Page 74 of Dangerous Obsession

Bells tinkled in the background, and Cliff knew instantly what that meant.

There was a slight delay before she came back on the line.

“Tell me where to meet you.” Her words were clipped with anger.

“Trouble in paradise?” Perhaps he’d misread the situation between the two of them.

“Where, Cliff?” If Marigold was upset about the man leaving, she sure hid it well.

“In exactly one hour, leave your store and drive straight to the Bull Run Occoquan Trailhead. Your GPS can get you there. Call me on this number when you arrive.” He checked the display on his burner phone and read off the number. “That should give me plenty of time to get everything prepared for you. Only use the cell phone I sent that picture to. I won’t answer calls from any other numbers. Remember, Marigold, one hour, and don’t tell anyone where you’re going. Don’t stop for anything, and come alone. If I even suspect you aren’t, you’ll never see the girl again.”

He ended the call, dropped his phone next to the sunflowers, and started the car.

Cliff wasn’t kidding about the kid disappearing. He’d met guys inside with connections to the sex-trafficking business. They’d talked about how easy it was to grab someone and turn them over to folks who would pay good money for them. A pretty little thing like Shayna would be a worth a lot.

CHAPTER THIRTY

Vikingaggressivelypushedtheboutique door open, ensuring the bells were loud enough to hear over the phone. He remained silent as Marigold’s conversation with Barnum came to an end.

“… you’ll never see the girl again.” The line went ominously quiet.

“Do you think he bought it?” Marigold’s hand dropped to her side, and she turned worried eyes his way. “That you really left, I mean?”

“I don’t know.” Viking drew her into his arms and kissed the top of her head. “But you did great, honey.”

She stepped over to the counter and set the phone down.

“You totally did. For a minute there, I started to believe you were really dumping him.” Dulce bumped a shoulder against her friend’s, hoping to lighten the mood. “Viking, how did you know Dickweed would know about the bells on the door?”

“I went through Greg’s cell phone messages.” He held up a lightly abused phone with a cracked screen and a faded and peeling pot leaf sticker on the back. “He was complaining to Barnum about them the day he watched the boutique.”

“Sammy got a location. His burner pinged off a tower about sixty-five miles from the Bull Run Occoquan Trailhead.” Cole stalked toward them. “Barnum made the mistake of using his burner to send that picture to Marigold’s cell phone. That created a connection for Sammy to track him.”

“I’m glad you talked me into putting that chip thingy in my phone.” Marigold had mentioned how she’d fought the idea until OSI assured her it would only be used in the event of an emergency.

“She tapped into all of the CCTV cameras within a five-mail radius of that location and managed to find some footage of Greg’s vehicle pulling into the store parking lot.” Cole relayed the rest of Sammy’s information. “She enhanced the image and could tell there was someone sitting on the driver’s side, but it was too grainy to make out a face. Timestamp on the video coincides with Barnum’s call, though.”

“Wait a second. Occoquan.” Marigold’s brows furrowed. “That sounds familiar.” Her eyes lit up, and she snapped her fingers. “Cliff mentioned something about inheriting a cabin from his grandfather. He was really mad because he thought he was going to get a lake house or something but ended up with a ‘piece of shit in the middle of the woods.’” She used air quotes and deepened her voice to a mocking tone. “I’m almost positive it was in the Occoquan Reservoir area.”

“If that’s true, Sammy will find it.” Viking’s palms itched for his rifle. “Cole, what’s the plan?”

His team leader’s phone dinged, and he enlarged the image on the screen.

“It’s a list of what Barnum bought.” His finger dragged up the screen as he scanned the image. “Camp supplies, water, nonperishables, boots. Looks like he’s planning on spending some time at the cabin.”

Viking searched the map for the store and the trailhead. “According to this, the store he made the call from is almost an hour from the Bull Run Occoquan Trailhead, which is about forty-five minutes from here.”

“That’s why he told me to leave in an hour,” Marigold said. “He needed time to get back there.”

“Let’s get ready to head out.” Cole tapped his phone and put it to his ear as he stepped away. “I’ll text Sammy and have her find that cabin. She can send us the coordinates on the way.”

“I’m going with you.” Marigold started toward her office.

“Honey.” Viking lengthened his strides to catch up to her and carefully caught her by the elbow. “Marigold, wait.”

“For what?” She spun to face him, and the desperation in her eyes slayed him. “Shayna needs our help now.”

“I need you to stay here.” He stroked his hands up and down her arms.

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