Page 65 of Operation: Discovery

“We checked the cameras. We could see her path, exactly like you said, but for some reason she veered onto Trail One.”

Why would she go off on one of the horse trails? “Did you go check it out?”

“Dad did, on the dirt bike. He couldn’t find anything to indicate she was there. It’s like she literally grew wings and flew away.” Connor took a deep breath. “Since we know people can’t do that, we have to think of other ways she could be taken off the property without our knowing or seeing.”

“This has to be connected to those people buried in the garage and from the blood drive. These people see her as a roadblock to what they want. Every time they try to move, she’s there to block them.”

“I agree with you.” Connor drummed his fingers. “What was the name of that fake church that bought the garage? The one that Nixon said was created right before buying that building.”

“Tree of Life? River of Life?” Brendon couldn’t recall exactly.

“Word of Life! That’s the name.” Connor opened his computer, waited for it to start, then set to typing immediately. Within a minute, he grinned. “Interesting. Evie doesn’t own Word of Life Church. I thought she might since she owns Moira’s house.”

“Why do you want to know about that church?”

Connor glanced up at him. “Because that’s the concrete information we have. If we think these people are the ones who took Dee, then they have to be somewhere they feel safe. They aren’t going to camp out in a building owned by someone else because those other people could show up and discover what they’re doing. If they own the place, they run a lot less risk of being caught.”

“Okay, so who owns Word of Life?” He’d never realized a church would have information like that.

“According to a classified notice, Word of Life church in Piper’s Ridge, WY is owned by a woman named Ramona Butters.” He turned the screen around. “I looked her up and would you believe she’s a CNA?”

Brendon glanced at the computer screen and recognized the woman immediately. The nurse from the blood drive and the garage. She’d been part of Jacob’s burial, but was she guilty of his murder?

“So, does she own any other property?” Because if she did, that would be a good place to look for Dee.

Connor did some more typing. “The county records site is a little convoluted. I wish I had Nixon’s help for this. They want me to put in information based on legal descriptions. I don’t know what I’m looking for, so it’s not helping me.”

Nixon had been able to look up the information almost instantly. “Maybe we should call him and explain we’re trying to help him by looking for Dee?”

Connor reached for his phone and poked the numbers with force, then turned it on speaker and replaced the receiver in the cradle. “Nixon?”

“What can I do for you, Connor?”

“We have some information, and I’m willing to give it to you if you help me.”

He laughed. “You’d give me the information anyway, but what can I do?”

Connor gave him everything they’d figured out and where they’d hit a wall. Within minutes, Nixon was typing away on his end. “She owns the old warehouse out on Aspen Street. The old bottling plant.”

“Interestingly enough, Evie’s name is Evie, just not Carvel like she’s been telling us,” Nixon said. “If Brendon is right and Evie is Ramona ’s sister, she is Evie MacKenna of Doverville, Wisconsin.”

“That was all I got out of my visit with her, so I’m glad you can use the information.” Brendon said, “But we need to go check out this warehouse. Dee’s been missing for at least seven hours now.” And his gut kept warning him that as minutes ticked by, the chances of her survival dropped.

“I’ve got me. That’s it. Todd is still in the hospital, and he’ll be on administrative leave until that arm heals. Mike is due his family leave time. I can’t legally expect him to work. That leaves me as the police force.”

“Then I’ll meet you there and we’ll take care of this. You know we show up when you ask us to,” Connor practically growled.

“And every time I do, I take a risk. I answer to the guys from the county seat. If they found out that I have to rely on people from the outside to do my job . . .”

“You know we’re better than that, Nixon. This is the break this case needs. You have names and locations now. We can help you,” Connor said.

He’d saidwe. Brendon wanted to be there for Dee, but he knew he had limitations. He might hold everyone back. But could he sit by the sidelines and let someone else save the woman he was falling in love with?

* * *

Dee shiftedon the cement floor, trying to figure out how long she’d been there. Since the room had no windows, she couldn’t see the light or what time of day it might be. Her cellmate had stopped talking to her long ago, probably out of boredom. At least she had been left alone for a while, enough time for whatever drug she’d been given to fully wear off.

Unfortunately, that also meant she felt everything. Every dirty cut and every bruise was painful, and there was no way to find relief. She leaned with her shoulder against the wall since her wrist shackles were too short to lean her back to it.

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