Somewhere Safe by Molly Black

Author:Molly Black [Black, Molly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-06-08T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWELVE

“This is where the smoke was spotted,” Aiken said, using a red marker to draw a circle on the topographical map lying on a table in the governor’s tent.

Listening to him, Piper couldn’t help but feel a touch of animosity for the way he had handled things the previous night, throwing himself recklessly into the middle of their operation just so he could take the credit. He hadn’t just endangered his own life, but those of the other team members as well—not to mention the lives of the innocent campers involved.

It doesn’t seem to have affected him much, she thought, still unable to believe how such a reckless, short-sighted man had become the de facto head of the task force. Technically that responsibility fell to Robert Tenny, but since Tenny deferred to Governor Johnston and Governor Johnston put his trust in Aiken, that made Aiken the one calling the shots.

One of the U.S. marshals—O’Brien, Piper thought his name was—raised his hand. “And just how did we come across this intelligence again?” he asked in a thick Texan drawl.

“A drone caught sight of it about an hour ago,” Aiken answered. “They were scouring the wilderness all night.”

Piper, standing at the back of the tent with Wade, leaned toward her partner and whispered, “We use drones now?”

Wade nodded. “More than you think. They’ve come a long way in the past year.”

Piper had heard of drones before, but she’d always thought they were little more than toys for nerds to fool around with. She hadn’t realized they could prove so useful in tracking down suspects.

“So what do they need me for?” she asked rhetorically.

“And we have a positive ID on the RV?” Governor Johnston, seated at the head of the table, asked. He was leaning forward on his forearms, his eyes intent on Aiken. The bags beneath his eyes suggested he hadn’t slept much, and there was a cup of steaming coffee at his elbow, but he didn’t touch it.

Aiken took a reluctant breath and cleared his throat. “It appears to be an RV, sir.”

He has no idea what it is, Piper thought, shaking her head in wonder. We’re grasping at straws.

O’Brien spoke what she was thinking. “So we’ve got smoke and something that looks like an RV,” he said, his voice as slow as molasses. He waited for Aiken to nod, then continued. “What makes you think this is the kidnapper’s RV, not just some innocent campers enjoying the great outdoors?” He didn’t refer to the previous night’s incident, but it hung in the air nonetheless, an invisible presence.

Aiken bristled at the insinuation. “Because it’s private property, and since the owners don’t have an RV—we checked—whoever’s there is trespassing. There’s public land just a few miles to the south, perfectly good for wilderness camping, so why would someone go out of their way just to trespass on private property?”

He paused, glaring around the room as if daring someone to contradict him. “Everything about this smells like our kidnapper,” he added. “I’m telling you, this is where we’ll find Vanessa.

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