Chapter 29
Sadie’s night vision goggles transformed the main building’s corrugated wooden siding into an eerie green tableau. Windows had been boarded over with plywood that bore no recent maintenance, creating the perfect illusion of total abandonment.
Somehow, she had imagined that they would find something more refined. She snorted. What the fuck was I thinking? Just because they called it rebalancing, it’s still a place to get rid of a guest who threatened their lucrative business.
As they drew closer, details emerged that spoke to recent use. Fresh tire tracks dug into the packed dirt around the front.
“Motion sensors along the perimeter,” Todd whispered, his voice barely audible through their comms as he studied the building’s approaches. “But they’re focused on vehicle access, not foot traffic. Whoever designed this security assumed threats would come by road.”
Sadie blew out a breath. Someone had taken great care to make this place appear derelict while maintaining the infrastructure necessary for their purposes.
She nodded, finding that speaking required more effort than she would have liked.
She was desperate to have her body purge the experimental drugs that were still wreaking havoc on her coordination, making each step a conscious decision rather than an automatic movement.
But adrenaline and righteous fury were potent antidotes to pharmaceutical manipulation, and the thought of finding survivors drove her forward despite her body’s protests.
They approached from the structure’s blind side, using shadows cast by the three-quarter moon to mask their movement. The building’s rear entrance was secured with a padlock that looked new, its gleaming chrome surface contrasting with the rust-stained doorframe.
Todd’s lock picks made quick work of the mechanism, the soft click of success barely audible above the desert wind. The door swung open on hinges that had been recently oiled.
The interior was a study in contrasts that made her stomach clench with horror.
While the exterior maintained its facade of abandonment, someone had invested resources in making the inside functional.
LED lighting strips provided harsh illumination.
Todd began relaying the information to LSIMT as well as recording what they were staring at.
Sadie forced herself to move forward, her body acting on sheer will and determination alone.
There was only one other door, and as she turned toward Todd, she waited until he could open the padlock on the handle.
The final lock yielded to Todd’s expertise with a clang that seemed to echo through the corridor like a gunshot.
When it swung open, Sadie’s heart nearly stopped as a sharp intake of breath clenched her lungs.
She could see a figure huddled on the cot, auburn hair catching the harsh lighting in a way that sent recognition crashing through her chest like a physical blow.
The woman inside looked like a shadow of the frightened but determined reporter who’d sought her help just a day ago.
Her face was pale, her clothes dirty, and her eyes wide with fear.
“Melinda,” Sadie whispered, her voice breaking with a mixture of relief and horror. “You’re alive.”
As the door swung open, Melinda’s head jerked up with the terrified alertness of someone who’d learned to expect only horror from approaching footsteps.
“Melinda, it’s me,” Sadie said softly, pulling off her night vision goggles so the other woman could see her face clearly. “It’s Sadie. We’re here to get you out.”
She rushed forward as recognition dawned in Melinda’s eyes, immediately followed by tears that spoke to relief too profound for words.
She launched herself from the cot with what remained of her strength, falling into Sadie’s arms with the desperate gratitude of someone who’d given up hope of rescue.
“They didn’t kill me,” Melinda sobbed against Sadie’s shoulder, her words muffled by emotion and exhaustion. “They were going to, but they couldn’t just make me disappear like the others. I’m a reporter. People know where I went, and my editor would ask questions.”
Sadie held her tighter, feeling the other woman’s body shake from the trauma. “You’re safe now. We’re getting you out of here.”
“They were arranging an accident,” Melinda continued, her voice gaining strength as the reality of rescue began to penetrate her shocked mind.
“I overheard them planning it. They were going to have someone rent a car using my identification, then crash it somewhere remote. My body would be put inside afterward to make it look like I’d left the spa and died in a tragic accident during my drive home. ”
The clinical precision of the planned murder sent a shiver down Sadie’s spine.
Dr. Selinski’s sophisticated operation wasn’t just systematic.
He was capable of manufacturing evidence and manipulating authorities to cover their tracks.
How many other “accidents” had they orchestrated over the years?
She thought of Natalia and how someone using her credentials to fly back to Italy after they had probably killed her here now seemed more like a possibility.
Todd appeared beside them, his expression grim as he processed the implications of what Melinda had revealed. “We need to move. If they’re planning to stage your death, they might come back tonight to finalize the arrangements.”
But as they helped Melinda to her feet, supporting her weight between them, she grabbed Sadie’s arm with sudden urgency.
“There are bodies buried here,” she whispered, her voice carrying a haunted quality. “I heard them talking when they first thought they’d just kill me here.”
The words hit Sadie, confirming her worst fears about the spa’s operation. They not only discovered evidence of unauthorized medical experiments but also the elimination of witnesses who could expose their crimes.
“How many?” Todd asked, though his voice suggested he wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer.
“I don’t know,” Melinda replied, a tear staining her cheek. “But as they were driving me here, I looked around to see if I could find a way to escape. There’s a section behind the building where the ground looks disturbed.”
Todd was already talking to his communication device, transmitting coordinates and intelligence to their team back in Montana. “Landon, we need a federal response immediately. We may have found evidence of multiple homicides, and we have a surviving witness.”
Through their earpieces, they could hear the organized chaos of LSIMT coordinating with federal authorities.
“FBI tactical team was on stand-by and is now en route,” Landon said through their comms with professional efficiency. “ETA twenty minutes to your location. Local law enforcement is being mobilized to secure Serenity Dunes before anyone else can disappear.”
“We’re heading to rendezvous. Let Cole know we have an extra passenger who will also need medical care when we get to Phoenix.”
As they helped Melinda toward the exit, Sadie felt something shift inside her chest. They’d found proof, rescued a survivor, and ensured that Dr. Selinski’s rejuvenating spa would be permanently shut down.
Even though justice was coming, it was arriving too late for the women whose bodies lay in unmarked graves beneath the desert stars.
At least Melinda and I made it, she thought, tightening her grip on the reporter’s hand as they emerged into the clean night air. We survived to tell the truth about what happened here.
As they walked outside, she knew the night, and the nightmare wasn’t over until they were safely away from Serenity Dunes.