Chapter 9
9
W hen a full five minutes passed without Maya’s returning with Zion, Doug abandoned his computer and grabbed his coat. Maybe Zion was taking her sweet time in getting busy, but he couldn’t stand waiting. If this guy somehow got past Zion to hurt Maya, he’d never forgive himself.
He headed out of the door and down the hall. Pushing open the lobby doors, he stood for a moment, trying to figure out which way she’d gone.
“Doug?” Maya’s voice was surprised. “What are you doing out here? Did you see the truck too?”
“Truck?” He swung to face her. She dropped a baggie into the garbage can, then came toward him. “What truck? What are you talking about?”
She grimaced. “It’s probably nothing, but I saw a man who looked a little suspicious. When I called out to him, he took off running. I sent Zion after him, but he managed to reach his truck before she could grab him. I called her back so she wouldn’t get hurt, and he drove away. He’s local, though, his license plate had the prefix of eleven.”
“I don’t know what that means,” Doug said. He reached for the door. “But let’s get inside. From now on, you don’t go anywhere alone.”
She frowned but crossed the threshold. Together they made their way back to their suite. Doug shot the dead bolt home and then connected the chain lock for added, if somewhat flimsy, protection.
“Wyoming license plates are issued to specific counties, and that county number is the first two digits of the rest of the license plate. In this case, I saw the number eleven, which is the designation for Park County.”
“I wondered why so many of the plates started with the same number,” Doug said as realization dawned. “I had no idea they were a location designation.”
“Rental vehicles can make things confusing,” she said. “But basically, the license plate helps identify the county in which the registered owner resides.”
“The Silverado plates started with the number eleven,” he said thoughtfully. “I guess that means the locals are involved in this mess?”
“Or they know someone local,” Maya said. “I should have mentioned the license plate designation sooner.”
“No, it’s fine. I have the VIN too.” He’d sent the information to Ian but had gotten sidetracked with the property owners. The truck was stolen, but he wanted to know more. He entered the Silverado license plate and waited for the information to load. A name popped up on the screen. “Does the name Eric Hine mean anything to you?”
“No, sorry.” Maya frowned. “He’s the registered owner of the Silverado?”
“Yeah. There’s an address here in Cody too.” He hesitated, then went to pull the location up on a map. “Do you think the Cody police have been there to question him in person? I know the truck was reported stolen, but I would think they’d verify that claim.”
“I’ll call and ask.” She shrugged out of her coat, then reached for her phone. “If they had found him, though, I’d think they’d let me know.”
“True.” He used the name to dig deeper. No criminal history, but the Silverado was definitely in Eric’s name.
“Hi, this is Maya Sullivan. Has anyone been out to interview Eric Hine about his Silverado?” He glanced over to see Maya frowning as she listened. “Okay, thanks for letting me know.”
“What?” he asked, bracing himself for the worst.
“Eric said he loaned the truck to his cousin, Craig Olsen. The officers found Craig at a local tavern. He claimed the truck was stolen right out from under his nose.”
“Did they believe him?” Doug asked. “I mean, is this Craig Olsen credible?”
She shrugged. “They sounded as if they believed him, but anything is possible.”
“Yeah, I can’t help but wonder if Olsen was paid to look the other way so the truck could be stolen.” He wanted to speak to this Craig Olsen for himself. “I’ll check the property listing, see if his name pops.”
“Okay, but it sounds a little too easy,” she said. “I can’t imagine anyone who takes the sheets off a bed in a dive motel would be foolish enough to leave a trail a blind man could follow. They left the truck, knowing it would be traced back to Eric Hine and Craig Olsen. They wouldn’t risk one of them talking.”
She was right, it didn’t seem likely. The Silverado had been abandoned when it was no longer of any use. He thought about Emily’s phone being tucked between the seat cushions, her way of wanting him to know she’d been there.
Glancing at his watch, he realized the pizza would be there in a few minutes. If he had a team at his disposal, he’d send a couple of agents to interview both Eric Hine and Craig Olsen again. But leaving Maya behind to do the task for himself wasn’t smart. Her SUV was in the lot, announcing to anyone passing by that she was there.
With a sigh, he scrubbed his hands over his face. He had to work with the resources he had available to him. He’d focus his efforts on digging into his two top suspects using the computer. If he didn’t find anything useful, he could head out to interview the two men first thing in the morning.
“Doug? Try not to stress. We’ll figure this out,” Maya said.
“I know.” He dropped his hands and forced a smile. A moment later, there was a knock at the door. He rose, used the peep hole to verify who was out there. Seeing a man standing there with a pizza, he quickly opened the door.
“Thanks,” he said, taking the pizza then fishing cash out for a tip.
“Anytime,” the room service steward didn’t linger.
He set the pizza down, then glanced at Maya. Lines of pain bracketed both sides of her mouth, reminding him she’d been assaulted just a few hours earlier.
And what had he done? Forced her to head out to find an empty cabin in the woods. Kicking himself for being an idiot, he unwrapped the pizza. “Are you hungry?”
“Sort of.” Maya tucked a strand of her dark hair behind her ear and stroked Zion.
“How bad is your headache?” he asked.
“Not terrible.” She offered a wan smile. “I’ll survive.”
“I have ibuprofen,” he offered. “I tend to carry it with me for those times my shoulder acts up.”
“That would be great, thanks.” As he dug the bottle from his carry-on suitcase, she crossed over to join him at the table. He gave her the bottle and watched as she downed several tablets. “What happened to your shoulder?”
“I was shot about eighteen months ago.” He offered a lopsided smile as he set the computer aside to make more room. “Chasing bad guys, you know how it is.”
“I do, but thankfully, I haven’t taken a bullet—at least, not yet. My K9 did, though.” Her expression turned sad. After a moment, she dropped into a chair. “I’d like to say grace.”
“Of course.” He sat and bowed his head. To his surprise, she reached over to take his hand.
“Dear Lord Jesus, we thank You for this food we are blessed to eat. We ask You to keep Emily safe in Your loving arms. And we seek Your guidance to find her. Amen.”
“Amen.” He tightened his grip on her hand for a moment, swallowing hard against the lump in his throat.
Then he pulled himself together. He was touched by Maya’s prayer, but he couldn’t let himself become sidetracked by her beauty. He waited for her to take a slice of pizza before grabbing one.
They ate in silence for a few moments. “Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?” Maya asked.
“Go for it.” He sent her a quick smile. “I’m sure you’re wondering about my relationship with my half sister.”
“I’m willing to listen to that story, but that wasn’t what I wanted to ask you,” Maya said, avoiding his gaze. “I would like to know if you’re married or engaged or seeing someone.”
He flushed. “No! I wouldn’t kiss you if I was with someone.” He wondered if that was the reason she’d broken off from their embrace. “I was married a long time ago. Gloria and I met in college. We—suffice it to say, we grew apart. Gloria’s admiration to my career quickly turned resentful. She wanted someone who had a regular normal job. Not one that caused me to leave the house at odd hours or stay away for extended periods of time.”
“I’m sorry to hear things didn’t work out,” Maya said. “No children?”
“No.” He had been a little sad about that, but in hindsight, it was better this way. “Gloria is married to an engineer who works a normal schedule and has two kids. She may have cheated on me in the past, but I don’t harbor any hard feelings toward her. She deserves to be happy.”
“My ex-husband cheated on me too,” she confided. “Blamed my schedule, but I think he was much like Gloria. He wanted someone who would be home every single night the way he was. He works a nine-to-five job at a manufacturing company.”
“Those of us with careers in law enforcement have a higher divorce rate than those who don’t,” he said with a shrug. “It takes a special person to handle that level of stress.”
She nodded but didn’t say anything more. After finishing two slices of pizza, she rose to her feet. “That was great, but I’m afraid I need to get some rest.”
“Of course.” He rose to his feet, standing awkwardly beside her. He wanted to pull her into his arms for a hug but offered a smile instead. “Sleep well, Maya.”
“Thanks.” She held his gaze for a moment, then turned to call her dog. “Come, Zion.”
The husky jumped off the sofa and followed Maya into the closest bedroom. Only when the door closed behind her did he sink back down to finish his pizza.
After cleaning up the mess, he went back to work on the computer. He didn’t have Ian Dunlap’s skills, but he would do his best.
He needed to find something concrete to go on and prayed it wouldn’t take all night.
* * *
When Zion nosed her awake, Maya’s first realization was that her head didn’t hurt very much. The second was that she’d slept all night.
Zion’s blue eyes bored into hers. “Okay, girl. I’m coming.” She had gone to bed earlier than usual, so she could understand Zion’s need to go out. Maya made quick use of the bathroom, then got dressed. She had slept in her underwear in lieu of having pajamas. After taking another moment to tie up her boots, she carefully opened the door.
Zion eased past her as if anxious to go out. She stopped abruptly when she found Doug stretched out on the sofa, asleep.
Why on earth hadn’t he used the other bedroom? He must have been down for the count because he didn’t stir as she slipped into her coat, then quietly opened the door. Again, Zion was out and trotting down the hall before she could blink.
“Okay, okay.” She lengthened her stride. “I’m coming.”
Dawn was just beginning to break over the horizon as she stepped outside. Remembering the incident last night made her scan the area for a long moment before following Zion around the corner of the building.
Early winter mornings on the ranch were usually quiet, and she was surprised to find the city wasn’t much different. For once, she didn’t notice anything amiss.
Zion did her business, then trotted back to her side. Maya knew the dog loved to play in the snow, but since they’d likely be out searching for Emily again, she didn’t take the time now.
“Come, Zion,” she said, heading for the door.
When she opened the door to the suite, she found Doug in the act of putting his coat on. “Where are you going?” she asked. “Did you get a lead on Emily?”
“No, I was coming to find you.” He looked cranky, and she found his expression strangely cute. “You’re not supposed to go outside alone, remember?”
She had forgotten. “I’m fine with Zion.”
He scowled as he took his coat off. “I’ll make coffee.”
“Sounds good to me. Sorry I woke you.” She glanced at Zion. “Getting a full night of sleep helped. I feel much better this morning.”
“Glad to hear it.” He poured water into the four-cup coffeemaker, then leaned against the counter. “I submitted a search warrant request for Nolan’s phone and debit card records. Hopefully, we can get those first thing.”
“That’s progress,” she admitted. “What about your other parole? Cortez?”
“He’s in jail,” Doug admitted. “Which is probably why the parole officer didn’t call me back. So we only have Nolan for now, although I went through the other eight names before I conked out. Only one other guy stood out as a strong possibility; his name is Manuel Cartega.” When she didn’t react to the name, he added, “I discovered his girlfriend was a member of the Robles drug cartel. I found Rosita’s death certificate and an article that described how she overdosed on drugs. Not sure why that would be my fault, but he could still be out here seeking revenge by grabbing Emily.”
She was impressed. “That sounds promising. Any idea where Manuel is now?”
“No, I tried to keep working, but the screen kept going blurry. I planned to take a thirty-minute nap, but that was four and a half hours ago.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “That sofa isn’t as comfy as it looks.”
“You should have gone to bed. You need your strength if we’re going to find Emily,” she scolded.
“You know as well as I do we’re running out of time.” His green gaze turned serious. “I’m worried that we haven’t heard from these guys. Makes me think they’ve taken Emily across state lines. Maybe even across the country.”
She knew what he was most afraid of. That these guys would use Emily in some sort of sex-trafficking operation.
“We’re going to find her,” she said firmly. “All we need is a place to start. Zion’s nose hasn’t failed me yet.”
“Good to know,” Doug murmured, turning to pour two mugs of coffee. “Let’s order breakfast and draw up a game plan. I’ll call my boss. He’s an hour ahead of us and will likely be in the office soon. I want him to help get my requested search warrants approved.”
“That’s step one of your game plan,” she teased, sipping her coffee. “Let me guess, you also want to talk to Eric Hine and Craig Olsen.”
“Yes. Both men if possible.” He glanced at Zion. “If your K9 doesn’t alert on Emily’s scent, I’ll be more inclined to believe they’re not involved.”
That made sense. “Okay, what’s step three?”
“That depends on the search warrants,” he admitted. He pulled out his phone. “I’ll start making calls to my boss and to the parole officer overseeing Manuel Cartega. If you wouldn’t mind ordering breakfast from room service? I’d love steak and eggs over easy with toast and hash brown potatoes.”
“No problem.” She picked up the menu, then reached for the phone. Doug headed into the bedroom he hadn’t used last night to make his calls.
She ordered breakfast, then fed Zion. Her K9 was wide awake and raring to go. “Soon, Zion,” she promised. “We’ll be playing our game soon.”
Zion’s curled tail waved back and forth as if in understanding.
Doug was gone for so long she began to wonder if he’d fallen asleep. But then he emerged clean shaven and hair damp from a shower. She grimaced, wishing she’d thought to do the same.
There was a knock at the door. Doug gestured for her and Zion to move to the side, then used the peephole to verify their meals had arrived. He dug out some cash, then opened the door.
“Thanks,” he said. The young woman accepted the cash and hurried away. He glanced at her when setting the tray on the table. “I’ve been in a few situations where the room service clerk was armed and not a room service delivery person at all.”
She lifted a brow. “You’re not kidding.”
“Nope. One guy fired shots through the door, not unlike what happened at Emily’s place.” He pulled out a chair for her. “I’d love for you to say grace.”
“Ah, sure.” She was surprised and pleased he’d asked. As she had last night, she took his hand in hers. “Lord Jesus, we thank You for this food You’ve blessed us with. As we continue to search for Emily, grant us the strength, wisdom, and courage to find her. Amen.”
“Amen,” he responded without hesitation. “I will gladly take all the strength the Lord will provide.”
“Me too.” She glanced at Zion who had finished eating and was stretched out between her and Doug, her blue eyes watching them closely. “Zion’s ready when we are.”
“Great.” He dug into his breakfast with enthusiasm. “I know I keep saying this, but I’m grateful for your help.”
“Yeah, you can stop now,” she teased. “This is what we do. I’d probably be involved even if you hadn’t accosted me outside the vet clinic.”
He winced. “I didn’t accost you,” he protested. “But speaking of the clinic, we might want to pick up my SUV at some point. I know you need the extra gear for Zion, but that vehicle of yours announces your presence everywhere we go.”
“Maybe later.” He had a point about announcing her presence, but her K9’s safety was more important. “I can call Chase to get an unlabeled K9 vehicle, but that will take time. The ranch is a solid forty minutes outside of town. Let’s focus on these early interviews and go from there.”
He hesitated, then nodded. “Okay. But a few hours to get an unmarked vehicle is worth it for you to be safe.”
She flushed and hoped he wouldn’t notice. “We’ll be together, so I’m not worried.”
The minute they finished eating, they prepared to hit the road. The hour was still relatively early, not quite eight o’clock in the morning, but she knew Doug didn’t care. They’d agreed to head to Craig Olsen’s place first as he was the one who allegedly had the Silverado stolen right out from beneath him.
After getting Zion settled in the back, she slid in behind the wheel. Doug had the map of the city up on his laptop. “The house Craig shares with his wife, Doreen is on the east side of town.”
She glanced over at the screen, then nodded. “I need to fill the tank with gas, first. Then we’ll head over.”
“I’ll take care of that for you,” Doug said.
She wondered if he’d ever stop trying to pay for her services. It was on the tip of her tongue to mention the inheritance she and her siblings had been granted after her parents’ death but stopped herself. Her financial situation wasn’t any of his business.
Besides, she couldn’t quite forget the flash of greedy anger in Blaine’s eyes when he’d realized he wouldn’t get a dime of that money. Doug didn’t seem to be the type swayed by wealth, but she didn’t even want to go there.
What was the point anyway? As soon as they found Emily, he’d buy a one-way ticket out of Cody to head home.
And she wasn’t leaving the ranch under any circumstances.
When Doug finished filling her tank, she drove through the quiet streets of the city. Residents were beginning to stir now, heading off to work or school. She and Chase had encouraged Kendra to finish her last year of high school in person, but Kendra had asked to complete her courses online instead.
Maya had been so happy Kendra had become close to Emily these past few weeks. She couldn’t imagine how Kendra would respond to losing a close friend and made a silent vow to do everything possible to find Doug’s sister.
“It’s the third house on the right,” Doug said. “I see smoke coming from the chimney, so someone is up.”
“A lot of folks have wood-burning stoves,” she said, pulling into the driveway. “They burn all night.”
Doug nodded. “I know, but there’s a faint light in the kitchen.” He glanced at her. “I’ll take the lead on asking questions. You give Zion the search command. If she alerts anywhere near the property, I’ll push my way inside.”
“Without a warrant?” When he simply shrugged, she sighed. “Okay. Let’s do it.”
She released Zion from the rear hatch. Knowing they wouldn’t be outside for long, she didn’t bother with the booties. “Are you ready?” she asked with excitement. “Are you ready to work?”
Zion’s tail wagged, and the dog lifted her snout to the air. She gave her a sip of water, then offered Emily’s socks for another sniff. Zion looked up at her as if to say, Yes, I remember . “Search. Search for Emily.”
Her K9 sniffed the air, then lowered her nose to the ground. Maya closed the rear hatch and watched as Zion worked. Doug went up to the door and knocked.
A tired-looking woman answered the door. “Who are you?”
“Federal Agent Doug Bridges.” He flashed his badge. “I need to speak to Craig Olsen.”
“Craig!” The woman’s tired expression turned angry. “Craig! The federal government is here!”
“What in the...” The guy stopped abruptly when he saw Maya and Zion.
“Are you Craig Olsen?” Doug asked. “You were in possession of a Silverado truck that was stolen?”
“Ah, yeah.” To Maya’s eye, Craig looked very nervous. “Why? Is that a federal crime now?”
Zion was doing her zigzag pattern around the front yard, making her way up to the front door. Craig stared at the dog sniffing his clothing as if frozen with fear.
Then Zion turned in a circle, sat directly in front of the partially open doorway, and looked over at Maya.
Zion had alerted on Emily’s scent!