Chapter 57: A Shift In Focus

Open Road, Temperance, South Dakota...

The roar of Brick Kenneally's finely tuned bike engine echoed down the long and winding highway as he briefly reflected on the time he spent with Layla Quinn. She had a way of getting to him unlike anyone else and he thought it only right that she had due to her being his true mate of sorts. As much as it pained him to admit it, the old hounds were dead right about his falling for the lovely sixteen-year-old lass. He had not stopped thinking about her since he took off from her oddly placed yellow house deep in the woods. A part of him wished to turn right back around and have at her again but he thought better of it. Willing she may have been but she was still young and in need of a good night's rest after all they had done at the mill. He wondered if she'd come down to the diner when she slept off their wild night and entangled morning.

A smirk filed across his handsome face as he pulled into the parking lot of the diner and quickly faded when he noticed that his crew were all standing at their bikes with serious expressions on their collective faces. Brick had noted the tone and the apparent focus everyone had just as Sheriff Tillman came walking up toward him the moment his bike had come to a stop after he turned it off but remained seated on it as he met the old Sheriff's gaze.

"There's been a new development in the cold case." said the old man sounding almost grateful. "Your boys have been getting right to it since you were assigned and Rooster, I believe his name is, recalled something from a while back that indicated the bastard and the girl had come through here some years back."

"Alright then out with it old timer," said Brick folding his arms across his massive chest as he turned his attention toward Rooster.

Rooster rolled his eyes and approached Brick's bike.

"About a few years ago, I was running wild around these parts and recalled a man lugging a little girl with him she didn't seem to want to be in his company and he had a blonde woman with him, a messy thing all dolled up and looking for a good time if you ask me," said Rooster.

"And you just now recalling this now?" asked Brick with an arched brow.

"Well I recalled it when we finally got a look at the case files but you were gone most of the day doing who knows what and only showed up just now," replied Rooster in his own defense.

Brick rolled his eyes as he unfolded his arms.

"So what you saying is we got a lead now?" he asked.

"Well if I recall correctly, the blonde would be our best option to look into," said Rooster. "She ain't the sort any man would forget if you know what I mean."

Brick shook his head.

"Obviously if you still remember what she looked like after all these years, horndog," he replied.

Rooster shrugged and turned his attention to Sheriff Tillman.

"Let's get an I.D. sketch going and see if we can't put an A.P.B. out on this strange blonde," he said. "Somebody has to know her and I pray they remember like you do old sod."

"One more thing Oldtimer, how you know she wasn't the mother of the girl?" asked Brick skeptical.

"From what I remember the little girl didn't seem to like her all that much and vice versa," replied Rooster.

"Well, shit we might solve this case in no time if we can find out who this blonde chick is and what she had to do with the kidnapping," said Brick with a smirk.

He'd been in good spirits considering he was making progress on this cold case and with Layla Quinn.

The Howlers all filed into the police station, while Sheriff Tillman set to work getting a sketch man in the place in an attempt to see about getting a positive I.D. on the blonde that traveled with the missing girl and the possible killer-kidnapper.

It was a long shot, gambling on the memory of the old man being accurate after all this time, but it was better than drawing blanks like the officers had before. This time they had something substantial to go on in order to begin their long-abandoned search once again.

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Outside The Earl's Diner....

Brick had not been too keen on once more venturing into the local Sheriff's station and elected to wait outside on his bike. His thoughts about the most recent trial of the kidnapper and the missing girl had gone cold. He had been of the mind to believe that there was a chance that neither of them had ever left Temperance if the direction of the last sighting about seven miles away had been any indication.

Being a veteran in the game as it were, Brick couldn't seem to shake the feeling that they were missing something, he had hoped that the old man's memory and any other man's memory had been as good when it came to recalling this strange blonde who had either been a part of the kidnapping or a victim of the kidnapper in some way either way she knew what went down of that Brick was certain.

The big brute of a man climbed off the back of his bike and made his way inside the diner. He'd been hankering for a cup of coffee and a slice of hot cherry pie, despite knowing all too well that Layla would most likely not be serving anything today given what they had been up to for hours the night before and the subsequent encore earlier that morning.

Brick couldn't help but smile as he recalled how it had been with her. She'd been the sweetest most intriguing young woman he'd ever met and her being sixteen wasn't a drawback either. Untouched by anyone but him and eager to please, he shook his head most men had opted for younger women to hide that they didn't have much to offer them, but Brick opted for any woman of the age of consent and had plenty to offer in terms of his attributes and wild nature.

The brute of a man shook his head once more to do away with the wave of memories from the previous day as he entered the heavy brown doors of Earl's diner already unable to keep his mind off the strong hot coffee and sweet cherry pie.