Page 1 of Beneath the Blue Moon

***Casey***

“Please, you have to help me!”

I rush forward, surprising the woman behind the desk. Her head

snaps up and she stares at me like I’m bat-shit crazy. Hell, I probably look

insane, charging into the quiet sheriff’s office, crying and shouting. She

closes her magazine with a sigh, and her expression turns wary.

“Calm down, ma’am. Take a deep breath and tell me what’s

wrong,” she drawls.

“It’s my father. He’s missing!”

Her brow quirks up in disbelief. Figures. In this small town

of Canid, Montana, the severity of their calls probably peaks at cats stuck in

trees.

“Missing? For how long?”

“A couple of hours, but—”

“You have to wait twenty-four hours—”

“I know, but you don’t understand—”

“Ma’am.” She cuts me off again. “I suggest you go home and—”

“Will you let me finish?” I yell in frustration.

The woman is unbelievable! I can’t get a word in edgewise

and the longer she stalls, the longer he’s out there. Alone.

“Ma’am, I’m goin’ to ask you one more time to calm down,”

she says in that tone every cop seems to use.

“Fine. I wanna talk to the sheriff.”

“The sheriff’s a busy man.”

“I’m not leaving until I talk to him,” I reply, my stubborn

streak in full effect.

Crossing my arms over my chest, I drop down into one of the

chairs facing her desk and stare her down until she finally leaves her seat and

walks over to the sheriff’s office.