The park amazed her. Never had she seen this many police cars in one location around here or policemen running about waving to one another, calling to one another. In the park, laundry flapped on lines strung between trees. Scattered about were towers of black trash bags, and policemen were talking to people outside the travel trailers. Then cars, including hers, were directed back into two lanes and traffic speeded up. What in the name of heaven was going on?

For the past seven months, Bob had volunteered at the local police department. Although his job would eventually be registering visitors who came to pay the bail of new prisoners, he had been through a varied training. Several nights each month, he had ridden in a police vehicle with an on-duty policeman and had been amazed at the action, most of it suspicious if not downright dangerous, out there on the streets. He had participated, his heart in his mouth, in a car chase and arrest. Now, as he returned from a day of golf, here he was inching along Elk Road in a single lane. Recognizing Terry Slater, the policeman he had accompanied on the car chase, Bob slowed even more.

“Hey, Terry,” he called. “What’s going on?”

Terry walked over to his car. “Hi, Bob. We had us a regular caravan of con artists scamming little old ladies around these parts. They hightailed outta here before we got here.” He lifted his cap and ran his arm across his forehead. “That’s par for the course. Somehow they get wind we’re onto them, and they’re gone like a puff of smoke. The boys are looking for leads, names, whatever they can find out.”

“Good luck,” Bob said. He stepped on the pedal. Grace. Where was she, anyway? Had she been targeted by some con man? By the time he reached Cove Road, Bob’s agitation showed on his flushed face. Grace’s car was not in her driveway. Maybe Hannah would know if there had been any problems on Cove Road. But Hannah’s phone at Bella’s Park rang and her answering machine came on.

“We will be out of the office today. Please call back.”