“Anything else you want, honey?” Preacher squeezed her so tight, Ava had to bite back a gasp of pain.
She looked up at him. “No thanks. We have everything I need.”
“Put on your glove and let’s go.” Preacher picked up the bag and led the way out. On the footpath he turned to her. “You did good.”
Heart sinking at having to return to the house with him, she climbed into the truck and stared at the sheriff walking toward a black vehicle. The next moment, as if she’d felt her cry for help, the sheriff turned slowly and looked at her. Their eyes held for a second and then the sheriff turned and climbed into the black truck. Ava turned to see Preacher staring at her. She looked at him and lifted her chin, thinking wildly of something to say. She had to convince him it would be a big mistake to kill her. “Now will you believe I like being with you? We’ll be like Bonnie and Clyde.”
“They died in a hail of bullets.” Preacher stared after the sheriff. “Don’t worry. That woman is too stupid to catch me. Many have tried but I’m still here and I ain’t going nowhere.”
Fifty-One
Jenna and Kane had dropped by a long list of cabins owned by truckers and people working at homeless shelters but after a long morning of traveling roads more suitable to ice skating than vehicles, they’d come up empty. Claude Grady’s hunting cabin was inaccessible, so was removed from their list. When Kane stopped to refuel, Jenna had grabbed takeout from Aunt Betty’s to eat on the way to their next stop. With Rowley feeding them information at a steady rate, they’d traveled miles and then came a breakthrough. Just by chance, Rowley had discovered the whereabouts of a hunting cabin used frequently by biker Axel Reed. High up in Stanton Forest, it was one of two remaining on their list. Josiah Brock, the trucker who volunteered at the soup kitchen, owned the last one.
Since Black Rock Falls had suffered its share of serial killers, Jenna had developed a suspicious nature. In fact, her suspicion radar was on full alert and had flashed like wig-wag lights the moment she set eyes on the girl in Aunt Betty’s. The man accompanying her was so bundled up, his own mother wouldn’t have recognized him, and when he’d driven off with the girl in his truck, snow and frost had obscured his plate. She sat in Kane’s truck staring at the vehicle as it blended into the traffic and vanished in the persistent heavy snowfall.
“What is it?” Kane was staring at her one hand under the carboard tray carrying to-go cups of coffee.
“I saw a girl in Aunt Betty’s with a tattoo on her hand. I’m sure I recognize it from one of the missing persons’ files we have received but we have looked at so many.” Jenna pushed the coffee toward him and dropped the takeout on the console. “I need to check.” She pulled out her phone and scrolled the images. “I’ve found it! Ava Price out of Wyoming. She’s the same height and has black hair. It could’ve been her.”
“If she’s alive and well, and eating at Aunt Betty’s, why are you concerned?” Kane picked up the bag of takeout and pulled out a sandwich. “Did she give you a wink or mouth, ‘help me’ or anything?”
Jenna shook her head. “She was wearing sunglasses and no, she didn’t mouth anything but the guy with her had his arm around her waist. He could’ve been holding her against her will. I had this gut reaction something wasn’t right with her.”
“Ah, let me think.” Kane waited a beat. “If you were in trouble and standing beside a sheriff, wouldn’t you at least mouth the word, ‘help’?”
Allowing the scene to run through her mind, Jenna sighed. “Yeah, I guess so. Unless she removed her glove to allow me to see the tattoo. That might have been a call for help.”
“We only know the girl is missing.” Kane finished his sandwich and sighed. “She may be holed up with her boyfriend and doesn’t want to be found. It happens all the time but if you’re worried about her safety, we should go and check her out. Did you get the plate?”
Jenna shook her head. “Only a partial. Montana plate ending in six, eight or nine. White Ford pickup.” She glanced at him. “It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack, but we can try.” She entered her password and then the information on the mobile digital terminal screen in Kane’s truck. “I’m glad we have all databases including the FBI’s at our fingertips. Wolfe certainly can charm Mayor Petersham when it comes to obtaining new equipment.”
“Ha.” Kane grinned at her. “The updated MDT didn’t come from the mayor. That was Wolfe with a little help from Bobby Kalo.” He winked. “We can access the FBI databanks without a separate password and thanks to Kalo, we’re untraceable.”
Jenna gaped at him. “That’s illegal… are you saying we’re hacking the FBI databases? We’re committing a federal offense?”
“No, technically we’re not.” Kane looked at her over the rim of his to-go cup. “Have you formally resigned from the FBI?”
Jenna shook her head. “No.”
“Me either and are we to protect our new identities at all cost?” Kane reached in the bag for another sandwich. “We took an oath, right?”
“Yes… but…” Jenna stared at him and sighed.
“So, we are following orders by remaining invisible.” Kane took another bite of his sandwich and chewed slowly. He waved at the MDT. “And we are allowed to use any available resources at our disposal.” He smiled at her. “Where were they heading?”
Jenna fastened her seatbelt. “Toward Stanton Forest.” She glanced at the coordinates of Axel Reed’s cabin. “We’re heading that way.”
“You said she was with a guy.” Kane placed his cup into the console and pulled out into the traffic. “Did he resemble Axel Reed or Claude Grady?”
Jenna opened the bag of sandwiches and pulled out one. She didn’t feel hungry but working at this pace, she ate when she could. “It was hard to tell. He was wearing a hoodie, sunglasses, and a scarf much like the man you described who offered Emily a ride.”
“Hmm, like about another hundred men walking through town.” Kane turned onto Stanton Road and glanced at the GPS. “How did Rowley discover Reed had a cabin?”
Swallowing a sip of coffee, Jenna turned to him. “He called Bobby Kalo. Asked him if he could help. Bobby discovered Reed was gifted a cabin owned by his uncle, on his mother’s side. He found an old post on Facebook, mentioning Reed and his MC going up there for a weekend.”
“How come it didn’t show on our search?” Kane slowed to take a cleared dirt road into the forest. “I searched all the property records for his name specifically. I only came up with his place in town, no hunting cabin.”
“That’s because the deed is still in his uncle’s name. The family name is Simpson.” Jenna stared at the forest flashing by. “Pretty smart if you don’t want to be found.”
“Yet you said he denied owning a cabin?” Kane picked up speed as they hit the cleared road. “An out and out lie.”
A strange twist of excitement gripped Jenna. “Yeah, and Reed fits the profile. It will be interesting to see if the road to his cabin is clear and he’s holding a girl with a red poppy tattoo against her will.” She looked ahead. “Although, I can’t see a white pickup on this road. I think that’s just wishful thinking.”