Page 10 of The Bait

Wasted resourcesandwasted time, August thought.

When the search and rescue team arrived, August was happy to hand over coordinating efforts. He wanted to concentrate his own efforts somewhere else.

“You okay?” Jake asked him quietly when they had a minute alone.

“We’re not looking for three men,” August murmured. “We’re looking for three bodies.”

Jake looked out into the trees and sighed. “Most likely, yeah.”

Christ.

He should have expected as much. Hehaddecided to warn Michael and Joshua, after all. A decision August was certain would come back to bite him in the ass.

“We need to take a drive,” August said.

Jake nodded. He spoke to the search and rescue coordinator for a moment, and a few minutes later, August and Jake were on the road.

“I don’t need to ask where we’re going, do I,” Jake said. It wasn’t a question.

“Probably not.”

“They’re not there,” he said. “We have no warrant. We can’t get inside their house, and anything we find is inadmissible without?—”

“I know,” August said. And hedidknow all this. “I don’t know what I’m looking for.”

“Do you think they’d leave any evidence behind for what they did or didn’t do to those three missing men?” he asked incredulously. “Because if they are ex-military or ex-government spies, or whatever we think they are, they won’t have left behind a trace.”

“I know,” August said. And he did know. He wasn’t sure what he was looking for. “And those three missing men?” he said, looking across at Jake. He loosened his grip on the steering wheel. “We’ll never find them. They’re gone. Speaking of evidence. No bodies, no clothes, no trace. That whole coordinated search and rescue effort is a waste of time and money.”

“So what are we looking for? Not the search and rescue,” he clarified. “What arewelooking for at their house?”

“I don’t know.”

“You know they’ll have cameras and shit. Hell, they probably already know we’re on our way.”

“I know.”

After a few moments silence, Jake sighed. “Feels kinda wrong. They trusted us with Mala. She’s the sweetest thing. Even Scarlett likes her. Kind of.”

August smiled at him. “Wanna know what I think?”

“What’s that?”

“I think Michael Hill will be disappointed in us if we don’t go check his place out.”

Jake cocked an eyebrow. “Disappointed?”

“Yeah. He respects the badge, or the chain of command. I don’t know.”

Jake snorted. “I don’t think Michael Hill would agree.”

Their house was quiet, locked up, and deserted. Looking through the window, August could see everything was still in its place, as if they’d ducked out to the store and not left the country, not knowing if they’d ever be back.

He could only guess they were used to living a life where they could walk away and never look back.

August saw the security camera, and not wanting to look like he was snooping, he held his badge up to it. Not that he needed to. They knew exactly who he was.

And where he lived.

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