Page 46 of Wolf Bound

Dan walked into the interrogation room and took the kidnapper back to a jail cell and closed the door.

Then they all met in the lounge.

“Our lawyer is a cougar. So is the judge,” Bridget said. “Larry’s law clerk, Stella, is a rare white cougar and married to Ted Weekum, Hal’s foreman at the horse ranch.”

“Oh, wow, that is the coolest,” Kira said. “As to Royce, how do you know that he was lying about his name? Though he gave two different last names.”

Dan made a fresh pot of coffee.

“I can read people’s minds. I know when they’re telling the truth. Though occasionally, I run into someone that I can’t read, like my mate Travis. But in this case, I could.”

“Ava, working at the bakery, said she had psychic abilities also. Her twin sister too. It’s incredible.”

“It is,” Bridget said. “So Royce Farmington is the kidnapper’s real name. Oscar is one of the men’s names that he was running with, though he didn’t think of his last name. Reggie Olson is the other.”

“Wow, your ability really comes in handy. We need you to join us in the USF,” Kira said.

“That’s why I’m with the CSF,” Bridget said.

Travis walked into the room and gave her a hug. “For a lot more than that. So what did you all learn?”

“We learned his full name, one of the men’s first names and a confirmation on the name you already knew,” Bridget said.

“He asked for a lawyer,” Kira said, sounding disappointed.

“When’s Larry Pierce getting here?” Travis asked.

“Two hours,” Bridget said.

“Royce said he was coming in half an hour,” Kira said.

Bridget smiled. “When we have a criminal in custody, Larry takes his time. It rattles the prisoner and sometimes they end up coming clean. It’s his code. Half an hour means two hours.”

14

In the staff lounge at the sheriff’s office, Dan poured everyone cups of coffee. Then he got a call. “Yeah, Hal?” He put it on speakerphone.

“The two men must have driven off in their SUV. None of us can find any sign of them. Do you want us to leave some men to watch the building in case the kidnappers attempt to retrieve their backpacks?” Hal asked.

“Yes.” A phone rang in Dan’s pocket, and he pulled it out. “That’s the phone we took off Royce Farmington, the younger kidnapper. The call is from an Oscar Farmington.”

“Oscar was the other name Royce was thinking of with regard to his fellow cohorts in the crimes,” Bridget said.

“He must have shifted, gotten to his phone, and is trying to locate where Royce is.” Kira eyed the phone, wishing they could answer it.

“Absolutely. But maybe we can locate Oscar and his co-conspirator,” Dan said, leaving the staff lounge and heading into his office.

They all followed him in there.

“We have a state-of-the-art system here for tracking cell numbers. And car GPS systems,” Dan said. “I just need to look up Oscar Farmington from the Colorado area, get his driver’s license and learn what vehicle he owns, where he lives and do the same with Royce’s information.”

“We will recognize him if his driver’s license picture is the same as one of the kidnappers involved in the crimes,” Fisher said.

Chase Buchanan came into the office then. “I heard you have one of the suspects. Oh, you got a couple of names finally.” Chase sat down at another computer and Dan gave him Royce’s name.

“We’re working on getting confirmation that Oscar Farmington is one of the kidnappers. He’s from Denver and owns a white Chevrolet van,” Dan said.

“Royce Farmington is also from Denver, and he owns a blue Chevrolet Traverse,” Chase said.

---