Page 6 of Titan
Julie listens intently and only occasionally interrupts to ask a clarifying question.
“So, do you remember anything about seeing her?” Harper asks after she’s done, showing Julie a picture of the missing girl.
“I’m afraid not.”
“It’s okay to take your time,” I tell her.
Julie shakes her head. “I might be old, but I’m not senile. My memory still works perfectly. I’m pretty sure I haven’t seen her around. Although, I did run into a strange man at the Mountain Valley Grocery around the time Isabella went missing. I remember because he was the rudest man I’ve ever met. I tried to have him contribute something to the good cause I volunteer for, you know, the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center. From time to time, I stand outside the supermarket to ask for donations. I’m too old to do any of the hard work with those animals, so I contribute in whatever way I can. Anyway, he practically bit my head off, shouted he was in a hurry and didn’t care about the local wildlife, and stormed off. He had this wild look in his eyes…” She shakes her head as if shaking the memory off. “But this is nothing I didn’t tell the police already. Unfortunately, I couldn’t give an accurate enough description of the man, so they said it led to nothing.”
“Did you notice anything else about him?” I ask.
“Well, like I told the police back then, he was wearing a torn red cowboy hat. That’s all the details I can give you.”
Harper gives her a grateful smile. “You’ve helped a lot, Julie. Thank you.”
“Oh, really?”
“Every piece of the puzzle counts,” I say.
Julie smiles and picks up the pitcher of lemonade. “Let me give you a refill before you two head off.”
I look over at Harper. “Do we have time for one more?”
“Why not? We have another hour,” she says with a grin before holding her glass out for Julie to top off again.
Chapter Four
Harper
“So? What do you think?” Titan asks while dipping a fry into the ketchup on his plate.
We’ve talked with Grizz, Mrs. Jenkins, and Sloane and Benson today. Time flew by as Titan and I tried to piece together more information about the cold case. Thankfully, Benson—who runs The Grizzly Grove bar with his sister Sloane—offered us a delicious meal of burgers and fries when he saw how ravished we were after a day of walking and talking. I think he felt bad for not being able to give us any useful information. So far, Mrs. Jenkins was the only one who was able to identify the man with the red cowboy hat. The anonymous tip the police got a while ago also spoke about a man with a red hat, albeit a baseball cap.
I shrug and grab a fry. “I’m not sure. Maybe the police were right. These could all be dead-ends.”
“But you told me this might not be a murder case, right? You believe Isabella could still be alive?”
I nod as I absentmindedly munch on a fry.
“Then we shouldn’t give up,” Titan says.
“You really think so? I’d hate to take up all of your time for nothing.”
He shakes his head. “I don’t mind. In fact, I’m calling my brother Blaze right now.”
“Will he be able to help us?”
Titan gives me a wide grin. “Probably not, but we’re supposed to guide a canopy zipline tour together tomorrow. He’ll have to ask one of our brothers to replace me.”
“No, wait.” I put my hand on his, and he disconnects the call. “I don’t want to get you in trouble. It’s unfair of me to ask you to ditch work tomorrow.”
“You do realize I co-own RidgeRoam Adventure Tours with my brothers, right? Hell, when Falcon met his wife, he ghosted us for two whole weeks. He owes me.”
I lean back in my chair. “Seriously? He disappeared an entire fortnight?” To do what?”
The corner of his mouth twitches as he tries and fails to suppress a smile. “What do you think? They spent two weeks having sex. They only ventured out of the bedroom to eat and to shower.”
My eyes grow wide. “He told you all that?”