1. Angel—Present Day #2
“Nothing new. Every year, a teenage girl who has black hair and brown eyes goes missing from a national park. After Daisy’s kidnapping, there was another one six weeks later at Mammoth Cave—an outlier that was likely rushed due to Daisy’s escape.
Then there was nothing for five years before they started up again.
One lone girl every year, Vinny. The same profile, and in the first two weeks of October.
If it’s tied to an international human trafficking ring, I don’t know how. It doesn’t make sense.”
Vinny taps the folder in front of me. “You might be seeing only one piece of the puzzle, Angel. The CIA took over the case for a reason; likely believing that these missing girls are only a small part of a much bigger operation. Dig a little deeper and then you might understand why they took an initial interest, then put it down here like yesterday’s trash.
When you do find out, what are you planning on doing about it? ”
“Until I have something to go on, I’m not sure there’s anything I can do.
Did you know that Daisy takes a trip every year in an attempt to catch this guy once he’s made his move?
” I glance at my watch and check the date.
“He will strike in as little as a week from now. We need something that gets us ahead of whoever is taking the girls. Not chasing our tails.”
“Then pray about it. Ask for guidance, Kid. You know as well as I do that God will lead you in the right direction if you’re paying attention.
” Vinny heads for the door, but before he leaves, he says, “Look, I didn’t just stop by to check up on you.
I came to tell you that I’m retiring. I thought you should hear it from me first.”
Vinny is in his mid-60s, but he’s got the physical condition of a man half his age. I never thought I’d see the day he called it quits. “Why? You love this job.”
“I do love this job, but as I told you earlier, the CIA has other plans for me, which come in the form of forced retirement. But it’s actually a good thing.
I never had a wife, kids, or anything meaningful besides my faith and your family to visit during the holidays.
The Conways are the only family I have because I let the job consume me.
It will do the same to you if you let it. ”
His smile is wan even though his eyes don’t look sad; just resigned.
“I figure I still have a few good years left in me. Why not make the most of them? Angel, if there’s one piece of advice I can leave you with, it’s that I highly recommend that you don’t make the same mistakes I made.
Believe it or not, there are women out there who understand what will be asked of you if you choose to continue working for the CIA.
You simply have to stick around long enough and give them the opportunity to show you.
If you get a second chance with Daisy—and I pray you do—don’t blow it.
The job isn’t worth it if you don’t have something, or someone, to live for. ”
My cell phone rings just as Vinny opens the door, Grace’s name popping up on my screen. I signal him to wait as I put the call on speaker. I need to say goodbye to him properly, but I also need to take this call.
“Hello, Grace.”
“Hello, Angel. I hope I’m not calling too late. I couldn’t sleep because the facts of Daisy’s case file keep running through my head.”
I glance at the clock and note that it’s nearly midnight. My life is a sad state of affairs if Vinny knew I’d still be in my office at this hour. “No. No. It’s okay. I’m still at work. I was just about to go home.”
“Liar,” Grace jokes. “But since you’re up, I sent you an email containing two maps of all the abductions.
They’re both marked with red dots where they took place and identical with one exception.
The original one that we’ve been staring at for the past two months looks like random locations without rhyme or reason. ”
It takes a second for me to open the email, but when it does, I turn the computer screen so Vinny and I both can see it.
“It does look random,” Vinny says. “The only thing that ties them together is that they’re all west of the Missouri River, except Mammoth Cave. That’s the anomaly that coincides with Sadie’s––I mean Daisy’s escape.”
“Who’s that?” Grace asks me, not realizing I wasn’t alone.
“Vinny. He’s a family friend and like an uncle to me. Don’t worry, he has the proper clearance and might have some extra insight,” I reply.
There’s a moment of pause before she says, “Vincent Delgado. Aren’t you supposed to be in Colombia?”
“You do your homework, Ms. Atwood,” he says, chuckling. “There’s a reason why you’re such an exceptional investigative journalist.”
“It’s Mrs. Renault now, but thank you for the compliment. Welcome aboard. As I was saying, the dots look random. But when you connect them, not so much. Every three abductions form a nearly perfect triangle. The second map shows the connections.”
My mouth drops open. It’s so simple and we’ve missed it all this time. “Great catch!”
Vinny points to the map. “The last two don’t have a third point.” He uses his fingers to touch the screen and zoom in. “If I were to make a guess, the next abduction will take place in Crater Lake National Park or Lassen Volcanic. Both have plenty of places to hide.”
“My thoughts exactly!” Grace exclaims.
I smile toward the heavens, thankful for the break in the case before I even had a chance to ask. The Lord knew what we needed when we needed it. “Since this is still technically CIA jurisdiction, I need to be involved.”
Grace chuckles. “I figured as much. Expect a call from Roger and go pack your bags. Which location should I tell him you’re going to?”
Vinny and I both look at each other and grin. Without even thinking about it, I say, “Crater Lake. My family is from that area, and I know it well. It’s practically considered my family’s backyard.”
I can hear the smile in Grace’s voice as well as the sarcasm when she says, “How fortuitous.”
When it comes to God’s timing, nothing happens by accident. “It’s not fortuitous, Grace. It’s kismet.”