Page 107 of Caught in the Crossfire

“Mase, you and Dean start at the center of the yard and go toward the left. I’ll take the right. I’ll call Fortress and have one of the techs pinpoint the last area their phones pinged a tower.”

Mason and Dean moved until they were a few feet apart and began to walk, looking for anything out of the ordinary. They found nothing until they reached the edge of the tree line with sparse grass and plentiful patches of dirt.

He crouched in front of a large area of dirt littered with footprints. Mason glanced over his shoulder. “Linc.”

The instructor jogged over. “What do you have?”

“The boot prints look like the ones at Riva’s place. It’s a common boot tread, though.”

“The impression is fresh.” Linc pointed at two sets of smaller shoe prints. “Those are the size of women’s running shoes.”

Shoes like Nicole and Dawn wore. “What did the Fortress tech say?”

“Like we thought, the phones have been turned off. However, the tech said the last known location was in this area.”

Frustration gnawed at Mason. He had to find Nicole, but they didn’t have a starting point.

“Fortress can’t narrow the area down?” Dean asked.

“Not unless the phones are on. I don’t see a security camera so that avenue is out.”

Mason stood. “We need to call Ethan.” He grabbed his cell phone and called the police chief.

“Blackhawk.”

“It’s Mason. Nicole and Dawn Metcalf are missing.”

“Where are you?”

“Elliott Construction. We were attending a company cookout.”

“Ten minutes.” Ethan ended the call.

Mason slid his phone into his pocket and looked at Dean. “Find Brian. Tell him we’ll have a police presence on the grounds soon.”

With a nod, his friend hurried off.

“While we’re waiting, send the library security footage to my email.” Linc unlocked his vehicle. From a secured compartment, he pulled out a laptop.

After connecting to his hotspot, he downloaded the footage from his email. “What time were the emails sent?” When Mason told him the times, he fast-forwarded the footage until he reached the appropriate time for the first email. Linc froze the frame. “See anyone you recognize?”

Five people sat at the computers, three of them grandmothers. One was a teenage girl. The final person was a burly guy. Mason frowned. He didn’t recognize him, but something about the man looked familiar. Maybe he’d seen him around town. “Save that screen shot to compare to the next one.”

With a couple taps on the keyboard, Linc said, “Done. Let’s see who was present when Gage received his email.” He changed to the second security footage, fast-forwarded to the right time, and froze the frame.

Mason stared at the burly man who was once again at a library computer. Who was he? “Would Fortress run his face through their databases?”

Linc chose the best picture, attached it to an email, and sent it to Fortress. He grabbed his phone. “Yeah, it’s Linc Creed. I need you to run the photo I sent through facial recognition.” A pause. “As fast as you can. My principal is missing and the man in the photo may be connected to her disappearance.” He ended the call a moment later.

Mason eyed him a moment, pondering his friend’s choice of words. “Do you consider Dawn only a principal for you to protect?”

“If you’re asking whether I’m emotionally invested in our relationship, the answer is a resounding yes. Although I’m crazy about her, I don’t want my personal life batted about the Fortress grapevine. Referring to her as my principal protects her privacy and mine.”

“She’s a friend. I don’t want to see her hurt.”

“I don’t play games, Mase. I’m with her because I want to be, not because she’s a job.”

Three police vehicles roared up the driveway and parked in front of Elliot Construction’s headquarters. Ethan headed toward Mason and Linc. Rod hurried to catch up with his boss. Josh Cahill stayed by the third SUV.

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