Page 118 of See How They Hide

“Getting Matt out is our first priority,” Tony said. “Then, we start negotiations. We have five people on camera attacking Matt and Michael in their car. Those are the five people we are investigating. There is evidence at the crime scenes, we need their prints and DNA to compare.”

“It won’t work,” Riley said. Kara had to give her credit for contradicting the boss. “My mother will not negotiate.”

“We’ll need to find a way to get the children out of Havenwood,” Dean said. “If we can do that, then we can go in and execute a search warrant.”

Unspoken was that people might die if they resisted.

“Matt first,” Tony said. “He may have insight when we get him out. What is your plan to retrieve him?”

Ryder spoke again. “Split the team in two—half goes to a staging spot as close to Havenwood as possible, but without alerting anyone in Havenwood that you’re there. If they call, we route the call to where we’re staged. But the other half of the team goes quietly into Havenwood.”

“What about the cameras?” Michael said.

“They are only on the gate,” Ryder said. “Thalia got people out through the north, which is typically impassable in winter and early spring. But that region had a mild winter which helps us now. I looked at the terrain and we can go in from the north. We should also find a way to disable the cameras. I don’t think the technology is state-of-the-art, and they wouldn’t have consistent Wi-Fi to stream video. My guess is that the cameras are either hardwired in, which means they have a cord we can cut, or they are connected to Wi-Fi and there’s a repeater, but they would be prone to going out, so a glitch isn’t going to alert them that we’re on-site.”

“We still don’t know where Matt is on the compound,” Kara said.

“Havenwood has a prison,” Riley said. “It’s our old food storage cellar, which is partly underground to keep produce cold. That’s the most likely place.”

Catherine nodded. “I see that on your map.”

Tony asked, “Dean, what are the odds that Matt is in that prison?”

“Better than even. They wouldn’t want to give him free rein, so he is likely restrained, and that would be the logical place.”

“Put together the plan, pick the two teams, and go,” Tony said. “You have an arrest warrant for the five people we have identified from hotel surveillance, and a search warrant for the property, but it’s your choice whether to execute it. You know what to look for—anything that connects Havenwood to these murders, including red poppies, burlap, the fungus that Jim found on one of the victims, marijuana, the murder weapon. Also any computers or records. Ideally, you won’t use the documents until after Matt is safe and we bring in the AUSA to assist. The warrants are only if you need them, understand?”

Everyone nodded.

Tony looked stern over the computer. “I see a hundred ways this can go wrong, let’s do it right.”

“What about my mother?” Riley asked in the background.

Brave girl. Tony Greer was on his full authority rant, and she was challenging him, in a way. Kara was beginning toreallylike her.

“What crime has she committed that we have evidence for?” Tony asked, his voice just a fraction softer. “Not a crime that you suspect her of committing, but a crime you have firsthand knowledge that she committed and will swear to under oath in a court of law?”

Riley glanced at Kara and Kara nodded. “I—I have firsthand knowledge that she let Donovan’s younger brother die. She ordered Anton and Evan to dig a pit—I was there when she told them to do it—and when Donovan’s brother, James, fell into it, she wouldn’t let anyone go help him. She told me that bad boys and girls must be punished.”

The room was silent.

“She runs Havenwood,” Riley continued. “And you’re right, I don’t know firsthand most of what she did. I can’t prove she killed my grandmother—her own mother. But I think she poisoned her. I can’t prove that she killed William, Thalia’s dad, but I’m positive she did—or ordered someone to do it. She was growing, cultivating, and selling hundreds of pounds of marijuana every year. But everyone at Havenwood is part of that. So you’d have to arrest everyone. I can’t prove she ordered someone to kill Robert or Jane or anyone else. But Thalia was tortured there before they killed her. I heard you, Kara, when you were on the phone. And wouldn’t there be evidence of that?”

Tony considered this. “I will leave all decisions to the team on the ground. Our number one priority is to extract Matt. Period. The warrant is to protect us, but we can return with it once we have Matt and know how many people are on-site, how many are children, and the exact layout.”

“We’ll have the assistance of the Forest Service,” Ryder said. “That will save us time.”

“We need to get this done before Havenwood calls us,” Dean said. “If they think we’re stalling, they may act rashly.”

Like they haven’t already acted rashly by kidnapping Matt?Kara thought.

“I need to go,” Riley said.

“We’re not putting you in harm’s way,” Dean said.

“It’s my choice. I’m not under arrest, right? This ismy mother. I know her better than anyone here. I also know Havenwood better than anyone here.”

“It’s too dangerous,” Kara said. “You will stay with the staging team.”

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