on his belt, he opened it to the photo he’d taken of her before coming. “You recognize her?” Handing the phone over, he waited.

Studying the picture with a fine-toothed comb, John finally shook his head saying, “No, I don’t think so. One of the receptionist might, though. When did you say you found her?”

“Four days ago, just before the storm hit.”

Flipping through his desk calendar, he informed Nick, “Jessica and Anita would have been on their five-day rotation then. One of them might recognize her.” His suggestion made Nick nervous. The fewer people that knew about her, the better.

“Is Jess here now?” He’d grown up with the woman. Didn’t know her extremely well, but she’d always seemed like a decent person. Helping others, keeping out of trouble.

Nodding, John said, “I’ll call her in.”

As they waited for the woman to come back, he stared at Snow’s photo, afraid of what was to come. If they found out who she was and no one was looking for her, she would be torn apart. If they found out it was someone she knew that tried to kill her,

he had the feeling she would be just as upset. It was a no-win situation.

A knock on the door followed by Jess popping her head in had him on edge. “Hey, John, what’s up?” As she fully entered the room, her eyes widened upon seeing Nick. “Sheriff, I didn’t realize you were here, too.”

“How you doing, Jess?” He didn’t want her to think she was in trouble.

“I guess that depends on whether I’m in trouble or not.” She nervously chuckled.

Wanting her to feel at ease, he told her, “Not at all. I need some help.”

“Sure, how can I help?”

“Have any guests gone missing? They were here one day, and not the next? Anyone acting suspiciously?” She was shocked by his questions. Clearly not expecting to be talking about missing guests.

Thinking about it for a minute, she answered. “Off the top of my head? No. There have been a few couples where I’ll see them one day and not the next. But there’s been nothing to make me think they’re missing.”

“All right, one last thing.” She nodded. “Do you recognize this woman?” Handing her his phone, he waited as Jess turned it a few ways, probably trying to determine if she did with the bruising.

Finally, a look of recognition crossed her features. “Yes!”

Relief and fear slammed into him like an eighteen-wheeler.

“Who is she?” A mix of disappointment and excitement colored his words.

Her nose scrunched up in concentration. “Pepper something. She was here with a man. It’s been so busy, I just can’t remember. They checked in under his name, though.”

“Is he still here? You’d know him if you saw him?”

“I saw him yesterday. Not since, though. He hasn’t checked out as far as I’ve seen.”

“You’ll call me if you run across him or remember his name, won’t you? What about surveillance cameras?” he asked. Not wanting to push too hard right now. He needed more information first.

“Yes, of course. I can look through the day they checked in and call you when I find him?” she offered, and he was grateful since he hadn’t thought to ask.

“I’d appreciate that.”

“What happened to her, Sheriff?” Jess asked, worry obvious in her tone.

Gazing back down at his phone, he explained her situation. “You can’t tell anyone about this, Jess. And you stay away from this man until I know more about him. Understand?”

“You got it.” With that promise, she left. He was hopeful they’d know who Snow/Pepper was in a few days.

“Thanks for the help, John. I really appreciate it.”

“Sure. Anytime. We’ll give you a call when Jess finds him. Let me know if we can do anything else to help in the meantime.”