Chapter Twenty-Eight #2
“Go for it. I’ll be fine.”
Taking his teammate at his word, Cam grabbed his laptop from his Go bag, booted up, and started investigating. He compared his list of things and people in common between Sedona, and the Ramirez family.
For a few minutes, he scoured social media, adding an item now and again. Twenty minutes later, he tilted his head back and growled, frustration getting the best of him. “I’ve got zip. There should be something here, Dario. I know there is, but I can’t find it.”
“Read me what you have.”
Cam rattled off the few things the four people on his list had in common. “See?” He motioned to the computer. “Nothing.”
“You forgot one.”
“Help a guy out and tell me, for goodness’ sake.”
“Did Simpson make a try for Emily, Julio and Eddie’s sister?”
Cam stared at his friend, stunned at missing something so obvious. “No.” He frowned. “Why not? He could have targeted her either going to school or coming home, but he didn’t. Sedona doesn’t have Emily in her class. There might not be a connection since she’s not in Sedona’s class.”
Dario shook his head. “That’s thin. Let’s go back to Julio for a minute. Is he in different school clubs than his sister? Perhaps this connection is more about their interests than their classes.”
“Maybe. Sedona told David that Julio loves to stay after school with her and do things to help her out.”
“Like?”
“Picking up trash around the room that students didn’t bother to take to the garbage can, erasing the board, straightening desks, and putting upside-down chairs on the desks.
Once he’s finished with what he can do to help her, Julio walks home if it’s still light out.
If not, he calls Eddie for a ride.” His hand fisted.
“What’s wrong?”
“I don’t like Julio walking home alone.”
“Even in daylight?”
“We’re heavily patrolling that area of Maple Valley. There’s been a serious uptick in drug overdoses, burglaries, and assaults in the last six months.”
“Do you know who’s behind them?”
“At first, we thought the culprits belonged to one of the local gangs. Now, we don’t believe that’s true.”
“Why not?”
“The Jackals and The Vipers not only break in and steal stuff, they also vandalize property. They don’t do extensive business in drugs, though what they sell is dangerous enough.”
“So, what are they into?”
“Weapons.”
Dario shook his head, expression grim. “Kids and guns are a terrible combination.”
“I know. We’re keeping close tabs on the gangs. My point is, kidnapping doesn’t fit their profile.”
“That can change in a heartbeat.”
“Let’s hope not, or the streets of Maple Valley will run red with blood.”
Dario frowned. “Wait. What about Eddie? Is he a member of a gang?”
“Already thought of that and checked it. Nothing shows that he’s affiliated with either gang.”
“Hmm. Tell me about the assaults, Cam. You mentioned them, so there must be something that stood out from the normal assaults.”
“None of the victims would file a police report.”
His friend’s eyebrows rose. “Interesting. What’s usually happening in the area when this is going on?”
“From my experience, gambling and loan sharks are at the heart of the assaults, along with interpersonal relationship issues with one party losing control and taking it out on the other.”
“Any history of gambling and loan sharks in the area?”
“Not officially.”
Dario glanced in his direction. “But?”
“Although gambling is illegal in Tennessee, people can legally gamble online.” He paused for a moment. “If they’re of legal age.”
“Can’t be Julio. He’s too young. Maria?”
“Maybe, but I doubt it.”
“Emily’s out. That leaves Eddie. But he’s not of legal age, Cam.”
“Some loan sharks don’t care, as long as they get their money back with interest.”
“Got any of those in this picturesque town?”
“A guy by the name of Harlan Pike. He is a man you don’t want to cross.”
“Would he ignore the fact that Eddie is a minor?”
“Absolutely. He deals with anyone. If you need money and have a reasonable shot at repaying the loan, he’s your man. Harlan is an equal-opportunity lender.”
“What are his repayment terms?”
“Lousy. The terms are a rip-off. If you can’t repay the loan at the time agreed upon, you’ll receive a visit from his own personal leg breakers or one of the hit squad, depending on the lesson he wants to send to the other people who owe him money.”
“Hit squad? Really?”
“Harlan will tell you he has an entrepreneurial spirit.”
“Are you telling me that Harlan would sink so low as to break Eddie’s kneecaps or outright kill him?”
Cam remained silent. He wished he could refute Dario’s conclusions, but they were true.
“Can’t see how you’d get your money back if the guy is dead. Anyway, how is this connected to The Collector? He’s a high-dollar assassin. I can’t see him lowering himself to work for a thug like Harlan.”
“I don’t know for sure, but I have a pretty good idea where this is going.”
“Don’t make me beg, Sims.”
He chuckled. “I won’t. I just need a few more minutes to chase a couple of leads. When I have the facts nailed down, I’ll tell all.”
“I’ll hold you to that. I don’t play the role of a chauffeur for nothing.”
“Copy that.”
Cam entered a command into his search engine, then sat back and watched. He shook his head when his search netted nothing. He changed his search parameters and tried again several times. Each search resulted in zip. Time to hit up the dark web.
After a series of commands, he sat back and waited for the results.
Seconds later, his screen filled with information and a listing of websites where Simpson’s aliases had popped up in chat rooms. Since he wasn’t a computer expert, he figured Simpson had a few other aliases that law enforcement didn’t know about and Cam wasn’t tech savvy enough to find.
He wasn’t pulling Rhys off the search he was running.
Cam would rather find Sedona than add a few more charges to Simpson’s police record.
He clicked on the first link and settled back to read.
The more Cam read, the more he worried. No way would anyone convince him that Sedona hadn’t been targeted.
While others might believe she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, her second kidnapping in a week blew that idea out of the water.
He reached the same conclusion as he had before.
Simpson needed Sedona for something. But what?
Was Simpson using her as security so Cam and the others wouldn’t try to interfere?
If so, he was in for a shock. That’s not how police investigative decisions worked.
It wasn’t how he worked. Simpson had just issued a strong back-off-or-else command, and that was Cam’s cue to dig harder.
He considered the time element involved. An important date was driving Simpson. What could it be?
His phone buzzed. Cam glanced at the screen, swiped the glass, and tapped the speaker button. “Go, Rhys.”
“I’ve got something.”
Cam’s heart leaped against his chest wall. Yes! “Talk to me.”
“I checked all known Simpson aliases and different combinations of the names against property owners in the area where Sedona and Simpson fell off the map.”
“And?”
“I have a location.”
Hope burst into full force inside him. “What name did he use and where is his hideout?”
“Sullivan Arnold owns a four-bedroom cabin near the top of Lion’s Gate Mountain.”
The name of the man and the mountain settled into Cam’s gut, and he knew his friend had unearthed the information The Thunderhawks needed to find and rescue Sedona. Was that all, though? He felt as though he should know something more, but he couldn’t retrieve anything. His mind was a blank slate.
“I have others.”
“No, that’s it.”
“Are you sure, sir?”
“Yeah, I’m positive. It goes along with what I found in my research.”
“The uncle?”
“That’s right.”
“What about the uncle?” Dario demanded. “Hey, you promised to fill me in when you researched a couple of things.”
“I’m not finished. Rhys called before I was ready to spill all.”
Dario scowled. “Spill. Curiosity is eating me alive over here.”
“Same,” Isaac said. “He’s right, sir. Let us in on the secret. Perhaps we can help you fill in the gaps and finally arrive at the answers we need to put this puzzle together.”
“Simpson had an uncle he frequently visited when he was growing up. The old guy’s name was Amos Osborn, and for whatever reason, he loved Simpson enough to leave The Collector his land and cabin in his will. Osborn passed away last fall.”
Isaac whistled. “That land up there is worth at least $2 million, easy.”
“More. Simpson’s nearest neighbor owns nearly the entire mountain.”
“Who is it? Dario asked.
“Martin Lyons.”
Silence filled the vehicles until Dario asked, “You’re talking about the billionaire Martin Lyons?”
“That’s the one.”
“Very good, sir,” Rhys said. “Have you figured out the name of Martin Lyons’ home?”
He shook his head. “Nope. You obviously know, so tell me.”
“The estate is known as the Lion’s Den. The security around the estate, especially Lyons’ suite, is rumored to be impenetrable.”
Cam knew that tone of voice from his computer man. “You know how to breach the security to that suite, don’t you?”
“I do. I don’t think it’s possible for us to do it, though.”
“Work up a plan while we track down Sedona. Don’t worry about whether it’s legal. Just get it done.”
He and his team would work something out. Nothing and no one would stop him from getting to Sedona. If Lyons was Simpson’s target, that’s where Cam would find the love of his life. He just hoped they reached Sedona before Simpson killed her.