Читать книгу Avalanche Of Trouble онлайн | страница 24

“And was it up?”

“Yes. With a big iron gate across it. Our lawyers have already filed a complaint with the county commissioners. We tried getting in touch with Hake, but didn’t have any luck.”

“He’s been missing for almost a month now,” Gage said. “No one has heard anything from him, and every trail we’ve followed up on has gone cold.”

“A man like that probably has plenty of enemies,” Paige said. “And he hung around with some nasty people. Maybe that former bodyguard of his did him in.”

“Maybe so, though we haven’t found evidence of that.” Hake’s one-time bodyguard had died in a struggle with Travis when he had kidnapped the woman who was now Travis’s fiancée. Three years previously, the same man had murdered Andy Stenson, a young lawyer in town who had also worked for Hake.

Paige leaned toward Gage. “It looked to me like work has been done up there on Hake’s property,” she said. “There’s a lot of tire tracks, and maybe even a new building or two.”

“I’ll see if I can find out anything,” Gage said. “Maybe someone working up there saw or heard something related to the Hoods’ killing.” He stood. “Thanks for letting me know. I’ll see you and Maya in the morning.”

“I’m hoping she’ll get a good night’s sleep,” Paige said. “And that tomorrow we find her niece safe.”

“We all hope that.” He returned to his SUV and headed toward the house he rented on the edge of town, but he had traveled less than a block when his cell phone rang. “Gage, this is Al Dawson, over at the high school.”

“Sure, Al.” Gage glanced at the clock on his dash. Ten minutes until midnight. “What’s up?”

“I came in to do the floors here in the gym, but found the lock on the door is broken. Somebody bashed it in.”

“Did you go inside?” Gage asked, looking for a place to turn around.

“No. When I saw the damage to the door, I figured I’d better call you. It looks like we’ve got another break-in.”

“I’ll be right there, Al. Don’t go in.”

“I won’t. What’s going on, Gage?” Al asked. “Travis was out here just this morning to take a report on some items that were stolen from the chemistry lab. This used to be such a peaceful town—now we’ve got crime all over the place.”