Chapter 24 Dex
DEX
I lifted the can of Lightning Energy to my mouth and took a swig of the lukewarm liquid. My grimace was almost instantaneous. An ice-cold Lightning? Perfect deliciousness. A lukewarm Lightning? Disgusting.
I downed it anyway. I needed the energy, the pure caffeine. Because my vision was starting to go a little hazy.
My computer monitors taunted me as I leaned back in my chair and took off my glasses, setting them on the desk in front of me. I rubbed my eyes and hoped like hell the action would soothe the headache I had thrumming.
Cracking my neck, I slid my glasses back on. My gaze instantly flicked to the windows and Cabin Two.
Empty.
Just like it had been all day. Because Brae was at work and Owen was at camp. Nothing out of the ordinary had occurred over the last four days. And we’d settled into a routine of sorts.
I’d find some excuse to wander over. Sometimes, with food. Other times, with a new video game for Owen. Occasionally, to talk over the case with Brae.
The case that was currently making me want to pull my goddamned hair out. Because none of it made any sense. It was like Nova had been snatched off the trail by aliens. Waylon and Mav would have a field day with that idea.
Thankfully, someone in the sheriff’s department had requested the camera footage from the state. I wasn’t sure anyone had actually been through it, but the request had gotten a four-hour window of footage saved to a backup server with security that was a joke.
I’d tracked down all the vehicles I’d seen on the road-condition cameras, and every single driver had a reason to be there—and none of them were to kidnap someone off a trail.
I scowled at the screen as if it were personally responsible for dead end after dead end. An email notification dinged, and I switched over to that tab. A new message sat in my inbox from a familiar name.
Travis Moore.
The subject line simply said: Background.
I clicked on the email, quickly scanned the text, and noticed the attachment.
You did not get this from me. But I hope to hell it helps. Miller’s still old-school and doesn’t put everything in our digital files.
A buzz lit beneath my skin, the start of the high that came from digging up new information. Usually, it hit when I was breaking into a system like I’d done with the sheriff’s department. But that hadn’t even been a challenge. Their system was pathetic.
This was different. A gift. And it was a hell of a risk for Travis to take. If he got caught, he’d lose his job for sure.
The moment my security software scanned the attachment, I hit download. A second later, images that Trav had clearly taken on his phone filled my screen. It was the paper file on Nova’s case.
I already had some of the information. Like the fact that the only fingerprints found on Nova’s water bottle were hers and Brae’s. But there was information I didn’t have. Like the disturbances in the dirt where Brae had said the women were right before Nova disappeared.
The report was from the county crime lab and was done by a forensic tech named Olivia Bishop. Her analysis suggested a struggle of some sort. Possibly drag marks. At the bottom, there was a note from Sheriff Miller.
Likely animal attack.
Except the report noted there was no blood on the scene.
It was incredibly rare for a cougar or something of a similar size to take on a human simply standing on a trail.
If they were running? Sure. The predator instinct could kick in.
And I guessed if a female cougar had young in the area, it might’ve attacked.
But there would be blood. Larger drag marks that would continue through the underbrush. And eventually, a body. There was none of that. And it suggested that Nova had either walked out on her own two feet or had been carried.
I kept flipping through report after report. I slowed as I came to a written request for the K-9 team a county over to do a search. Roger had written it up and submitted it to Miller. But the bottom had a stamp that read DENIED and a note beneath.
Insufficient evidence to suggest the use of a K-9 unit would be beneficial. —Sheriff Ezra Miller
What in the actual fuck? A K-9 unit should’ve been one of the first calls. When scents were fresh and there were trails to follow. Hell, if we could’ve had Kol out there, he would’ve found something. I knew it.
A knock sounded on my cabin door, jolting me out of my spiral. I quickly locked my computer screens and opened the camera app on my phone. One of the last people I expected stood on my front steps.
I shoved back from my desk and stood, heading for the door. As I opened it, Kol looked up. He took me in for a moment. “Who pissed in your Cheerios?”
“Sheriff Miller,” I muttered.
Kol’s expression instantly went alert. “He pay you a visit?”
“No, but a little angel dropped Nova’s entire case file in my lap, and Miller was, at best, negligent.”
Understanding bloomed over Kol’s face. “Show me.”
Those two words brought instant relief. “That mean you’re in?”
He grimaced. “I told you I was, didn’t I?”
“That agreement was reluctant at best.”
Kol’s mouth thinned, making his dark scruff twitch. “I’ve been looking into things on my side.”
Everything in me went wired. “You find something?”
As part of the investigative arm of the Forest Service, Kol typically covered cases involving poaching or growing pot illegally on national forest land, with the occasional missing person or accidental death.
“After you show me the case file,” Kol ordered.
“God, being older than me makes you fucking bossy.”
“Not bossy,” Kol muttered. “The boss. There’s a difference.”
I rolled my eyes but led him toward my workspace.
Kol’s face twisted in disgust. “You’re living like a teenager who never leaves his room.”
I followed his line of sight, taking in the crushed energy drink cans, snack wrappers, and other detritus. It was a little cluttered. A cheese puff or two might’ve even gotten lost on my desk.
“I’ve been working,” I grumbled.
Kol arched a brow. “Have you felt sunshine on your face in the past seventy-two hours?”
“Yes,” I clipped. I’d felt it as I walked over with dinner to put on Brae’s grill. And I’d felt it when she smiled at me. And Brae’s sunshine? That was a hell of a lot brighter. It was like baking on a beach for hours but feeling it from the inside.
“Fucking hell. You’ve been spending time with her.”
I glared at my brother. “She’s my neighbor. We’re talking about the case.”
“Sure,” he snapped.
“We’re friends.” Why did that feel like a lie? Maybe because all I could think about was what it would feel like to run my fingers over those tanned thighs. Or what her moans would sound like as I took her. How it would feel to—
“It better just be friends,” Kol muttered. “Now, show me the damn case file.”
Grumpy bastard. I unlocked my computer using the two-factor security: my fingerprint and a password. No one who didn’t have both would ever be able to break in.
Shoving my chair to the side, I let Kol scan the documents. The longer he read, the more thunderous his expression grew.
“What a goddamned waste of space,” Kol growled.
He took his responsibilities, his oaths, and his word seriously. And he had no respect for people who didn’t.
“It’s fucking lazy for sure.”
Kol scrubbed a hand over his face. “I wonder if it’s the tourist factor. It’s no secret that he’s not a fan of the people who flood our town in the summer. Takes cases affecting locals way more seriously.”
“Maybe.” I stared at the screen. “But at this point, I would think it would be easier to throw everything he has at this. It would be less of a headache than having me and Brae breathing down his neck.”
“But he’s stubborn as hell and doesn’t want to be proven wrong. He’d have to eat crow. And there have been instances of tourists getting swept away in the river or falling prey to animal attacks.”
Miller’s refusal to eat crow rang true. “Heaven forbid he be wrong about anything,” I grumbled.
Kol scoffed. “God, I hate assholes like him.”
So did I. Even more so because of the bullshit he put my brothers and me through. “Tell me what you dug up.”
Kol straightened, going into report mode. “Talked to my boss.”
Of course, he had. Kol didn’t like taking unofficial paths.
“When I brought her what we had, she was concerned enough to let me add the case to my load. Nova and Brae might’ve been on state land when Nova disappeared, but that trail crosses over into national forest land about half a mile later. There’s cause.”
I grinned at my brother. This was his version of a hug and an I love you. “You know, you’re kind of a master at getting the system on our side.”
He scowled. “It’s reasonable.”
“It’s also going to piss Miller off.”
“That’s just a bonus. For me and for Sherri.”
Sherri was the head honcho at Kol’s outpost. And I knew she wasn’t a fan of Miller’s douchebag ways.
I studied my brother for a long moment. “This means you’ll be on their radar.”
Kol held my stare. “Sometimes, it’s worth it.”
And that was the ultimate gift: Kol putting himself on the line because I asked.
“Thank you.”
“Shut up,” Kol muttered.
“Appreciate you.”
“Fuck off.”
“You’re the bestest brother around.”
Kol’s lips twitched. “I’m telling that to the chat.”
I chuckled. “Fair. They should have to work harder to take that crown.”
Kol just shook his head.
“Now that the case is on your desk officially, you find anything?” I asked.
Any hints of humor slid from Kol’s face.
I stiffened, knowing that look. It was the bad-news look. “What?”
“There have been about two dozen missing persons cases in Juniper County and the two surrounding counties in the past four years. But they’re spread out enough that it wouldn’t flag anything for one singular law enforcement outfit.
About half of those occurred in and around parks and on public land.
A woman who went missing from her campsite with friends.
A man who was fishing with buddies went for a piss break and never came back.
A couple more who weren’t simply hikers who got lost.”
“Too similar for comfort,” I surmised.
“Too similar for comfort,” he agreed.
Dread pooled low in my gut like liquid metal sloshing around and settling in. “You think someone’s taking them.”
A muscle fluttered along Kol’s jaw. “I do.”