Chapter Thirty-Eight
Abigail paced back and forth, pausing every now and then to look out the window. She needed to regroup and figure out what
her next move was. She’d been certain Maya would show up, especially after killing the agent. That was the type of thing that
fired Maya up and made her react.
Now she stared at her phone and the text message her partner had sent. Was he getting bad intel or was he losing his touch?
Or, an even worse thought went through her mind, was he turning on her to save himself? She didn’t know, but the message couldn’t
be right. She read it one more time.
We have moved to a campground to regroup while ERT works the crime scene. Luckily the K-9 lost the scent. Maybe the smoke
or hot weather covered it up or made the scent go away faster. I don’t know. You are safe to leave or safe to continue with
your plan. Whatever you choose to do, let me know so I can help you.
The thing was, Abigail didn’t know what her plan was anymore.
Everything was falling apart. Even her partner, the love of her life, was not helping.
But it might not be his fault. She knew that Maya kind of understood her.
And while Abigail hated to admit it, she also knew that Maya and her dog were good. Very good.
That’s why the message didn’t make sense. She could grab Hope and head out to the vehicle she had stashed. Kill the kid and
drive south. That would mean cutting all ties with her partner, but maybe he wouldn’t mind. She knew that he didn’t always
like the things she did. He felt like she went too far. As if he could talk.
Was there a way to still get to Maya? Get her to come to her?
Pacing back and forth again in front of the window, she could see some mountain peaks off in the distance. It was beautiful
here. She had to admit that too. Maya grew up here. She knew these mountains. She’d worked a dog in Afghanistan and from what
Abigail knew had been in some of the mountainous areas when deployed.
No way would the dog lose such a fresh track. Her partner was being lied to. Maya and Kessler and probably even that Undersheriff
Josh Colten were making something up. There was a chance that Maya was out there now. What would Abigail do if it was her?
She’d make up a story. Get everyone else to move somewhere in the opposite direction. The campground her partner was at was
the other direction from the lodge. Then she’d do surveillance.
They were out there somewhere. Watching. Abigail knew it. She might not be able to see them, but they could probably see her. Maya would know where to go where she was hidden. What if they were watching right now?
Would they fall for it if she moved Hope into the ballroom? If she did it right, Hope would be visible from another window.
They might see Abigail move her and wonder what she was up to. If she was lucky, that wouldn’t happen. She could then go to
the other end of the lodge and wait. Even though it was in the opposite direction from the ballroom, she had good cover with
the furniture and decorations. There was a large grandfather clock that would be perfect to hide behind. Abigail could wait
until they entered, had Hope and then go after Maya. She’d have the dog with her too. Abigail would have to make sure the
mutt also ate a bullet. It could work.
Was she going too far? Maybe. Was it worth it? Definitely.
Maya, Juniper and Josh continued to watch Abigail. She’d been pacing back and forth in front of the window peering at what
was probably her phone. When Maya looked through the binoculars she couldn’t totally tell, but most of the time when someone
was staring at something in their hand, it was a cell phone.
“I bet she’s messaging her partner,” Maya said, handing the binoculars over to Josh.
He glimpsed through them and then said, “That would be my guess too. Maybe we can let Kessler know. There’s a chance that someone is texting and is the only person on their phone.”
“Good idea.” Maya texted Kessler with the information. Kessler wrote back that everyone had their phones out—him included.
So much for that idea, Maya thought. She relayed the information to Josh.
“It was worth a try,” he said.
“We know where Abigail is,” Maya said. “Maybe we can try sneaking in to find Hope.”
“I don’t know,” Josh said. “She just walked away from the window. Now I can’t see her. It makes me wonder what she’s doing.
You know she wants you to come to her. I’m not sure trying to get Hope is a good idea. Maybe Kessler can use the HRT.”
Maya wasn’t sure what to say. Josh was right. If they went in, they were playing into Abigail’s plan. But if they could get
Hope it would be worth it. And Maya didn’t mind facing Abigail. She might want revenge, but Maya wanted her revenge too, which
would be seeing Abigail behind bars. At some point, someone had to win. “As long as the FBI HRT keeps getting deployed, Abigail
is notified by her partner and runs. If it’s us showing up with no notice, maybe we can take her by surprise.”
“I don’t know . . .” Josh said.
“You’re great backup and we have Juniper.
She’s better than any SWAT-type team. I think we have a better shot of saving Hope if we go in.
I wish we knew if the cameras had been shut down yet,” Maya said, checking her phone again hoping to see a message from her boss or Kessler.
There was nothing. She put the phone away and scratched Juniper again.
Juniper had her pointy triangular ears standing straight up, golden eyes staring direct ahead.
“You want to bite her, don’t you? We all want this to be over—especially Hope. ”
“That’s for sure. Abigail is back. I wonder what she was doing,” Josh said.
Maya was wondering too. Abigail always had a plan and they shouldn’t underestimate her. Maya’s phone buzzed and she pulled
it out. Kessler had texted again.
Fire is changing direction. It’s heading toward the Old Stone Lodge. Firefighters are not working in that area because of
Abigail. If you see a good way to get Hope out, go for it.
Maya sent a quick text back asking about the cameras. Kessler replied that they were able to get the security cameras shut
down but was not certain about the wildlife cams.
“What’s going on?” Josh asked.
Maya filled him in. “I think we should try approaching. We could make entrance through the side door and use Juniper to locate
Hope. Even though there’s lots of great areas to hide her, I bet she won’t be hard for Juniper to find. The biggest challenge
is the size of the lodge. With the fire coming, we need to see if we can at least find Hope. Abigail probably has her restrained
and wouldn’t think twice about leaving her.”
“Okay, I agree. We’re the closest and we can respond. I’ll back you up and with any luck, we’ll be in and out.”
“That would be nice,” Maya said. She was confident that they could take Abigail, but she also knew they shouldn’t underestimate
her. Abigail had duped Maya before. At one point, before Maya knew that Abigail was a criminal, she’d even admired her as
a fellow female officer. That was the type of manipulation Abigail specialized in. “If it’s not working or we feel like Juniper
can’t find a good scent to track, then I say we get out of there. I don’t want to do that though.”
“If the fire wasn’t coming, I’d say to wait,” Josh said. “Let’s see if we can approach and find Hope.”
Juniper’s head was swiveling back and forth as she listened to Maya and Josh. Hearing the word “find,” she stood and shook
her body. Then she nudged Maya with her nose. Maya gave her dog a good scratch. She was the best partner and Hope’s best shot
at being found alive.
Abigail had lost patience. Maya hadn’t shown up with her mutt and guns blazing like she’d wanted.
She decided to move Hope to the main ballroom. It would be easier to spot the girl and maybe help lure Maya in. She checked
her phone. Her partner was still insisting that she was fine.
She could regroup and make a fresh plan.
There was something off. Was he messing with her?
Abigail didn’t think he was. He never had in the past. Why would he do it now?
In fact, he’d made sure he was here for this.
It had been part of their plan so he could feed Abigail information.
That meant he was getting bad info. Kessler knew or suspected.
Kessler and Maya weren’t dumb. Shooting that agent maybe hadn’t been smart. Abigail had done it so quickly she’d given away
that she had inside knowledge. She should have left, but she’d been so mad when she found out that they were trying to trick
her, she’d acted impulsively. She had to slow down and think. Abigail pulled her phone out and typed:
I think you’re receiving bad info. Have you seen Maya Thompson and her K-9?
She received a quick “no” back. She sent another text.
What about the undersheriff, Josh Colten?
Another “no” came back. Yes, they’d figured things out. Abigail sent one last message. Be careful. I think Maya suspects someone is helping me. If she doesn’t come to me soon, I’m ending this and leaving. You
know where I’m headed. You can join me when the time is right. I’ll make sure the money you need is in your account.
Abigail went and checked on Hope. If they were doing surveillance, they might see her and walk right into Abigail’s trap.
But it was hard telling. If nothing else, it would be a quicker track for the dog.
Of course, what door would they be coming in?
There were many options since this was a tourist lodge.
Abigail didn’t like all the unknowns with this resort, but there were no other options right now.
Hope wasn’t moving. The girl had been quiet and sullen ever since she’d tried to slash Abigail. She had to give the kid credit—her
arm was hurting. But she’d found a first aid kit after they arrived here and had changed the first blood-soaked bandage. Stitches
would be ideal. Since Hope hadn’t moved and didn’t seem to be trying to escape, Abigail wandered until she found the room
with the security cameras.