Page 43 of Operation: Integrity

Connor whipped his hat off and swiped his hand through his hair. He looked like he’d aged a few years in the last few months. Taking on all that they had was hard on him. “I don’t know, Sam. We have a history.”

“Just because you’ve done something for a long time doesn’t mean it’s right or that things shouldn’t change. Either way, right now is not the time. How long ago did she leave?”

“The timestamp on the last picture before she left the property said 10:38.”

It had been later in the evening, probably 10 P.M. when he’d sent Zeus to her cabin. “She must have packed the bag while I was still there or while she was waiting for Zeus. She made very good time through the snow. There aren’t many cars on these roads at that time of night.”

Connor nodded but said nothing. Words weren’t needed. Someone wouldn’t usually strike out on foot in the middle of nowhere unless they were fairly sure they had a ride close by. Sam tugged his hat down over his ears and followed Connor outside, locking his door behind him.

Edwyn met them just off Sam’s porch. “Do you want horses?”

“I want to be on the ground where I can see footprints,” Sam said. “If you both want to ride, that’s fine. But stay off the tracks.”

“We’ll walk,” Connor answered. “Edwyn, stay by your phone and if I call in backup, be ready to respond. Bring Dominic with you. He’s a great tracker.”

Edwyn nodded his agreement and headed back toward the house. Sam fell into step beside Connor as they made their way to the gate leading into the pasture. It was clear Kelly had gone over with Zeus. There was a path through the snow, one weaving dog and one person who didn’t lift their feet high enough and ended up essentially plowing a track.

“That’s unfortunate. If there were footprints, it would be easy to see just who we’re following easily. Like that, it will be harder to tell if one pair of tracks becomes two.”

“The tracks are still there. Let’s check out her shoe pattern and follow it as far as it goes,” Connor said, pulling a long flashlight from a loop near the hip of his jeans. He clicked it twice and a bright light illuminated the path. “Here we go.” He climbed over the fence and waited for Sam to do the same.

If he hadn’t been distracted by her the night before, would she have been able to leave? He should’ve stayed in her room after what she’d been through in the storm. But she was also very private now and he hadn’t wanted to destroy the fragile progress he’d thought he’d made. So much for that.

The path was clear since the snow was fresh, and they trudged all the way to the fence. The area that was new was still very clearly different from the older portion. Her tracks led right to, and over, the fence. There were no other prints around other than Zeus’s.

“She didn’t meet up with anyone,” Connor muttered. “I’m rarely wrong, but I’m glad that was the case this time.”

Sam was too, in some ways. Though this now produced a bigger problem. If she wasn’t with Nathan, who had her? Where could she have gone? Sam climbed over the fence and continued on the path. The trees grew thicker along that side all the way to the road, but Kelly’s footprints stayed on the right direction, as if she’d known where to go.

He came all the way to the gravel road and stopped. In the mud, frozen in place, were two large dog footprints. “Connor, look.” He pointed at the ground, then crouched to get a better look. Were there any tennis shoe impressions nearby?

“Is that Zeus?” Connor lowered down next to him. “There.” Connor pointed a few feet away. “She must have stepped out into the road, then backed up. Maybe a vehicle drove by her, then came back?”

Sam nodded. “We’d better call Nixon and see if anyone called in a hitchhiker sighting last night. I’m not sure where this leaves us, though. Kelly has no living relatives. She never got along with her grandmother who only lived until she was fifteen. Her parents were in their late fifties when she was born. Her grandmother was in her nineties when she passed. Both of her parents didn’t live long after she passed.”

“Then that isn’t worth tracking down. Did she have any friends other than the one we heard about?” Connor asked.

She’d had tons of acquaintances when they were together, but he doubted she still knew them. “None that she could trust anymore.”

“Well, then we’ve just hit a dead end.”

Three sharppopsexploded from the vehicle behind them. Kelly screamed and leaned forward, clutching Zeus as close as she could. Perspective hit her hard and fast. Sam would be more sad about losing her than the dog. For so long, she’d believed the opposite.

“Sam!”

Zeus whined, pressing his cold nose to her ear. John swerved one way, then back again. “They’re shooting at us!” He glanced down at her for a moment.

“It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have left.” She squeezed her eyes shut. She’d known Nathan was in the area, but how had he known she was there in that truck? Unless . . .

Kelly sat up a few inches and looked at Zeus. Was he the link? Had someone gotten to Zeus when he was out working with the guys and put something on him? She checked his ears which seemed like the only likely place to hide anything, but they were clear. Running her hand around the inside of his collar, she found a small white disc. It had been stuck to the inside of his collar, completely hidden.

“That’s an air tag. I’ve seen people talking about them on social media. Why would someone put that on your dog?” John swerved again. “I’ve got to find a way to lose this guy behind me or we’re both in trouble.”

Kelly rolled down the window an inch and threw the disc out. If they could get away, she wasn’t going to lead them right back to her. John accelerated so fast that Kelly had to grip the door or fall. Leaning in a seat wasn’t an easy way to travel. “Are they still there?”

“Not for long. Hold on. I hope it’s not icy.” With that, he whipped off the highway, their tail end swerving from side to side while he reacted to correct them. “They missed the exit,” he chuckled nervously. “Good thing Ihad a friend who was training to be a cop while I was going to school to be a vet. I was the only one between the two of us with a truck. In order to practice, we had an agreement that he would teach me their driving techniques. I haven’t done that in twenty years.”

She slowly rose and leaned against the seat. His hands were shaking where he gripped the wheel. “We’d better hide. There’s no one on the highway so if we get back on that way, they’ll find us.”

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