Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
A gent Ross pulled Connor aside, away from all the other men forming a plan to canvas the ranch.
“I can tell you’re distracted, but this team needs your expertise right now. The faster we find these two missing men, the faster you can find out what happened to Lacy.”
“And Ferd. She’s my half-sister.” If anything happened to her, Dad might blame him.
While he was pretty sure his father wouldn’t leave, he didn’t want any distance there. He’d lost enough with his mother.
“I get it. I’d be distracted too. My sisters mean the world to me.”
Lacy wasn’t anywhere near his sister, but there wasn’t a need to correct the man. He wasn’t ready to announce his feelings in front of everyone, especially before he did so with Lacy.
He nodded his agreement and headed back over to the team. Trent, the Special Agent in Charge was splitting men up and giving them quadrants to look. When he mentioned the cabins, Connor had to step forward and speak up.
“I don’t mind if you look through them, but don’t leave a hint of your presence. These guests have had every privacy violated and I refuse to let them feel like their private homes have been violated again. I understand the need to search, but please be mindful of the people whose homes you are searching.” He held up his hand to defer back to Trent.
“Understood, thank you. My men will be careful and cognizant.” He continued splitting men and issuing orders.
Connor again wished he’d taken the time to charge his phone. A rookie mistake. If he had that one thing, he could check where Lacy’s phone was and know if she was okay or not. He’d know where she was hidden. That might even tell them where to look for the last two men if they had her, and he hoped they didn’t.
“It’s been quiet on the ranch for the last twenty-five minutes.” Trent raised his voice. “Four of the six men have been captured and no one has returned to the cars they abandoned at the road. Edwyn tells me he is in contact with the security team, and no one has crossed the perimeter of the grounds, at least, not where there are cameras. I have been told there are no cameras in some areas though, so I’ll send teams to those next.”
Since the Homestead was so new, they hadn’t put up cameras there yet. Nadine had been flying her drone over the area at random times, but that didn’t make a consistent net like the cameras did. In most cases, the reason they didn’t have cameras was because there were no trees nearby. Without cover, most predators—animal or human—avoided those spots.
He’d add cameras over there after this. That way, he’d know in an instant that all those living over there were fine. He stood back as Junior and Sam were sent on ATV to check two sections of fence, one being the area connected to the Homestead.
“Check the homes last. If anyone was there who shouldn’t be, someone would’ve called security by now,” Trent said as he waved them off.
That left Connor, Ross, and Trent still standing there. “Connor, you know this place better than anyone. I want you to think about places you would specifically hide if you wanted to evade being seen.”
The pastures were too wide-open. While there were random groups of trees and some areas that had lots of trees outside the pasture, within them, the trees were sparce providing almost no cover. The buildings were populated, that posed a threat to anyone looking to hide. Though, he had to admit being behind closed doors was a draw. Wyoming in winter wasn’t a hospitable climate to spend great amounts of time outside. The dog kennels would provide shelter, but the dogs themselves were a bigger risk than the humans.
“If I wanted to hide on Wayside land and I didn’t want to be found, plus have some protection from the elements, I’d hide in the little chapel.” It was rarely used, except on Sundays. The door was always unlocked. The only drawback was the windows were dark yellow stained glass to keep the building private. If anyone was inside, there was no way to see them without risking injury because anyone inside could see out.
“Are there cameras that are close to it?” Trent asked.
He never thought the chapel needed to be secured. It wasn’t near any of the homes or barns and it was small. The only other shed out there was filled with hats where new guests could go to pick out their very own cowboy hat. That building was kept locked though. It was one of the few buildings onsite that was always secured because the wares were owned by a man in town, not Connor.
“No. The closest is the barn and if someone kept close to the barn, they could easily get around the cameras. Assuming they know where the cameras are.” And most people didn’t know they were there.
“Do you think Viceroy would know about them?” Trent crossed his arms and waited for an answer.
Enough of Viceroy’s men had been on Wayside land when they’d broken in before that it was likely they knew of the cameras, if not where they were. Since they informed guests that the cameras were there and generally where they were, there was a chance that when Dee was captured, she could’ve told Viceroy’s wife where the cameras were. She was drugged and there was no way to know what she said.
“It’s possible, though not likely.” Dee had no reason to know the location of every single camera.
“Humor me. If I was a high-level criminal looking to avoid prison, I’d assume there were cameras everywhere. What you’re telling me is that it is possible the two missing men could be in that church. Right?”
“It seems the most plausible place. Though, I doubt they would’ve known to go there. They probably found it by accident. We leave it unlocked. There are candles and lighters inside for those who need that, and the temperature inside is kept at 65 degrees. Very comfortable as opposed to outside.”
“Agreed. While the others are looking on foot, let’s head there and see what we find. If there are candles lit that we can see from outside, we’ll know someone has been in there recently. They may be using them to warm the building up more.”
“Yeah, I purposely don’t leave a thermostat visible in there. If you warm it any more than that and more than a handful of people are in there, it gets too hot. We leave the temperature where it is for that reason. There are no pipes to freeze since there’s no plumbing to that building.”
Which meant they couldn’t stay there long if that’s where they’d chosen to hide. “What is the goal here? That chapel isn’t near an escape. I can’t imagine what they’re planning.” And he hoped it didn’t involve murdering anyone who opened the doors.
“If we find them inside, we’ll try to make contact with them first. The best and easiest way for this to shake out is for both of them to give themselves up. That doesn’t always happen, but it’s what we aim for. No one wants a shootout.”
Connor agreed but knowing what Viceroy was capable of doing and what he’d face in prison, he doubted this would be an easy thing to accomplish. “Do you have someone with you who is good at negotiating?” If not, he could try to find Ali, Eric’s wife. She’d been a military lawyer at one time and was good at negotiating.
“I do. We’ll try to get this situation neutralized quickly. I know all your people want to get home. Is there a way to control the temperature in there from anywhere else?” Trent looked optimistic.
“Yes, from my office. Why?”
“Let’s assume they are there. Since we know there are no pipes to freeze, turn off the heat to the chapel. They won’t freeze, but they’ll get mighty uncomfortable in there.”
“Like I said, there’s no water out there. If they light a fire to keep warm, all they have is the little fire extinguisher in the corner. That would have to be used almost immediately or the whole building will go up in flames.”
Dad had built that chapel for him from nothing. He’d laid the foundation and done all the work himself. That chapel had been the place where many of his guests had found Jesus. He didn’t want to see it destroyed by Viceroy.
“We should be able to see even small flames inside, even those from candles. If they light a fire any bigger than a candle, we’ll bust inside.”
He felt control slipping from his grasp. Did he want to hold onto a building and lose Viceroy or potentially lose the building and catch the man responsible for all the trouble? He held out his hand to Ross for his phone. “I’ll make the call. Brendon can do it.”
The shower had done what the hot coffee had not accomplished. Ferd’s clothes didn’t fit quite right, but well enough since Lacy’s own were still tumbling in the drier. She’d have to convince Connor to help her with Gloria’s electric bill if he didn’t already cover it.
Out in the living room, all the seats were taken, pillows were on the floor with people sitting on them, and everyone was talking together like they’d come for a party, not run for their lives. She headed for the kitchen to find Gloria.
By the sink, Gloria stood with Ferd, doing a mountain of dishes. She sang a tune Lacy didn’t know. Ferd joined in and she realized that there must be some history to the song. It was clear they’d both sang it together often.
“Oh, Lacy, you’re all finished. Feeling better?” Gloria dried her hands on a nearby towel.
“Yes, much. Thank you. I’m surprised everyone is still up. It’s almost one in the morning.”
Gloria peered around the corner. “Too worked up. Give them time. For a while, all they would talk about was their pasts, and how they were similar. Sometimes, it takes a situation like this to shake out all that ails you.”
Lacy nodded her agreement. It had taken getting captured by a trafficker herself to make her realize she loved Connor and wanted a second chance. She prayed that the conversations would be healing and not rip open old wounds.
“I did offer my room to Moira and Adam. He was looking pretty droopy. What a little trooper though.” Ferd grinned.
“Thank you for doing that. You’ve both gone so far above and beyond what we needed. Thank you.” She hid a yawn behind her hand.
As much as she wanted to find a corner to curl up and fall asleep, she had to find out what was going on at the ranch. When she knew everyone there was safe, she could get some rest.
“I put your phone on top of the fridge. It’s supposed to stay in the rice for a whole day. Don’t try to turn it on or you might wreck it,” Ferd said. “But you’re welcome to use either of ours.” Ferd pointed to the charger on the end of the counter where both devices were plugged in.
“Thanks. I tried calling Connor and left a message. I’m surprised he hasn’t called back.”
Ferd dried her hands and headed over to her phone. “I didn’t hear it but let me check.” She swiped up on the screen and frowned. “Nope, nothing. Sorry.”
“It’s not your fault. I feel like I shouldn’t rest until I reach someone over there. Mind if I try Brendon’s office?”
Ferd handed her the phone. “I think we’ll all be up for a while, so there’s no rush. When those ladies nod off, Mom and I will use her room. She doesn’t think Teddy will be back tonight.”
She hadn’t considered Teddy. He’d been such a rare sight lately. “Has he called?”
Gloria shook her head. “No, if he had, I’d have told him you were here. He called early on and told me not to worry. He also said not to call him because he needed his line open in case of an emergency.”
“Well, this isn’t an emergency, but Connor might be worried that it is.” She decided to call Teddy if she couldn’t reach Brendon. Though she would guess that he would remain at his desk until everything was back to order.
She pressed in the numbers, glad she’d forced herself to always dial numbers instead of using the preprogrammed contact list whenever possible. If she hadn’t, she wouldn’t remember them in an emergency.
“Hello,” Brendon answered right away.
“Brendon! This is Lacy.” She headed down a hall for a little privacy. “What is going on over there?”
“I could ask you the same. Where are you? Connor was in here and when he found out you’d left, he turned as white as a sheet. I’ve never seen him look so scared.”
“I’m okay. I got Ferd, myself, and all the guests in the cabins over to Gloria’s. We’re all here, fine, and accounted for.”
She heard scratching on the other end like taking notes with a pencil. “That’s good to know. Right now, we’re still missing two of the six men who came up here looking for trouble.”
“Four have been captured? What about the one with a rifle?” The one who’d been after them.
“No, he’s one of the two that are missing. None of them men we captured will give their names. None have identification on them. Thankfully, the FBI is here to manage them.”
“Oh, wow. Is Connor with you?” She wanted to hear him and know everyone was fine.
“No, he’s out with the agents. I just had to turn off the heat to the chapel. They think the men are hiding in there.”
Lacy groaned. That chapel was one of her favorite places. It was quiet and out of the way. When she needed a place to think, that was the best place. Even in the wind, there was a calm there. “They’d better not wreck it.”
“If they do, we’ll rebuild it. That place is too important. I say that even though I rarely go out there.” He snorted.
“Is Dee alright?” She had been in the lodge when Lacy had left with Ferd. Hopefully, she was still there and safe.
“Yes, she was playing checkers with Rebecca until about midnight when Rebecca wanted to go to bed. Now she’s here asleep on the couch.” His voice changed when he talked about her.
Did Connor’s do that when he talked about Lacy, or had they been friends for so long that he was merely used to her? Was the ‘cute love’ gone?
“Will you tell him that we’re okay?”
Brendon made a sound of agreement. “Yes. I’ll also let you know when it’s safe for you to come back. Now is not it. While they think the two are in the chapel, the truth is, they don’t know. There are a ton of men canvasing the whole ranch. If they see anyone wandering around, it might be dangerous.”
She shivered. “I’d rather wait. I want to talk to him, but I don’t want to get shot trying to talk to him.”
“That’s the best plan. His phone is charging in his office right now, so he won’t know where you are, but I’ll do my best to get the message to him. I’ve been in contact with Edwyn most of the night.”
“Thank you, Brendon. Not sure what we’d do without you as the command center.” She wondered if sometimes he felt like he wasn’t as much of an asset to the ranch as he was, simply because he was in a wheelchair. It wasn’t true, so she hoped he didn’t.
“Thanks. My strengths aren’t of much use in the snow, but I was able to give Nadine a break after she’d been watching cameras for twelve hours. At this point, you should probably get some rest. Finding these guys could take a long time, then they have to process them and ready them for transport. All that takes time. There’s nothing fast about bringing criminals to justice.”
That was true, but the peace would hopefully last a long time. She was more than ready for a little of that. She signed off with Brendon and headed for the living room where all the women were gathered. Some had been at Wayside for about six months, others had just arrived. Though they ate meals together every day, they didn’t always get together to talk. This was probably the first time they had done so.
“Lacy, how is it going over at Wayside?” Kelly, Sam’s fiancée looked over at her with wide eyes. “Is . . . everyone okay?” Kelly swallowed so hard Lacy heard it across the room.
“Yes, Brendon said everyone is okay over there.” She repeated the details about the two men as she sat cross-legged on the floor.
“If none of the four were Viceroy, that means he’s still out there,” Kelly said, pointing toward the nearest window.
“Brendon is watching the cameras, and all the men are out looking for them. We are as safe here as we can be.” Though she suddenly felt a lot less tired.
Kelly drew her knees up to her chin. “I think I’ll stay awake until all of them are caught. And if they aren’t, I don’t know what I’ll do. I’m not going back.”
Many heads slowly shook back and forth.
Lacy held up her hands, hoping to give them peace. “We’re all together and there are a dozen men hunting for them. Let’s keep praying and believing that this will work out for good.”
And Lord, forgive my own doubting heart.