Chapter Nine
Hope slumped in a chair outside of the van. At least Jake and Vicki hadn’t made her stay in the stuffy back seat. But that
was because they were in yet another campsite out in the middle of nowhere. This time, there were no trails—at least none
she could see. There were no signs of life. Not even a chipmunk. Her plan obviously hadn’t worked. No one was going to find
her. Her hands and feet were tied. This time the knots were much better and no matter how much she wiggled, there was no getting
free.
“People saw us,” Vicki was saying to Jake. “We ought to just leave her here and go back home.”
“We can’t take off. We owe Abigail and you know she won’t let it go. She’ll kill us if we don’t do what she wants.”
Hope’s head snapped up when Jake said that. Kill them? Who was this Abigail person? And what did she want with Hope? Vicki
and Jake were obviously scared of her. That frightened Hope.
She continued wiggling her hands hoping to get out of the ropes, but they were snug.
Her shoulders were getting sore and her feet were tingly after sitting in one position for a long time.
She coughed as the air thickened with gray smoke and ash rained down on them.
That fire had to be nearby. Would there be firefighters? Was there a chance they might see her?
Sweat and tears mixed, running down her face. Hope was trying hard not to cry because then her nose was all snotty and she
could only turn her head and wipe it on her shirt. She was gross and disgusting. A shower sounded like a luxury right now.
I was really hoping Uncle Nick would get my message and be here to save me. I miss my mom. I wish we were on vacation. Will
I ever get to see my mom again? I wish I’d stayed in summer school too. Then I wouldn’t be here.
“We need to stick to the plan,” Jake said in an argumentative tone. “Abigail will be out soon and will text us a location
to meet her. Then we can go home and forget about all this. Maybe we don’t go home and go to Mexico like you’ve always wanted.”
Vicki sighed. “I would love to see the beach and be done with Montana winters.”
“I would too. Let’s be patient and finish this out. Then we can go wherever we want.”
“Fine,” Vicki said. “But I hope Abigail gets here by tomorrow. I’m tired of being in charge of this brat.”
Hope didn’t know what to make of this conversation.
She had no idea who this Abigail person was, but she’d come to realize that Jake and Vicki weren’t going to harm her, at least not seriously, because they needed her to pay off some debt.
And brat? Nice. Her step monster Brittany called her that all the time.
The longer her dad was married, the less he wanted to see her.
What was wrong with her? Even her kidnappers didn’t want her.
“Hey. Kid.”
Hope snapped out of her thoughts and turned her head to see why Jake was calling her.
“I said get up.”
“It’s a little hard,” Hope answered.
“Figure it out. We’re leaving.”
Every time they moved, it would make it harder and harder for law enforcement to locate her. Hope figured that’s why they
were doing it. She torqued and twisted in her chair until she was able to get to the edge and stand. How did they expect her
to get to the van? Hop?
Vicki came over and untied her legs. Then she held a large knife toward Hope. “Get in and don’t mess around.”
Hope wanted to try sprinting off, but with her arms tied behind her back, she was limited in balance and how fast she could
run. If Jake and Vicki really did need her, maybe going with them was best. Maybe she would have another opportunity to escape.
And this time, Hope would make sure that she ran until she found someone who could help her.
Maya loaded up Juniper in her compartment, praising her dog and telling her what a great job she’d done. As she petted Juniper,
some of the ash from the fire came off her coat. She’d have to make sure to wipe down Juniper tonight so that the ash didn’t
stick to her.
Pulling out her cell phone, Maya checked to see if there happened to be service in the parking area of the campground.
There wasn’t. She wanted to call the number that text was being sent to.
Dispatch had notified Pops and Josh, but they were busy with the fire response.
Everyone had been called in to work and Maya was worried that this message would be pushed aside. She didn’t blame them.
While Maya really suspected there was a kidnapped girl out there, it could still be a disgruntled teenager pulling an elaborate
hoax. Josh had just dealt with a case in town where a teen had been grounded and made up a story about her parents abusing
her. Once that report came in, Josh had to follow up on it along with Child Protective Services, but as time went on, the
kid finally admitted she’d made everything up to get back at her parents. There was a chance that was the case here too, but
somehow, Maya’s gut instincts told her there was more to this. The picture the lady had shown her didn’t seem like a mad teen,
but rather a terrified kid.
Once she had cell service and was a good distance away from the fire, she would also contact the FBI. Agent Kessler had helped
her with other investigations and was the case agent for the area. She figured with the fire response taking up other emergency
resources, he might be the best one to turn to for this kidnapping.
Maya put the vehicle in Drive and turned onto the road.
She knew she’d have cell phone service in about five miles.
Based on the latest fire reports and wind direction, the area she was headed to would also be further from the fire and safer.
Juniper had curled up into a pooch ball and was happily snoring away in the back with the air-conditioning keeping her cool.
They came up to the pull-off where Maya knew she’d be able to make a call. Grabbing the phone she found, she opened it, found
the number and typed it into her phone. Then she hit send.
The phone rang several times. Maya figured she might get a voicemail, but then she heard a click as someone answered.
“US Marshal Nick Torres.”
Maya didn’t know what to say. She wasn’t expecting a marshal and she certainly wasn’t expecting someone to answer who had
the same last name as her father. She’d only recently met and connected with her father Eric Torres.
Maya had been the product of an affair when her father was still married. He had two kids with his then-wife. Maya knew she
had a half brother and half sister, but she hadn’t reached out. What were the chances this was her brother? Of course, Torres
was a somewhat common name. But Nick Torres? Eric had told her that was her brother’s name. This had to be a coincidence.
“Hello?”
Maya realized she’d been so lost in thought that she hadn’t talked yet. She better say something before he hung up. “Yes.
Sorry. Hello. This is Officer Maya Thompson with the US Forest Service.”
“What can I help you with, Officer Thompson?”
“Sorry for the delay. The service in the mountains is iffy.”
“I understand. But I’m really busy right now. What do you need?”
Maya hesitated again. Could this really be her brother? She didn’t know what he did for a living. She’d never thought to ask
her dad that. Of course, Eric was on the run as a fugitive wanted for his own crimes from when he was a police officer. She
took a deep breath and continued. “I’m sorry to bother you while you’re busy . . . I know this might sound strange, but I
have reason to believe we could have a kidnapped teenager in the National Forest.”
Now there was silence on the other end. Maya decided to continue. “I found a burner phone and there was a message typed into
it being sent this number. The message never went through. Do you know of anyone who’s missing and would want to contact you?”
“Is this a joke?”
“No. Why would this be a joke?”
“Where are you?” Nick asked.
“Colorado.”
“Why would my niece be there?”
“I have no idea. Let’s start from the beginning. Slow down. Fill me in on your niece,” Maya said. The realization hit her
that if this guy was her brother, then the missing girl could also be her niece. But again, what were the chances of that?
And why? Why would someone take Nick’s niece and bring her here?
“Sorry,” Nick said. “My niece, Hope Dawson, didn’t come home from summer school. She’s fourteen and so far we know she was
eating lunch off school grounds. We found her backpack by a tree, but no sign of her.”
“Has she ever run away?” Maya asked.
“Once. Her jerk of a father, my sister’s ex, who’s also a cop, believes that’s what happened. He thinks she’ll come home.”
“But you don’t.”
“No,” Nick said. “Because Hope ran away once before, though, the police aren’t working this too hard. My sister called me
and I’ve been trying to help. I think this time something else happened.”
Maya took a deep breath. Her sister’s name was Isabelle, according to her father. Eric had filled her in about her family
including that she had a niece. He hadn’t given Maya her niece’s name for whatever reason. “What’s your sister’s name?”
“Isabelle.”
Maya closed her eyes and leaned back into her seat. This was crazy. No way this was happening. She and Josh had discussed
Maya reaching out to her brother and sister, but she was afraid of the rejection that might happen. Or that they wouldn’t
even know about her. Nick hadn’t seemed to have a reaction when Maya gave him her name. She’d often wondered if Nick and his
sister were close. In the long run, Maya had decided it was easier to leave things alone and not risk the heartache of a family
that didn’t want her. She opened her eyes, took a deep breath and said, “I have a picture a civilian took of the girl we believe
is missing. I’ll text it to you. Will you let me know if this is Hope?”
“Yes.”
“Hang on, let me send it.” Maya pulled the phone away from her ear and sent the picture. It took a few moments for the image to go through.
“Shit. That’s her. What’s she doing in Colorado?”
“I don’t know,” Maya answered. There was one idea that was starting to form . . . and it scared her. Maya pushed the thought
aside. This was her own anxiety and imagination building. But she’d call Agent Kessler as soon as she hung up. “Do you know
the people she’s with?”
“No, but I’ll show the picture to some buddies who work in the police department. Maybe they will know them. I’ll get my sister
and we’ll be there as soon as possible.”
“Okay,” Maya said. “I’ll notify the FBI and the local sheriff. Please come to the Western River County Sheriff’s Office in
Pinecone Junction. Let me know when you arrive.”
“Got it.”
“Hey, one last thing?” Maya said before Nick could hang up.
“What’s that?”
Maya glanced at Juniper. “I have a K-9 and so does the undersheriff. If you can bag up some scent articles from Hope and bring
them, that might help us. Do you know how to do it?”
“I do. I’ve worked with K-9s to find and apprehend some fugitives.”
“Great. Bring a couple different things,” Maya said.
“Got it.”
Then the line was dead. Maya set her phone on the center console. Was there a chance this was still a coincidence? No. She didn’t believe in coincidences. Something strange was happening.
Abigail Harper. She’d always sworn revenge. Maya hadn’t believed her, but now she did. And this would be Abigail’s MO. She
knew Maya’s weak point—longing for answers about her family and the pain Maya had endured growing up without parents. Abigail
had made sure Maya knew Eric was her father. She’d slowly started giving Maya pieces of what she wanted. And it would make
sense that Abigail would only do that to take everything away from Maya. Again.
She opened her phone back up and dialed FBI Agent Kessler. She needed some answers. Now.