you and rewrap it. If you’re concerned about how it looks, give me a call, but I don’t think you’ll have any problems with it.” Cole rolled the bandage over a gauze pad he’d placed on top of the sutures. “How’s Leslie doing these days?”
Cole noticed that Angela watched Garrett, awaiting his answer. He and his wife Leslie were the parents of one of her best friends, Grace, a girl who’d been murdered a few months ago.
Garrett cleared his throat. “She’s doing as well as can be expected, I guess. We’re awful lonely. You could come out and see us sometime, Angie, if you want.”
The girl nodded. “I’d like that. Maybe tomorrow after school?”
“Sure, I’ll tell Leslie.”
“Can Mrs. Gibbs take me and Sophie out together, Dad?”
“Okay,” Cole said. “Would it be all right for Sophie to visit too, Garrett?”
Lines crinkled the weathered skin around the corners of Garrett’s light blue eyes. It did Cole’s heart good to see his friend smile, something lacking the last few times they’d visited.
“Sure,” Garrett said. “Leslie will be glad to see both you girls.”
Angela ran a hand down the gelding’s back and then used her fingers to rub in a circular motion along each side of his spine. Cole recognized the technique Adrienne Howard had taught her for relaxing the muscles that connected to thevertebrae. The gelding’s eyelids drooped as he visibly melted under her touch.
Although many owners across the country were using therapeutic massage to help rehabilitate performance horses with strained muscles and injuries, Cole had to wonder if it would ever catch on with the ranchers around Timber Creek. Adrienne seemed dedicated to learning and practicing these specialized techniques, and she’d been willing to work at no charge, so several of Cole’s clients had offered their horses to help enhance her training. Only time would tell if she could turn her volunteer work into a form of income.
“Dad, what did you find out about Adrienne?” Angela asked as she continued to massage the gelding. “Did you call her work?”
“Yeah. The lady I talked to said they don’t know where she is.”
“What’s this about?” Garrett asked.
“Adrienne Howard. She works and lives out at Valley Vista hot springs. She’s a massage therapist the kids and I met about a month ago. She’s been coming to the clinic to practice massage on horses.”
“She was supposed to come this afternoon, but she didn’t show,” Angela said.
“Maybe she forgot,” Garrett said. “I seem to do a lot of that lately.”
Cole shook his head. “I doubt it. She had several appointments, and it’s not like her to miss them.”
“There’s no reason for concern, is there?” Garrett said.
But Cole could read the concern in his friend’s eyes anyway. And why wouldn’t he worry? After what happened to Grace, they all did. “I don’t know what to think. Anya, the therapist I talked to, told me Adrienne worked yesterday morningat the hot springs, business as usual. She was scheduled to have the afternoon off, but she didn’t come home last night. I don’t know . . . maybe she just decided to take off. People do that sometimes.”
“I’d sure be worried,” Garrett said with a frown.
“Apparently her coworkers notified the sheriff’s office that she’s missing.”
“Have you called Mattie to ask her what’s going on?” Angela asked.
“No, Mattie’s in Denver today at a training exercise. She’ll be back tomorrow. I’ll check in with her then.”
“We need to do something before tomorrow, Dad.” Angela’s tone sounded reproachful, nothing new to Cole. He’d had a hard time pleasing his eldest lately.
“I’m sure the sheriff’s office is taking care of things,” Cole said, hoping that would put her mind at ease.
But Garrett wasn’t ready to rest easy either. “What if she’s the victim of foul play, like our Grace? We need to see how we can help find this lady. I’ll