“Yep. Old Isaac lived here all by himself. Never married. Had a sister who died a long while ago and some brothers who have scattered to the winds, but, oh, a month or two ago, Isaac just up and disappeared.” The lighter popped and Max, after rolling down his window, lit up. “Weird as hell, if ya ask me. No one’s heard anything from him. You’d think if he died or was killed, someone would’ve found his body by now. If he was kidnapped, he would have been ransomed, though what for I can’t imagine. Some of the people in town think he had money locked in a deposit box in one of the banks or buried in tin cans around the ranch, but that’s all just hearsay as much as I can tell.” He smoked in silence for a few minutes. “You know, if he just took off on his own, someone he knew would have heard from him, wouldn’t they?” He shook his head and jabbed his cigarette out in the ashtray. “Anyway, this place could be on the market—I’m sure as hell looking into it. Then again, it might stay just as it is forever.”

J.D. studied the abandoned acres through the windshield. The house was small, in need of paint, with a couple of windows that were cracked. The barn, built of cedar planks that had weathered gray, was huge and sprawling; the other outbuildings looked worn and neglected. The entire spread seemed lonely. Desolate.

“He was an odd one, old Isaac, but didn’t have any enemies that I knew of. Like I say, it’s a mystery.”

“Without any clues?”

“If they’ve got ’em, the cops aren’t saying.” He shifted the car into Reverse. “Let’s mosey on down the road a piece. I’ve got a couple more ideas. The first place—the Stowell spread is listed with a Realtor in Medford. It’s about a hundred acres, well-kept and the owners are anxious to sell, would even agree to terms—not that your company would need them—but let’s take a look-see just in case.”

He backed the Cadillac out of the drive and J.D. watched Isaac Wells’s place disappear from sight in the sideview mirror.

Max prattled on. The boring music continued to play. The miles rolled beneath the wheels of the old car and J.D. itched to be anywhere else on earth. With each passing minute, he felt that he’d made the biggest mistake of his life by showing up in Bittersweet.

* * *