Page 67 of Missing

I rubbed Beth’s back to comfort her as her panic set it. All of this was speculation and worst case scenario because we couldn’t ignore any possibility, no matter how unlikely. We should have gone to the conference room, though Beth wasn’t one to sit on the sidelines, no matter how hard it was to hear the truth.

Once the updates were done, Jones and Maxwell set up shop in the spare office. They’d be filing an FBI missing person’s report.

Thank God they didn’t say that in front of Beth. Having an open case allowed them to use the full power of their badges going forward in the investigation.

While they did that, John and Jamie called every relative listed on Smith’s background check. They'd ask nicely, once, but if her relatives were uncooperative the gloves would come off. I had no doubt they’d be creative with the list of things they’d threaten to charge them with if they didn’t cooperate.

Chase had now been missing for twenty-four hours and our window to find him was closing. Fear was driving us, and our patience was thin.

John said, “conference room,” as he and Jamie walked into the lobby. Jamie stuck his head in Jack’s door and said the same thing.

“I’ll be right back.” I said as I closed my laptop and stood up.

“Can I come?” Beth asked, desperate to hear any, and all, news.

“Not this time,” John answered her, his voice soft and full of empathy.

After seeing her reactions to Maxwell’s updates earlier, none of us wanted her to be in the room for initial briefings. In a short text chat, we agreed it’d be better if we summed up theinformation and presented it to her in a way that was less blunt and shocking.

My heart broke as new tears formed in her eyes. I had no doubt she was assuming the worst. “Beth, I know this is hard, but please, trust me. Trust us.”

Maxwell was the last one in the conference room, so she closed the door behind her. Jamie started talking before she took her seat. “No one has seen or talked to Smith in days, but her brother said she goes to a friend’s cabin when she wants to get away.”

“Did you get an address?” My fingers were poised over my keyboard, ready to type as he answered.

“No, he didn’t know it, but he gave us the friend’s name.”

It didn’t take long for Jones to find the address. I pulled up a map and shared my screen on the projector, so everyone could see it, as Jones looked for more information on the home owners.

Using the terrain map feature to assess the cabin’s location, our confidence soared. It was isolated in a wooded area, with a long dirt driveway. Smith didn’t have a passport, and hadn’t bought any airline tickets recently. The FBI had flagged her driver’s license so she couldn’t go anywhere requiring an ID, and her accounts were all frozen, so she had limited funds.

Jones looked up from his laptop. “The homeowners are on a cruise. They’ll be home Tuesday, at the earliest.”

“Do you have access to a drone?” I asked. After a recent case, in which a drone would have been helpful, I’d purchased one and gotten my recreational license, but didn’t have my commercial license yet. John signed Jack, AJ, and I up for the next available class being offered for first responders. The next time we needed a drone, we’d have our own.

“I can call the sheriff and see if he has an operator available.” John answered.

Maxwell cleared her throat and all eyes turned to her. “Given what we know, we don’t need to wait for the drone. The cabin makes sense. It’s secluded and familiar to her, so she’ll feel comfortable and safe.

Not for long.

We finalized our plan to storm the castle, so to speak, with John emphasizing our priority was Chase’s safety. We weren’t going in guns blazing, but we were going in hot. We weren’t taking any chances.

Before gearing up, John talked to Beth to tell her what was going on. She wouldn't like it, but we’d decided it’d be best for her to wait at the office with Meg.

She argued she couldn’t wait here without losing her mind. After John broke the news, it fell to me to comfort her. She tried to use our relationship to persuade me, but I couldn’t, in good conscience, agree to let her come with us. We had no idea what we were walking into, which made Beth a liability.

I knew Beth well enough to know she wouldn’t stay out of harm’s way if she thought Chase was hurt, and we couldn’t afford to split our focus between managing her and finding him. Beth was willing to risk her life for Chase, but I wasn’t willing to let her.

And we don’t need the distraction. Though I was significantly kinder when I explained it to her.

“We have a team of trained professionals ready to fight and die, if needed, to bring Chase home. Including me.” I grabbed her hands and brought them to my chest. She winced when she felt my soft armor under my polo.

“It’s standard procedure, Beth.” I wrapped my arms around her and whispered a half-truth, “We aren’t expecting any trouble.”

We always expect trouble.

As we reconvened in the lobby, Beth badgered John relentlessly until he offered a compromise. She could wait nearby, at a location of his choosing, with Dean. John made it clear Dean wasn’t to bring her on site until he gave the all clear.

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