Page 68 of Avenging Angel

Angel function checks the rifle, peering down the sights toward the floor and pulling the trigger until he hears the click. “Roger is on the phone with Director Finnegan, and Vinny is resting in one of the bunks while waiting for Kenneth to wake up.”

“Really? He’s still knocked out? I would have expected a man of his size to have stirred an hour ago. It took you about four hours, and Kenneth has at least 50 pounds on you.”

“Yeah, but I wasn’t already suffering blood loss from a bullet wound like he was, which is now stitched up like you wanted.”

I nod appreciatively. “I have so many questions, and we can’t wait for him to wake up. We have to go relieve Owen and Scott in an hour.”

Just then, Roger comes inside from the cold. His disheveled state is a testament to the toll this case is taking on all of us. And to think, I’ve been doing this alone for 15 years. It’s no wonder I’ve always been a step behind. Now I have a team, access to resources I never dreamed of, and more people working the case than ever before. Yet somehow, we’re all still stretched thin.

Angel reminds me to turn on my communication device since whatever Roger has to say is going to go out to the entire team.

“I just got off the phone with Jordan Conway. Brad Callahan waited until he had the cover of darkness before he managed to give your brothers the slip, Angel. They lost Brad on the north side of Fielder Mountain, where he apparently had an ATV stashed.”

“What? He could be anywhere within a hundred miles by morning!” I exclaim.

“That doesn’t count if he has a spare fuel can,” Owen says, chiming in.

Faith says, “I’ll call our parents and have them pack up gear for Jordan, Benjamin, and Seth. There’s no way they’re going to let Brad get away if they can help it. In a couple of hours, they’ll be tracking Brad with ATVs of their own.”

Angel doesn’t seem to agree with his sister’s assessment. “It won’t matter. If Brad knew he was being watched, which I suspect he did since he waited until nightfall to depart, then he’ll purposely lead them away.”

“It’s worth a shot,” I say. “There are three of them. Can’t they split up to cover more ground?”

“Mom and Dad will join them,” Faith says. “That makes five. Those are much better odds.”

Angel doesn’t need to look at me to feel my hopeful gaze, but he does anyway. “Fine, Faith. Call our parents and have them prep the Razors and cold-weather packs.”

Jeremy asks a question I hadn’t considered. “Guys, I’m curious as to why Jordan didn’t detain Brad for questioning since he’s a suspect in the abduction of, what, 18 girls? I’ve never been a cop, so maybe I’m missing something.”

As a former police officer, Jack answers. “For starters, there hasn’t been a crime committed in their jurisdiction. If the CIA gets wind that an officer from Portland PD questioned a person of interest, someone who may even be protected by the agency, then Jordan’s career is over. That’s a battle that needs to be waged between the federal agencies, not a homicide detective from a city with no jurisdiction in these parts. No, Brad would lawyer up before the first question is asked, creating more problems than it would solve.”

“And the other reason?” I ask.

Jack doesn’t hesitate. “He’d run.”

“He’s already running,” Scott says, finally speaking up. “What I want to know is whether he’s running away or coming to finish the job he started?”

Roger’s phone rings, and his already tired face morphs into a frown. “Rampart Regional Medical Center,” he murmurs.

Vinny, whom I thought was sound asleep in the other room, says, “Put it on speaker.”

Roger does so, allowing everyone to hear the conversation. Even the members of the team out patrolling the campground can listen in.

“Roger, this is Bennett. I trust Daisy arrived safely.”

“She did, thanks to you. We owe you a debt of gratitude. How are you holding up?”

Bennett grunts in pain. “I’m well enough that I’ve been released. Did Daisy locate the Blooms? The last I heard from her, she was going to find them and have a little chat.”

I step forward to close the distance between me and the phone on the table. “I did. They told me their son, Logan, died in a car accident six months after Emily’s death. The car had gone off a cliff not far from where Emily had perished. It was burned beyond recognition, including the body inside. The only reason the emergency personnel could identify the vehicle was because the back license plate had been dislodged when the vehicle crashed. They assumed that Logan was driving at the time.”

“From your tone, you don’t believe that, do you?” Bennett asks.

Roger steps in and shares what we know about the fires destroying the records, the cyberattack on the Vital Statistics Office, and the secretive job. “We think it’s quite possible that Logan Bloom works for Dominion and has a new identity, subsequently erasing all traces of himself.”

“Interesting theory, but my money is still on Brad Callahan. We have verifiable facts, one of which is that he worked for Dominion and is still receiving payments to an offshore account. Those deposits were made one week after the abductions took place. He and Kenneth Johnson are colluding together. I’m sure of it.”

“We’ll find out soon enough,” Vinny says, emerging from the room. “We have Kenneth in our custody, and he just woke up.”