Sue looked up from the cash register as Ellie came through the door and said, “So how is the life of the private detective?”
“Let’s just say that if I stare at that phone any longer, it’s going to spontaneously combust right there on my desk!”
“That bad, huh?”
“No, not bad. I am just wondering if that phone is ever going to ring. I think I just have a case of the first-case jitters, not knowing what to expect and all.” A bit of blues, coming out in her voice.
Sue knew that voice. “I think a nice raspberry mocha decaf latte is in order. Nothing like a little sugar and a heap of chocolate to chase the doldrums away.”
“Sounds good. Could you throw a shot of whiskey in there too?” Ellie said half joking and half serious.
Sue arched her eyebrows and gave her friend a rueful smile. Much surprised because Ellie rarely, if ever, drank anything harder than her occasional glass of wine. Instead of liquor, she added extra raspberry and extra chocolate. At least she would get a nice sugar buzz.
*****
Getting back to her office, Ellie’s heart began to beat faster as she saw the red light, flashing on her phone on the desk. Someone had a left a message while she was out! It was probably just her daughter or son, but you never know. She sat down in her desk chair and took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, releasing some of the built up tension in her shoulders. Slowly, she extended her arm until her finger was just over the play button. Trembling, her finger pressed play.
A man’s voice sounded on the machine.
“This is Bill Wallace over in Wolf Creek. I saw your ad in the Independent Record. I would like to sit down and talk with you about the disappearance of my daughter, Shelby, last month. Please give me a call at 406-555-1298 to set up an appointment.”
“A real call. A real live person just asked me to help him find his daughter!” Her mind was racing. If she had been twenty years younger, Ellie would have jumped up and done some cartwheels across a lawn!
Ellie seemed to remember seeing something on the news about a local girl gone missing, but she couldn’t bring up the circumstances of what had happened.
Quickly, she booted up her new computer and brought the Independent Records web page and started looking for an article on the Shelby Wallace. Typing the girl’s name into the search bar brought up the article quickly.
It read:
Local Girl Gone Missing, Foul Play Suspected
Wolf Creek. The local police reported that Shelby Wallace had not returned home Friday night after going to a party with some of her friends. Her abandoned vehicle was found parked along Little Wolf Creek Road just outside Wolf Creek. The keys were still in the ignition, and her purse was lying on the passenger seat.
A search was done of the local area. Tracking dogs were brought in and searched the area with no luck.
Her parents, Jane and Bill Wallace, were unavailable for comment at press time.
Anyone with any news or tips is asked to contact the Lewis and Clark County Sheriff’s office, or can leave a message on the Crime Stoppers hotline.
This didn’t give much for Jane to go on. She picked up the phone and dialed the number that Mr. Wallace had left on the answering machine. On the third ring, a voice answered the phone.
“Bill Wallace here.”
“Mr. Wallace, this is Ellie Moor, calling from the Moore Detective Agency. You called earlier to talk about your daughter that is missing.” Ellie was hoping her voice wouldn’t crack, or sound nervous over the phone.
“Yes. I am in Helena. Do you have time to meet today?” An urgency was in his voice.
“Let me just check my book.” Empty pages, staring at her. She didn’t want to seem too eager. “How about one o’clock?”
Mr. Wallace agreed quickly, and Ellie gave him directions to the office. It was 12:30 p.m. now, and he would be here in a half hour. Ellie quickly threw out the old coffee and brewed a fresh batch. She set out a tray of mugs and some cookies on the coffee table next to the sofa. Walking quickly to the bathroom, she splashed some cold water on her face and fixed her mussed hair. Straightening her blouse, she thought, This is it.
A real case.
Mr. Wallace arrived early at ten to one. Ellie got up from behind her desk and welcomed the man and shook his hand. She looked at the man’s face that was ashen in color and filled with worry. Dark circles were forming under his eyes, and she knew that sleep had not been coming easy to this man. Ellie had the same look after her husband had died, and she recognized the pain in his eyes right off. Instantly, she felt a connection to the man, leading him over to the sofa and offering him coffee.
With pleasantries aside, she picked up her pad of paper and pen off the coffee table.
“What can I do for you, Mr. Wallace?” She hoped her voice didn’t betray her the fear she was feeling and let him know that she was scared to death.
“Bill. Please call me Bill.” His voice was giving way to a slight crack in his armor.
“All right. Bill.” She smiled. “What can I do for you?”
“As I said on the phone, my daughter went missing last month. Her car was found near our home, and we want to find our daughter.” Sadness and anger, filling his voice.
“Tell me a little about your daughter,” she said.
“Shelby would be nineteen this coming month. I mean, she will be nineteen this coming month.”
Trying to recover from talking about her in the past tense, tears began to fill his eyes. Ellie handed him a tissue while letting him regain his composure. Ellie sat patiently, waiting for him to continue.
“Shelby is 5'4", 120 pounds, brown hair, brown eyes, and is petite in her build. Here is a picture that I brought of her. It was her senior portrait that she took when she graduated, but she still looks quite the same.”
“You have a beautiful daughter, Mr. Wallace. I mean Bill.” Looking at the picture, Ellie began to see the family resemblance. “Tell me about the events of that night and the last time you saw her.”
“That evening, Shelby was getting ready for a night out with some friends of hers from school. She had asked me if I would lend her a few dollars for gas money. You know how kids are, always with the handout.” His attempt at humor lost. “I spoke with her in the living room of our home. I gave her a twenty for gas. Told her to be careful, and to call if she needed a ride. We didn’t want her drinking and driving and always told her call in she got herself in a spot.”
“Did she happen to mention where she would be going and with who?”
“She never said, but I assumed it was with her girlfriends. She always hung with Stacy Ketchum and Lynn Heart. They had all been childhood friends and have remained close.” Bill rattled off their phone numbers, and their addresses.
“Do you have any idea where they might have gone that evening?”
“My wife spoke with Stacy and Lynn. They told her that they went down to the ball field at the school in Wolf Creek. Had a few beers with their friends. Then Shelby dropped them off and said she was headed home. Her car was found about an hour after dropping them off at home. It was parked on Little Wolf Creek Road by the new bridge. The keys were still in the ignition, and her purse was lying on the front passenger seat. Nothing was taken from the car or her purse as far as we could tell.”
“What did the police say about investigating the case?” She would have to get that report.
“They said there were no signs of foul play. They brought in the bloodhounds and did a search of the area and came up with nothing. Her friend’s stories all confirmed what I told you already. The police think she may have run off with a