Chapter 37
Just as Charliewas digging into the metadata on the photo, the message alert on her tablet pinged.
Hello Charlie
This was it—the contact she’d been expecting. Her heart in her throat, she did as the message from “unknown” said.
We are watching you. Do everything we say and the young ones won’t be hurt.
We. Was it the Chechens and Vasily who were texting her? Did that mean the kids hadn’t been hurt up to this point? Were they fine? God, she hoped and prayed so.
What do you want? Just let them go and we can talk.
She had to try. But of course that went nowhere. Not even a laughing emoji came in response.
It is unfortunate that April will not cooperate, they texted instead. So you are next.
Cooperate with what, blackmail?
April had declared that she wasn’t going to give in to blackmail—that she’d die first. She probably hadn’t realized that Vasily would find a workaround.
I have no say in what April does, she texted them. Is this about the perilium? She’ll never give up this mountain for mining. Maybe if they understood that their pursuit of Fire Peak was pointless, they’d move on. There must be perilium somewhere else. Maybe we can help you find it.
They clearly didn’t think much of that suggestion.
We will claim what we need.April is an obstacle.
A chill swept through Charlie’s body. If they wanted her to get rid of April somehow…Jesus. She refused to hurt anyone. But if they had Hailey, what then?
With shaking hands, she texted back, dreading the answer, What do you want from me?
When it finally came, she went cold.
First, disable the smoke alarm system. Then standby for more instructions. Do not call for help. If you fail in this, the young ones will know our wrath.
“Oh sure, I know that rig,”Gunnar told Nick after he’d described the Dodge in the surveillance video. “It’s mine. It’s a rental. I make bank off that thing.”
“Who’s currently renting it?”
“Some Russian guy. Paid me in cash, said his name but I don’t speak Russian so it didn’t stick.”
Nick’s pulse was racing now. “Any idea where he’s staying, or what direction he headed? Anything that might help to locate him?”
Gunnar shook his head. “Not a clue. Wait. Something odd. Ruth Chilkoot drove in right when he was leaving.” He colored just a little bit. Nick knew perfectly well that he had a crush on Ruth, but this wasn’t the time to mention it. “She looked scared when she saw him, and said she hoped he didn’t hurt anyone with that rig.”
So there was a Chilkoot connection after all. But he didn’t have time to go all the way out there…unless that was where Hailey and Elias were being kept? If Charlie was right and the photo was faked, they could be anywhere, Chilkoot territory included.
“Gunnar, do you have a way to get in touch with Ruth? Maybe you know her schedule, or…”
The mechanic’s color deepened further. “Why would?—”
“You have a crush on her. Come on.” Nick drilled him with his most forceful stare. “It’s important. Whoever has that truck has my daughter. Ruth might know something.”
Gunnar’s entire demeanor shifted, turning dead serious. “She stops at the general store on Thursdays because that’s when the fresh fruit shipment comes. She loves those little clementine oranges.” He glanced at his wristwatch. “Should be there right now. Want me to take you?”
“I got it. Thanks.”
“Give a shout if you need more help.”
Two offers of help right off the bat. That felt good.
At the general store, he breathed a huge sigh of relief when he spotted Ruth Chilkoot in her brown homespun dress, mud boots, and a bright red scarf tied around her neck. She was in her mid-twenties, but came across as much more mature than that, probably because she took care of so many children.
As he approached her, she backed away from the counter, clutching her sack of tiny oranges. “I don’t know anything,” she stammered. “I…I have to go.”
That settled it. She knew something.
Kathy shot him a fierce glare. “Don’t you come in here scaring my customers.”
He held up his hands in a “mean no harm” gesture. “I’m not the scary one. Right, Ruth?”
With her chin propped on the oranges, eyes wide, she nodded. Then, between the rack of rental videos and a Gatorade display, she burst into tears. After a glance at Kathy, who waved her permission, he took her by the elbow and steered her outside.
“What’s going on?” he asked as gently as he could manage. “Why are you so scared?”
“You’re…you’re the police.” Her voice wavered between fear and worry. “We had so much trouble from the FBI.”
Oh lord. Still, after all this time, people thought he was the law.
“I’m not the police. I promise you. I’m just a guy whose daughter is missing. She and Elias have gotten close. They might be together and I’m trying to figure out where. That’s it.” He held up his hand as if making a vow. “If you know anything, I’d be so grateful if you could share. I’m very worried about both of them.”
“I don’t know.” She shook her head, her eyes wide and teary.
“Then why did you start crying when you saw me?”
“Because of that Russian man. He came and said we owed him because of some agreement he made with Luke. He said we’d better stay out of his way. He said you and Charlie were going to help him.”
“Help him? I’m not helping him do a fu…” He remembered that Chilkoots didn’t swear. “Do anything. I just want my daughter back. Do you have any idea where he might have taken Hailey and Elias? Think, Ruth. Please.”
Ruth gnawed at her lower lip, looking so anxious he worried she might cry again. “I don’t know. I don’t know who he is. He seemed so crazy.”
“Did he say anything that might give a clue? Please.”
“Well, he mentioned Solomon. He said Solomon owed him too. That’s all I know. Please, I hope you find them. I have to get back to the kids.”
Ruth hurried off to her ancient GMC truck, and gunned it down the road, enveloping him in a cloud of dust.
Solomon. So he was involved. But hadn’t Pinky said that Vasily and Solomon hated each other? Were they working together now?
But that made no sense. Why would Solomon want him to spy on the Chechens if he and Vasily were already working together? Maybe they didn’t trust each other.
He was about to head for his own truck, but he remembered his promise to Charlie, and went back inside to check his phone. Charlie still hadn’t texted him back. He called her, praying he didn’t get her voice mail or a signal too scratchy to understand.
She answered. “Hi. Can’t talk.” The tension in her voice sent up a hundred red flares.
“What’s going on?”
“It’s…shit. They’ve been in contact. They have Hailey, but don’t worry about it. I’m going to take care of it. I’ll do what they want, then they’ll let her go.”
He didn’t like the sound of that. “What do they want?”
“It’s…it’s better if you don’t know.”
“Charlie. Listen to me. Don’t do anything illegal. Promise me.”
“I can’t promise that, Nick. I’m sorry.”
He growled deep in his throat. If only he could be in two places at once. Charlie shouldn’t be on her own with this nightmare. “I think Solomon is involved. I’m headed for his camper now.”
“No,” she said sharply.
“I’ll be careful. I know what I’m doing.”
“No, I mean, if Solomon has them, it’s probably at his mining claim. I’ve geolocated the signal to somewhere in the forest east of town. They’re using a sat phone.”
“Headed there now. Don’t do anything rash until I can do my thing. Understand?”
“I have to. There’s no time. Shit. I have to go.”
Her voice rose in panic, and he wondered if she’d gotten another message from the kidnappers.
“Nick…I wish things could have been different. I’m sorry. Goodbye.”
With a note of finality, she ended the call.
His heart pounded as he raced out of the store. He could read between the lines of what she was saying. Whatever they wanted her to do, whatever she’d agreed to do, was against the law. She was making that choice because of Hailey.
His heart seemed to expand inside his chest. Charlie was protecting his daughter. Just as she’d tried to protect her father for years, and all the nonprofits and other organizations she’d funded.
All this time, part of him had held onto a tiny bit of judgment about her. Charlie the Outlaw, skirting laws, living on the edge. He’d been drawn to her anyway. Fallen for her. Admired her.
But that wasn’t it, he saw now. She wasn’t so much a law-flouter as a justice-seeker, someone who tried to balance the scales and stand up for people who couldn’t do it themselves.
He loved her. All of her. And he didn’t want her to sacrifice her future—or their future together—if he could possibly help it.
The only thing he could do about it was find Hailey and get her away from Vasily. Then he’d grab Charlie and tell her how he felt. No holding back. No secrecy, no cards hidden, just him and his heart and his feelings.