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It was a small miracle. One he’d take. The family consisted of three boys, who would now be grown men. Two had been on patrol. Where was the third one?
“At this point, we know there are four people in the house, possibly involved,” Buster said. “I have enough battery left on the drone to investigate the area around the house.”
“You don’t think they would keep her in the main house, do you?” Reese asked, sounding mortified.
Buster shrugged his shoulders as Darren turned on the fog lights and kept driving. No one was out on the road this time of night. This area could be described as one that rolled the streets up by 8:00 p.m. Not much happened past sunset. Of course, folks would be up in a few hours. Rising at four o’clock in the morning was normal rancher hours.
Darren drove around to the entrance of Archer Bee Farm, and then continued twenty yards past it. He pulled over and turned off the engine. He retrieved the notepad, then handed it over to Buster. “Mark the spot where you saw the guys on patrol.”
Buster did.
“I wish we had our bearings,” Darren said. “My map could be off.”
“We aren’t getting anywhere,” Reese said.
Giving up when they were this close to figuring out the truth wasn’t something Darren wanted to consider. And yet, Reese had a point. They weren’t getting any closer to finding Tandra and it was too risky to barge onto the farm at this hour.
But what choice did they have?
Chapter Twenty-Two
Reese twisted her fingers together, tying them in a knot. “We have to go in.”
“I know,” Darren said and then Buster agreed.
“Good,” she said.
“It’s not ideal,” Darren continued. “But we can get a cursory look through the drone and possibly get enough intel to know how to target our search.”
“Otherwise, this is an almost impossible find,” Reese agreed.
“Let’s do this again,” Buster said. “It’s getting late. Or early, depending on your point of view.”
All three exited the pickup. This time, Reese took the keys and they decided to stick together. After backtracking toward the entrance, they found a hole in the fence and slipped through.
“The closer we get to possibilities, the longer life we get out of the battery,” Buster pointed out as they moved through scrub brush and trees. They stayed close to the gravel drive as they moved, making as little noise as possible.
The occasional rustling of leaves nearly stopped Reese’s heart. She reminded herself to breathe.
On foot, they made it close to the family residence, sticking to the tree line. The house was pitch-black now and there was no sign of movement inside or around it. She’d been praying they hadn’t tripped a silent alarm, but the men patrolling and the dog seemed to be the two main sources of security.
Once safely past the house, Buster sent the drone out. He kept it low to the ground until he found a clearing. He located the hives about a quarter of a mile from the house.
“Looks like the hives are spaced around five hundred feet apart,” Buster informed them after studying the screen on the control panel. “There has to be a building where they keep supplies and jar the honey. Right?”
“I would think so,” Darren concluded.
“Might be a good place to hold someone against their will,” Buster said.
“Is it the obvious choice, though?” Reese asked. “The Archer family doesn’t strike me as the most brilliant people in the world based on the parents, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t criminally smart.”
“What’s your idea?” Darren asked in a voice barely above a whisper.
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “I’m just thinking out loud.”
Her eyes had adjusted to the dark enough to see Darren nod. It was getting cold outside. She shoved her hands inside her pockets to keep them warm. What were they missing?
And then it dawned on her.
