Chapter 15
FIFTEEN
The drive to headquarters was delayed because of traffic.
A full team meeting had been called, and Emmett had lab results from their search of the house Derek Rolls had been linked to.
Maren kept an eye out for any signs of trouble as Colt maneuvered the SUV through the line of vehicles clogging the road.
She stared at the drivers of the other vehicles, not seeing anyone paying them any attention.
Undoubtedly, the other drivers were only worried about the report they had to write for their jobs, the columns that needed balancing or the children that needed tending to, while she was consumed with worry for her sister, for Mia, for Colt and for herself…
Steve Loren had been killed and a DEA agent shot.
She wasn’t sure what she and Colt had walked into or who had set them up.
There were so many unknown variables that made knowing whom to trust difficult.
When they arrived at the task force headquarters, Colt parked, and they released Haven and Rusk from the back of the SUV, then hurried into the training center to drop off the dogs. The tightness in her chest made her breathing shallow.
“Take it easy.” Colt placed a hand on the small of her back as they headed upstairs to the conference room.
The concern in his voice clearly indicated she wasn’t very good at hiding her nerves. For some unfathomable reason, she took comfort in his touch. He steadied her. Grounded her. Kept the anxiousness from becoming too overwhelming.
All the task force members were gathered around the conference room table, including their tech, Eva Gomez.
Maren was surprised to see the wealthy benefactor of the task force, Dodger Andrews, present and seated at the head of the table.
As always, he wore a fleece vest despite the heat outside and plain-front khaki slacks.
His thick gray hair looked as if he’d run his hand through it in agitation.
Did his apparent unease mean that it was Mia’s DNA on the hand towel Haven had alerted on?
A pang of sorrow zipped through Maren and burned the back of her throat. Mia had been a young innocent woman with her life ahead of her and her unborn child.
She and Colt took empty seats near the door. Maren leaned over toward Colt to say, “The older gentleman sitting at the head of the table is Dodger Andrews. He funded the task force. Mia is his granddaughter.”
Colt whispered back, “I can only imagine how heartbreaking this is for him.”
Maren didn’t need to imagine, she was living it with every moment that her sister remained missing.
Opal was out there somewhere, trying to evade Shadow and his network of minions.
Understanding the kind of fear Opal had to be experiencing had Maren wishing with all her might she could wrap her arms around her sister to comfort her, to protect her and bring her home.
“Any word yet from Vinnie?” Maren whispered the question to Colt, though she knew he’d tell her the minute he heard anything.
He shook his head. His green-gold eyes held sympathy in their depths.
Emmett strode to the front of the room, drawing her attention away from Colt.
“I have news regarding the evidence collected by Maren and her partner, Haven,” Emmett told the group.
All eyes turned to Maren. She smiled slightly and gave a nod to her boss. She hoped she appeared calm and collected, because inside, her stomach was cramping with anticipation.
“The hand towel found in the bathtub had DNA that matched that of Nina Olson.”
Maren sucked in a sharp breath. Nina’s body had been recovered five months before the task force was formed.
The seventeen-year-old from Colorado Springs had been missing for ten months but hadn’t been reported missing by anyone.
As far as the authorities could tell, Nina had willingly left her home so no one in her life had suspected foul play.
Until her body was discovered. The pathology on her remains showed she’d recently given birth prior to her death.
But so far, law enforcement hadn’t been able to identify her baby’s father or the location of her baby.
They theorized the infant had been adopted through illegal channels they still hadn’t uncovered.
The news that the DNA matched Nina was a blow but also a blessing to Maren.
She hated to think of the young woman suffering, but not finding any of Mia’s DNA still gave them hope that the young woman, due to give birth in four months, was alive. And possibly had never been at the dilapidated house they’d searched earlier.
Dodger Andrews rose to address the group. “I want to thank you all for your hard work. I know you’ve been looking nonstop for Mia. Her family appreciates it.” A spasm of pain crossed his features. “It’s hard to not lose hope.”
A murmur went through the room as people voiced their heartfelt sentiments.
“We can’t lose hope,” Lizzie said.
“She isn’t close to her due date,” Autumn pointed out. “They won’t do anything to her—” She broke off with a grimace.
Maren didn’t need to hear the rest of her colleague’s words to know Autumn was going to say those who were holding Mia wouldn’t harm her until after the baby was born. That seemed to be these awful people’s pattern.
Emmett held up a hand. “If you all will join me in a prayer for protection for Mia and any other young women who are being held hostage by this baby smuggling ring.”
Agreement swept across the room.
Maren bowed her head and closed her eyes. Colt’s fingers curled around her own. She squeezed tight as Emmett lifted up a prayer.
“Dear Lord, we come before You collectively asking for Your sovereignty and Your protection over Mia Andrews and any other young women who have been preyed upon by this evil that has invaded our state. Please show us the way. Guide our steps and lead us to victory. In Your Son Jesus’s name, amen.”
Maren murmured an amen and heard Colt do the same along with others around the room.
“Maren,” Emmett said, drawing her attention. “Tell us how your investigation into your sister’s disappearance is going.”
Maren’s stomach knotted. Colt gave her hand a squeeze before releasing his hold on her. She flexed her fingers, wishing she could hang on to him.
Slowly, she rose. “So far we know that the person responsible for my sister needing to disappear goes by the moniker of Shadow. We have no ID on this individual. He runs a large drug organization within our state.” She gestured to Colt.
“Agent Dawson here is with the DEA,” she said for Dodger’s sake.
“He has been working diligently to bring down this drug trafficker. However, Shadow has been elusive and seems to always be one step ahead of law enforcement’s efforts.
” Outrage and speculation raced through the room.
Maren waited a beat for the others to quiet down before she continued, “Somehow, my twin sister became involved with one of Shadow’s top trusted men. But when she and her romantic partner wanted out of the drug trade, he was killed. My sister went on the run.”
Taking a breath, she fought to keep her pulse from racing.
“I’ve been mistaken, several times, for Opal.
For obvious reasons,” she said with a wry grimace.
“But after the arrest of these last two assailants, I feel it’s possible Shadow is now aware I’m not Opal, and will stop fixating on me and turn his focus toward finding Opal.
We’re doing everything we can to find her first.”
“I heard you have a CI in custody.” This from Trevor who addressed Colt.
Colt rose from his seat. “We did. Unfortunately, the safe house where he was stashed was hit and he was killed. A DEA agent was wounded. My CI is the one who led me to Barren Valley Clinic where I ran into Maren. But Opal slipped away.”
“We also have another source close to my sister who has reached out to her. We are waiting for Opal to respond,” Maren told the group.
“Aren’t you afraid Shadow’s men will get to this source?” asked Melody.
“We are,” Maren replied, her gut churching with anxiety.
“The US Marshals have him in custody. As far as we know, they have not been compromised. But according to Agent Dawson’s now deceased CI, Shadow has informants in all areas of law enforcement.
So, we can’t be sure.” Her gaze roamed over the room as an insidious suspicion reared up.
Could one of these people be a mole for Shadow?
No. She couldn’t think that. Emmett had vetted each and every one of the task force members. She trusted Emmett, relied on his judgment. She trusted her colleagues. She wouldn’t let doubt and misgivings have any place in her mind.
“Does your missing sister have anything to do with the task force’s investigation into the illegal baby smuggling ring?” Dodger asked.
Maren replied, “It’s possible that Opal was targeted and groomed by Dr. Rolls just like another pregnant woman, Jennifer, was.
Our only link is that Opal was at a clinic where Rolls once worked, but perhaps he also gave her a business card for another free clinic that she may decide to surreptitiously visit the longer she’s in hiding. ”
“If nothing else, we do know Shadow is very plugged in to the criminal underworld within Colorado,” Colt added. “He may know something useful. Which is another reason we are trying to find and arrest him.”
“The task force will be concentrating on finding Mia and breaking up this baby smuggling ring.” Emmett held Maren’s gaze. “Stay on finding your sister and arresting Shadow. If you need anything from the task force, please let us know.”
“I appreciate that, Emmett.” Maren couldn’t begin to express her gratitude.
Her loyalty was to the task force, but her sister was family. Finding her sister was her priority. And if there was a possibility that bringing down Shadow would help the task force in their mission, then she had to seize the opportunity. “You have no idea how grateful I am.”