Page 19 of Vanish From Sight

Noah raised an eyebrow. “I’d like to speak with this guy. We found a leash and dog collar out near Pulpit Rock. I’m curious to know if he’s ever been out that way.”

“Knock your socks off. Just know he’s not all there. If you get my drift.”

“Right,” Noah replied before heading out.

On his way over to the county jail that was on the same property as the Sheriff’s Office, his phone lit up. The caller ID was Lena. She was the only one that knew, other than Maddie, Ray and Aunt Gretchen, that he was back in town. He tapped accept,passing a few deputies on the way out. Their eyes lit up and they patted him on the arm as if he’d done them a huge favor.

“Lena. You good?”

“I’m fine.”

“The kids?”

“They’re well. I was hoping you might help.”

“If you want the skinny on who the victim is, they haven’t identified her yet.”

“No, I’m not working on that.”

That took him off guard, he expected her to be all over that. “You’re not? Everything okay?”

“Fine. Maggie assigned someone else. No, I was wondering if you could ask Ray and County if they’ve had any reports of dog thefts in the past month. I’ve already tried to get the information but I’m not exactly the most popular person over there with the articles I’ve put out.”

He snorted. “I heard. Why?”

“You know why.”

“No, I meant why do you want to know about the thefts?”

“Well, I had a woman phone me today. She said she wasn’t making much headway with police regarding her two missing French bulldogs.”

Noah stepped outside and saw two officers assisting with the removal of dogs from the back of a blue van. They were small.

“You got a description on them?”

“I can send over a photo.”

“Go ahead.”

“Now?”

“Yeah, Lena.”

“Hold up a second,” Noah said to the deputies. The timing seemed too good to be true and the odds were low as French bulldogs were a common target for thieves. A second or two later, his phone dinged.

“You got that?”

“One second.” He opened his inbox and pulled up the photos with descriptive details. He held up his phone and compared them to the dogs in the back. “Well, I’ll be damned. Hey Zeus. Penelope.” The pups’ heads turned. “Looks like you’ve lucked out. We’ve got them.”

She was all surprised. “What? You do?”

“Yep, and the guy who took them. Have her come down to County. I’ll be here.”

7

Saturday, November 19, 5:40 p.m.

Adirondack County’s 120-cell jail was adjacent to the County Public Safety Building, which housed the Office of Emergency Services, County Sheriff patrol and civil offices, an enhanced 911 center and even Troop D State Police. The jail, which had at one time been located in Elizabethtown, was overseen by seven sergeants and fifty-six correctional officers.