After a quick lunch, Steve and Scott Lyndon drove into Goldville. While Steve picked up a few supplies at the general store Scott went into the kid's clothes section and browsed through the racks of little girl's clothes. He held several pair of jeans against his leg, measuring them against the height the little girl had been when she had been standing beside him. He chose two pair; one black and one blue, that he thought would fit then looked at the shirts. It might be that she would prefer to keep her mother's t-shirt but Scott did not think it would hurt to buy a couple of shirts, just in case. He picked out two that were simple; a white one with pink flowers on the front and the other was light pink with a picture of a brown teddy bear on it and crossed mental fingers that they'd fit. He glanced at the little girl's underwear section but decided he was not quite ready to get that deep.
"Find something?" Steve asked when they met in the hardware section.
Scott nodded and displayed the clothes he had draped over his arm. "I'm not sure they'll fit but I think they'll be close."
They gathered their purchases and headed for the checkout. The pair were just coming out of the store when the sheriff's car pulled up.
"Oh boy," Scott said under his breath as he recognized the man behind the wheel.
"Howdy boys," Josh Logan called as he unfolded himself from the squad.
"How's it goin' Sheriff?" Steve called after a quick glance at his brother.
To their relief the officer sauntered past them and into the store.
"I'm just not ready to face him yet," Scott said after they had driven away. "I want to do a little more digging before I have to."
"What kind of digging?"
"Sidney said she was keeping her Daddy's wallet safe for him. I'm hoping she'll bring it to me and that it will have some kind of ID in it."
"Let's hope it does."
"Yeah," Scott said blandly as he turned his attention to the country roads.
Steve swung the truck off the main highway and onto the gravel road that led to the camp. "You can almost feel the chill of fall in the air," he commented casually.
"I noticed that this morning when I went out to get Sidney's tray." His gaze was focused on the road ahead, as it always was when they traveled the passages that wove through the dense forest. It was not unusual for a wild animal to dart out in front of them and, on more than one occasion, the Lyndon boys had had close calls with everything from deer to raccoons. In the distance, a movement on the high bank to the left caught Scott's eye. "Something's up on that bank," he told the driver. "Better slow..." Just then something hit the truck with a loud thud, breaking off his sentence.
"What the hell was that?" Steve snapped as he hit the brakes, bringing the truck to a skidding halt.
Scott glanced around then turned his gaze out the back window to see a silver coyote standing in the middle of the truck bed. He glanced at the right paw to see faint signs of an injury then met the animal's gaze. When the coyote growled throatily but displayed no fangs Scott blinked. "We just picked up a passenger," he commented. "Hello Duke," he said with a slight edge of tension in his voice. The animal emitted another small throaty growl before it sank to its haunches then laid down. “This is going to take some getting used to."
Steve grinned and shook his head before he moved the truck forward again. "Do you think Sidney's around somewhere?"
"I'm not sure. I know if the bear's around, she's close by but I don't know much about her and Duke yet. My guess though, would be yes." As the camp came into view Scott looked at the garbage drums and he smiled. "I guess that answers your question," he said and pointed to the black bear that was laying on the ground near the underbrush. As they neared he saw a blonde head pop up from behind the bear and he smiled. "And there's Sidney." After the truck had eased to a stop, Scott opened the door and got out as the coyote leaped from the back and trotted over to the little girl who was now standing beside the garbage drums. Scott looked at the girl with a smile. "Hello."
Her smile was instant. "Hello." After giving Steve a tentative glance she took two steps toward Scott and extended her hand and the object she was holding.
"I'll take this stuff in the office," Steve said after catching the glance. He was sure the little girl was not too comfortable about him being there and he understood that. She had had a lot more contact with Scott.
"Thanks." Scott walked slowly toward the little girl. He glanced at the two animals who now sat only a few feet behind the child then looked down at her hand as he neared. "What do you have?"
"Daddy's wallet."
"Oh," he said. When Scott reached Sidney he squatted down in front of her. "Is it ok if I look in Daddy's wallet?"
She nodded.
Scott took the wallet and noticed it was well worn. He took a deep breath and opened it. His gaze fell instantly on a Colorado driver's license. Colorado? He read the name; 'Steven Southington' and the address, 'P.O. Box One-Four-Nine, Brookridge, Colorado'. A post office box address. Well, it was better than nothing. He examined the picture and matched it with the one he had seen in the locket. He opened the snap compartment and his gaze fell on a picture of a man and woman, a larger version of the picture in the locket. He flipped the cellophane leaf and saw a picture of a much younger Sidney. Across from it was a blonde haired little boy. "Sammie," he decided then flipped the leaf over. He read the Denver Public Library card that was registered to Steven Southington. He flipped the leaf again and examined the roadside assistance club card that was embossed with the name 'Steven Southington'. Scott closed the snap compartment. Not a lot of help there. He opened the bill compartment and counted more than two hundred dollars in cash and found a cash receipt from a service station in Wilkesburg, Colorado for Seventy-Seven dollars and eighty-seven cents for fuel. Scott frowned. That was a high gas bill. He read the line; 'Forty-one point two gallons at one dollar, eighty-nine cents per gallon'. Forty-One gallons? There were very few vehicles that could hold that much gas; a motorhome and a large moving truck being two. A big red and white car? Could that car have been a motorhome? He stuffed the receipt back in the compartment then looked under the license to find a single key wrapped tightly in cellophane wrap. A key? He examined it but found no markings on it. He stuffed it back under the license then turned the wallet and checked under the photo compartment. He pulled out a small stack of items and began to leaf through them. More gas receipts; one from a station in Colorado and two from Nevada. Scott read the membership card from the Audubon Society stating that 'Steven Southington' was a member in good standing. Under the card he found a folded sheet of paper and unfolded it then read the letter from the offices of John Williams, Attorney at Law, in Denver, Colorado and was addressed to Steven and Susan Southington at P.O. Box One-Four-Nine, Brookridge, Colorado.