Chapter 7
7
A s Maya pulled into the parking lot of the Elk Lodge, Doug tried not to feel like a failure. He was a federal agent who couldn’t find his own half sister. The cold and wintery conditions were only part of the problem. He needed to get his emotions in check long enough to take methodical investigative actions.
His attempt to locate a mystery plume of smoke from a car had been emotional and irrational. Time to focus on facts and data. In the past, he and Ian had successfully found bad guys by searching property records. He’d get Maya’s assistance on that, and hopefully, he could ask Ian to dig into the list of ten names.
Maybe one of them had a sister, girlfriend, or wife that had suffered after being arrested. This could be some sort of warped eye-for-an-eye retaliatory response.
He turned to Maya as she killed the engine. “You don’t have to stay if you have things to do. I can work out some possibilities and let you know what I find.”
“I said I’d help.” She shot him an exasperated look. “Let’s go.”
He was grateful for her stabilizing presence. Maybe it was just the fact that he didn’t live in Wyoming and had no knowledge of the area other than what he’d gleaned over the past ten days of visiting with Emily, but he was acutely aware of how much he needed her.
Far more than he’d initially realized.
“Thank you.” He pushed out of the car and grabbed his suitcase and laptop bag. Maya freed Zion from the back hatch, and together they headed for the door.
Inside, the lobby fire greeted them warmly. He took off his gloves, even though his fingers were still rather numb. Maya did the same, then pulled out the room key she’d obtained upon securing the room and handed it to him. He was a little surprised no one complained when they headed down the hallway to the room with Zion between them. He quickly unlocked the door and headed inside.
The room was decorated in a traditional western motif—pictures of wild animals on the walls, headboards made from logs. It was nicer than the Lumberjack Inn, not that he cared. He dropped the suitcase next to one of the double beds, then set the computer case on the desk. “Give me a minute to power this up,” he said.
“Take your time.” Maya was watching as Zion sniffed the room with interest. “I’ll head out to grab Zion’s food soon.”
He nodded absently, plugging the laptop in to power it up. Then he reached for his phone to call Ian.
“Did you find her?” Ian asked.
“No.” His chest squeezed painfully. “I need some help before you head home.” He was aware of the time difference. “I need a list of property owners for Cody and Greybull, Montana. I may have to extend that at some point, but we’ll start there. I also need help with digging into these ten perps who have recently been released from jail.” He had to think back for a moment. “I left voice mails for the parole officers of my two top suspects, Horacio Cortez and Christopher Nolan, but haven’t heard back.” With all the excitement of finding the Silverado and Emily’s phone, he hadn’t noticed until now. “I’ll call again, but it occurred to me that whoever took Emily may have a sister, wife, or girlfriend who suffered because of his arrest.”
“That’s a definite possibility,” Ian agreed. “I’ll send you the property list first, then dig into those ten names to look for any underlying motives that may be at play.”
“Thanks so much,” Doug said. “I can pay you overtime if needed.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Ian said without heat. “I’m here for you.”
His throat swelled with emotion. “Thanks again.” He ended the call, feeling blessed at knowing he had great people to support him.
“Doug? Are you okay?” Maya crossed over to rest her hand on his shoulder.
The urge to stand, sweep her into his arms, and kiss her was strong. But he managed to refrain from making a fool of himself.
“Yes. Fine.” He covered her hand with his. The skin-to-skin contact made his nerve endings tingle. But he told himself that was just his fingers starting to thaw. He let her go and shrugged out of his coat. “I think I mentioned our tech expert, Ian Dunlap. He’s sending me that list of property owners. We’ll start there.”
“Sounds good. I need to grab some supplies for Zion from the back of the SUV,” she said. “I won’t be long.”
He was about to turn back to his computer but hesitated. Hadn’t she mentioned something about some guy stalking her? He rose. “I’ll go with you.”
“No need. I’d rather you stay here with Zion.” She waved a dismissive hand. “This will only take a few minutes.”
He frowned, but his phone buzzed with an incoming call from a 414 area code, which meant it was probably one of the parole offices calling him back. “Okay.” He lifted the phone to his ear. “This is Agent Bridges.”
“Officer Cotter, you called to ask about Chris Nolan?”
“I did, thanks for calling me back. My half sister has been kidnapped, and I’m trying to narrow the suspect field. I put Nolan away three years ago, but I’ve heard he is out on parole. Have you seen him lately?”
“Nolan, Nolan,” Cotter muttered. Doug heard the clatter of fingers on a keyboard. “Oh yeah, here he is. Chris Nolan is one of my parolees, but it looks as if I haven’t seen him in over a week.”
A flash of excitement hit hard. “He’s supposed to be seen weekly?”
“Yeah, for a pep talk and pee drug test,” Cotter said. “I hadn’t gotten around to tracking the paroles who are AWOL. I’ll make a few calls, see if I can track him down. I’ll also issue a warrant for his arrest.”
“Thank you. Will you call me back if you find him?” Doug wasn’t sure if the guy was strung out on drugs or if he had traveled halfway across the country to Cody, Wyoming. “My sister was taken from the hospital where she works in Cody, Wyoming, so I’m not there to help track him down.”
“Wyoming?” Cotter sounded as shocked as if he’d said Mars. “Why in the world would Nolan head way out there?”
“To seek revenge.” It sounded weak, but he didn’t have anything else to go on. “Please keep me updated. Thanks.” He quickly ended the call, then contacted the other parole office too. Still no answer, so he left another message, this one more urgent.
He stared at his computer screen, wondering how long it would take for Ian to send the list of property owners. Zion made a whining sound in her throat, causing him to glance over at her. The K9 sat by the door, staring at him.
“She’ll be back soon,” he said. Zion didn’t even blink. When he turned to face the screen, she whined again.
He rose and walked toward her. “What is it?”
Her blue gaze held his, as if she were trying to tell him something but obviously couldn’t say the words.
He glanced at his watch. Maya hadn’t been gone that long. When Zion whined for a third time, he gave in and reached for his coat. “Okay, I hear you.” Easier to meet Maya halfway than to ignore the K9’s eerily intense stare and high-pitched whine.
“Let’s go.” He reached over the dog’s head to open the door. Zion bolted from the room like a rocket without looking back. Alarmed, he quickly ran to catch up to the dog.
The husky stood at the front door of the lobby, her nose pressed against the glass. She let out a sharp bark, startling him. Zion rarely barked.
“What’s wrong?” He pushed the door open, the blast of cold air stealing his breath. Zion snuck past him and took off.
Once again he ran after the dog, alarmed by the K9’s actions. When he saw Maya’s SUV in the parking lot with the back hatch lifted, his heart squeezed painfully when he realized she wasn’t standing behind it.
“Maya!” he cried as Zion disappeared around the far side of the car. He quickly caught up, horrified to find Maya lying on the ground. “Maya! Can you hear me?”
Zion licked Maya’s face, causing her to stir. She looked up at him in confusion, then gingerly pushed herself into a sitting position. He placed his arm around her back for additional support.
“Someone hit me,” she said.
Doug silently thanked God for Zion’s sense of danger. “Let’s get you inside.”
She didn’t put up a fight as he put both of his hands beneath her arms and lifted her upright. She slumped against the SUV for a moment, before managing to stand on her own. “I’m fine.”
She wasn’t, but he saw what looked like a doggy backpack with the words Sullivan K9 Search and Rescue embroidered on the side, sitting just inside the open crate area. He slung the strap over his shoulder, slammed the hatch, then slipped his arms around her waist. “Lean on me. We need to get you inside.”
This time she didn’t argue. Zion stayed glued to Maya’s side as they made their way back into the warm lobby. She did lean on him, but he noticed the fingers of her left hand rested lightly on Zion’s fur too.
The room door hadn’t completely closed behind him. He performed a quick search to make sure the room was empty. He gently nudged her down onto the bed, then set the doggy backpack on the floor.
“Where do you hurt?” He knelt beside her, unzipping her bulky parka and pushing it off. Then he pulled her knit cap off as well. There were no obvious signs of injury, but she was covered from head to toe.
“My head.” She lifted a hand to gingerly palpate the back of her scalp. “He came up behind me. I sensed his movement and tried to get away, but too late. He hit me, and I stumbled forward.” Her dark eyes clung to his. “I don’t remember anything until you and Zion arrived. I guess I blacked out for a minute.”
He kicked himself for letting her head out alone. “May I?” He rose to his feet and pushed her hand away to examine her head. Her brunette wavy hair was thick and soft. Then he felt the swelling toward the top of her head. “The skin isn’t broken, but I’m sure it’s painful.”
“It is, but I’ll survive.” She grimaced. “I can’t believe I let that guy get the drop on me.”
“You didn’t see his face?”
“Not really. A quick glimpse of dark eyes above his face mask.” She thought for a moment, then added, “I’m positive he’s a white guy, though. Not Hispanic.”
“Could it be the same guy you’ve sensed following you before?” He pressed. “Same height and build?”
“Maybe.” She sighed, lifted a shoulder, and said, “I never expected the man I’ve noticed slinking around to physically assault me. Granted, I usually have Zion with me, so maybe he caught a glimpse of me being alone and took the chance to take me out.” She looked up at him. “I wouldn’t have lasted too long in the cold. Thanks for coming out to find me.”
“Zion forced the issue.” He glanced at the husky stretched out on the floor beside the bed with admiration. “I’m not sure how she knew you were in danger, but she was extremely persistent.”
“Good girl,” Maya said, leaning over to stroke the dog’s fur. Zion wagged her tail, glancing at him as if to say I told you so .
His phone buzzed with an incoming message. A quick glance confirmed Ian had sent the list of property owners. While thrilled to have a place to start, he couldn’t help but wonder if this attack on Maya was an isolated event.
Or somehow connected to Emily’s disappearance.
* * *
The incident outside her SUV replayed in her mind as she pressed the ice pack Doug had insisted on making against her sore head. Was it the same guy she’d seen over the past two weeks?
She couldn’t say for sure. Until now, he’d kept his distance. In fact, he’d always left her alone once she’d noticed and turned to look at him.
This assault—she winced. She had not anticipated it. And why had the guy turned violent after all this time?
It didn’t make any sense. She couldn’t imagine whom she could have angered enough to do something like this. Other than her ex-husband, who had gotten angry when he’d learned he could not cash in on her inheritance. Or any other financial support, considering he’d cheated on her and their marriage had barely lasted four years. The judge had outwardly viewed Blaine with disdain. She’d realized part of the judge’s annoyance was because he knew full well they didn’t take any cash payments for their search and rescue operations.
Could Blaine be involved? Maybe she had underestimated his level of anger and frustration. His anger could have festered over the years, especially since their search and rescue business had gotten so much great press.
She made a mental note to double-check her ex-husband’s whereabouts in the morning.
“Are you sure you don’t want to be seen at the hospital?” Doug scowled as he stood beside her, making her crane her neck to look up at him. “It’s not smart to mess around with head injuries.”
“I’m fine.” Her head hurt, but it wasn’t terribly bad. She didn’t want to admit that part of her reaction to falling unconscious was probably sheer surprise at being struck in the first place. Obviously, some of her cop reflexes had gone slack. She’d believed that staying in shape by exercising the dogs and doing search and rescue would keep her sharp.
Until some lowlife jerk had cowardly hit her from behind.
She was irritated by her lapse in being aware of her surroundings, but all she could do was move forward from here. If Zion had been there, her K9 would have alerted her to the guy’s presence.
And if she caught a glimpse of him again, she would send Zion after him. Her K9 specialized in tracking, but Zion was protective enough that if she gave the command to Get him , the dog would chase a perp down without hesitation. Zion’s bark was worse than her bite, but he wouldn’t know that.
Times like this, she missed her K9 Ranger. He was an extremely intimidating German shepherd who had been trained in suspect takedowns. Very similar to Shane’s dog Bryce.
“I’d like you to stretch out and relax.” Doug’s voice interrupted her thoughts. He pulled back the covers on the bed. “I’m not a nurse like Emily, but I know the best treatment for a head injury is rest.”
She swallowed a flash of impatience. As the oldest sibling, she was used to being in charge. She didn’t appreciate being treated like a child. “You need to trust my judgment. I have had plenty of first aid training working search and rescue missions. I promise I’m not badly hurt. If my symptoms change for the worse, I’ll let you know and go to the hospital.”
He didn’t look convinced, and the last thing she wanted was to be seen. People talked, and the news would spread to Chase or her other siblings like lightning. Her family would make a big deal out of a little bump, and she wasn’t in the mood to keep arguing.
“Do you want my help?” She tried not to sound as crabby as she felt. “Let’s dig into that list of properties. Hopefully, we can narrow them to a few possible locations where these guys might be holding Emily.”
He hesitated, clearly torn between accepting her help and insisting she climb into bed. “Only if you tell me if your vision gets blurry or you feel sick to your stomach.”
“I promise. Let’s work for an hour. I’ll need to feed Zion about then, and we may want to order room service as well.”
“Okay.” He gestured to the single chair. “Have a seat.”
“Pull the desk over so you can use the corner of the bed,” she suggested. Having Doug leaning over her shoulder would be nerve-racking. “That way we can both see the screen.”
With a nod, he set about rearranging the furniture. When he was finished, she took the chair as he perched on the end of the bed. He was still too close for her peace of mind, but she told herself to focus on the list of names on the screen.
It was longer than she’d anticipated, but that was partially because the addresses included all of Cody and Greybull, not to mention the outlying regions. A sense of despair hit hard. This felt like looking for gold in a defunct mine.
“What do you think of starting with those addresses that are not within the city central,” Doug asked. “I’m not sure how to sort through them, though.”
“Try sorting them by house number,” she suggested. “That will help.” She caught a glimpse of the last name of Pickard. “Maybe sort them in two ways, by last name and street number. I know a guy by the name of John Pickard owns several properties, many of them are rentals.”
She closed her eyes for a moment as Doug manipulated the data. Her vision wasn’t blurry, but concentrating on the names and numbers was making her head hurt. Not that she intended to mention that fact to Doug.
“Do you know this Pickard guy?” Doug asked. “Would he rent to criminals?”
“Not on purpose, but I don’t think he’d ask too many questions either. If someone wanted to rent a house that was empty for a few days for cash, he’d take the money.” She shrugged. “Most folks out here would. You have to remember that this is not a high crime area. Not like the big city.”
“Yet Emily was kidnapped, and you were assaulted,” he pointed out wryly.
“True.” Hard to argue that one.
“Do the police know about your stalker?” he asked.
“No.” She sighed as he stared at her. “I was a cop. There’s nothing the Cody police could have done without a specific description to go on.”
“They could have checked camera video.” He arched a brow. “Are there any security cameras in town?”
“A few on the main traffic lights, but most businesses don’t bother.” She shrugged. “It’s an unnecessary added expense when crime isn’t a top concern.”
“You’re telling me you never run into criminal activity while doing your job?” His tone was skeptical.
She lowered the ice pack because her arm was growing tired of holding it. She glanced at Zion who was sleeping at her feet. “I can’t say never, but it’s rare. Most of our cases involve lost tourists who underestimate the wilderness or the weather or locals getting hurt while hunting or fishing.”
“Okay, okay.” He held up his hands. “I guess my installing a camera doorbell at Emily’s was overkill.”
She understood he’d gotten the camera out of concern for his sister’s safety. A fear that proved to be well founded, considering her disappearance.
He held her gaze for a long moment, then turned back to the computer screen. “We have eight names of residents owning multiple properties,” Doug said, picking up the thread of the investigation. “This Pickard guy owns the most. Then we have a man by the name of Timothy Worth who owns three places. The rest seem to own two properties. I assume one is a full-time residence; the other is more of a vacation property.”
“Hunting land with a cabin most likely, although most people I know hunt public land as there’s so much of it available.” She leaned forward. “Hmm. I don’t know Tim Worth. Our paths have never crossed, or he might be new to the area. The other names are familiar, and they’re all men, which gives credence to the hunting cabin theory. In my experience, men with hunting and fishing land don’t rent to strangers.”
“Okay, lets focus on Pickard and Worth.” Doug pulled up a map of the two cities up on the screen. “Can you help me pinpoint where their properties are on this map?”
She nodded and took a few minutes to find each of the address locations. “Every single one of Pickard’s properties are in town, although it’s interesting he has homes in both Cody and Greybull.” She turned to look at him. “Since we found Emily’s scent in the Wild Bill Motel, I don’t know that we should bother checking them out.”
He hesitated for a moment, then nodded. “Makes sense. If they had rented a house in town, there would be no reason to use the motel.”
“They could have, but they may attract attention in town too. Let’s see what Tim Worth has on file.” She checked the first address and the second. Both were in Greybull. The third was a cabin outside of Cody. Interestingly, it wasn’t that far from the location where they found the Silverado truck.
“Is that where I think it is?” Doug asked. “Near the abandoned truck?”
“Yes. It looks like there’s a driveway from this other road, here.” She tapped the screen, then glanced at him. “But you know this could just be a hunting cabin too. Just because I’m not familiar with Tim Worth doesn’t mean he’s connected to bad guys.”
“I know, but maybe our bad guys stumbled across the place. They realized it was empty and decided to use it as a hideout.”
“That possibility could apply to any of these properties,” she felt compelled to point out. “Worth could be living in this house and renting the places in town.”
His shoulders slumped. “You’re right. I need to think this through.” He looked so discouraged her heart ached for him. After a moment, he looked at her. “I’m not sure where to go from here. What do you think? Do I keep searching those properties around the abandoned truck? Or focus on rentals? It’ll be dark soon.”
She glanced out the window, somewhat surprised to realize he was right about the daylight. The hour was going on four thirty in the afternoon, and dusk was falling. She turned back to face him. “Let’s look at the properties around the abandoned truck. We can head out to search them first thing in the morning.”
He frowned and opened his mouth to say something, then caught himself. “Okay.”
She quickly identified the two property owners within a fifteen-mile radius of the abandoned truck. “Only two that I can see. Another four if we go out even farther,” she said, sitting back in her chair. Her head was throbbing again, likely from her work on the computer screen.
They had six places total to check out come morning.
“That helps.” Doug took over the keyboard to send the map she’d highlighted to his email. Then he rose to his feet. “I’ll be back soon.”
“No, wait.” She quickly grabbed his hand to prevent him from going. “You can’t go alone. If you get lost, you’ll freeze to death.”
His expression turned stubborn. “I’ll use the compass on my phone. I can also call if I get lost or if something happens.”
She narrowed her gaze, feeling just as stubborn. “Phones don’t always work way out here; there are areas where cell tower signals don’t reach.”
“I’ll take the risk.” He spoke in such an offhand way she grew angry.
“That’s a stupid risk.” She jumped to her feet, startling Zion. Her K9 looked up at her, likely wondering if it was dinnertime. “And one that isn’t going to help Emily if she is nearby, but you end up breaking your fool neck before finding her.”
They stared at each other for a long, tense moment. Then without warning, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her.