Cold Case at Cobra Creek. Rita Herron

in the neighboring area, and turn Cobra Creek into a tourist trap with outlet malls, fast-food chains and a dude ranch.

      “So you struck up a friendship?”

      Sage nodded. “I was reluctant at first, but he was persistent. And he took an interest in Benji.”

      “Benji liked him?”

      “Yes.”

      “He would have gone with him, without being afraid?”

      “Yes,” Sage said, her voice cracking. “Ron stayed in Cobra Creek most of that summer, so we went on several family outings together.” She’d thought she’d finally found a man who loved her and her son.

      Fool.

      Dugan broke off a chunk of cake and put it in his mouth. Sage watched a smile flicker in his eyes, one that pleased her more than it should.

      “Did the town council approve his plans?”

      Sage gave a noncommittal shrug. “They were going back and forth on things, discussing it.” She frowned at Dugan. “Do you think his murder had something to do with the development?”

      “I don’t know,” Dugan said. “But it’s worth looking into.”

      Sage contemplated his suggestion. She should have asked more questions about Ron’s business, about the investors he said he had lined up, about him.

      And now it was too late. If something had gone wrong with his business, something that had gotten him killed, he might have taken that secret with him to the grave.

      * * *

      DUGAN NEEDED TO ask around, find out more about how the locals felt about Lewis’s proposal. What had happened to the development after his death? Had anyone profited?

      But Sage’s comment about Ron’s interest in Benji made him pause. “You said he showed an interest in Benji?”

      Sage stirred sweetener in her coffee. “Yes, some men don’t like kids. Others don’t know how to talk to them, but Ron seemed...comfortable with Benji.”

      “Hmm,” Dugan mumbled. “Did he come from a big family?”

      Sage frowned. “No, I asked him that. And he actually looked kind of sad. He said he was an only child and lost his parents when he was young.”

      “Was he married before? Maybe he had a child.”

      “No, at least he said he’d never married,” Sage said. “But at this point, I don’t know what to believe. Everything he told me could have been a lie.”

      True. In fact, he could have planned to kidnap Benji all along. He’d warmed up to the boy so he’d go with him willingly.

      But why?

      For money? Maybe someone had paid him to take Benji, then killed Ron Lewis to get rid of any witnesses.

      But why would anyone want to kidnap Benji?

      Sage wasn’t wealthy, and she had no family that could offer a big reward. Kidnappers had been known to abduct a child to force a parent into doing something for them, but if swaying the town council to vote for the development had been the issue, it wouldn’t have worked. Sage had no power or influence in the town.

      Then again, Dugan had no proof that Ron Lewis had done anything wrong. That the man hadn’t been sincerely in love with Sage, that he hadn’t come to the town to help it prosper, that he was an innocent who had been shot to death for some reason.

      And that he might have died trying to save Sage’s son.

      * * *

      “DID LEWIS LEAVE anything of his here at the inn? A calendar? Computer?”

      “No, I don’t think so,” Sage said.

      “I know it’s been two years, but what room did he stay in?”

      “The Cross-ties Room.”

      He arched an eyebrow.

      “I named each room based on a theme. People who come to Cobra Creek want the atmosphere, the feel of the quaint western town.”

      “Can I see that room, or is someone staying in it?”

      “You can see it,” Sage said. “I have only one couple staying here now. They’re in the Water Tower Room.”

      Sage led Dugan up the stairs to the second floor. She unlocked the room, then stood back and watched as he studied the room.

      “Have you rented this room since he was here?”

      “Yes, a couple of times,” she said. “I was full capacity during the art festival both years.”

      He walked over and looked inside the dresser, checking each drawer, but they were empty. Next he searched the drawers in the oak desk in the corner. Again, nothing.

      “What are you looking for?” Sage asked.

      Dugan shrugged. “If Lewis was killed because he was into something illegal, there might be evidence he left behind.” He opened the closet door and looked inside. “Did he take everything with him that day when he left?”

      Sage nodded. “His suitcase and computer were gone. That was what freaked me out.”

      “If he’d simply been taking Benji shopping, he wouldn’t have taken those things with him.”

      “Exactly.” Sage’s heart stuttered as she remembered the blind panic that had assaulted her.

      “Did he mention that he was leaving town to you?” Dugan asked.

      “The day before, he said he might have to go away for a business meeting, but that he’d be back before Christmas.”

      “Did he say where the meeting was?”

      Sage pushed a strand of hair away from her face. “No...but then, I didn’t bother to ask.” Guilt hit her again. “I was so distracted, so caught up in the holidays, in making a stupid grocery list for Christmas dinner and finishing my shopping, that I didn’t pay much attention.” Her voice broke. “If I had, maybe I would have picked up on something.”

      Dugan’s boots clicked on the floor as he strode over to the doorway, where she stood. “Sage, this is not your fault.”

      “Yes, it is,” Sage said, her heart breaking all over again. “I was Benji’s mother. I was supposed to protect him.”

      “You did everything you could.”

      “Then, why is he missing?” Sage asked. “Why isn’t he here with me this year, wrapping presents and making sugar cookies?”

      “I don’t know,” Dugan said in a low voice. “But I promise you that I’ll find out.”

      Sage latched on to the hope Dugan offered. But the same terrifying images that haunted her at night flashed behind her eyes now.

      If the person who’d shot Ron had abducted Benji, what had he done with him? Where was he? And what had happened to him over the past two years?

      Was he taken care of or had he been abused? Was he hungry? Alone?

      Would he remember her when they found him?

      * * *

      “THEY FOUND LEWIS’S BODY.”

      “Dammit. How did that happen?”

      “Floods washed the body up. That Indian uncovered his bones in the bushes when he was looking for those hikers that got lost.”

      “After two years, they identified Lewis?”

      “Yes. Damn dental records. I should have extracted all his teeth.”

      A tense second passed. “Hell, you should have burned the bastard’s body in that car.”

      “I