Page 99 of Closer Than You Know

Bent shot off a text message to Olson with the Coldwater Creek location. Then he turned to Fowler. “I’ll use this vehicle. You go back to the team we left at the Carter farm and orchestrate a grid search along this road. I want you to check every house, every barn, under every damned rock. If you see or hear anything even remotely suspicious, I want to know about it.”

“Yes sir.” Fowler hesitated. “I just heard ... they found Deputy Riggs. He’s dead.”

God damn it! Bent had expected that would be the case, but he still hated hearing it. “Thanks, Fowler. Make sure the news doesn’t get out until I have a chance to notify his family.”

Fowler nodded, then hustled to his vehicle and executed a three-point turn and headed back to the Carter farm.

It wouldn’t take Olson long to get here with Jones. But it was far too long to suit Bent. His mind was already playing over and over a collage of possible things that bastard could do to Vera ... could do to Eve.

He picked up her phone and reviewed the messages she had received. He’d been right. She’d left him at the Carter farm because she had no choice. She had received a call from an unknown number. He gritted his teeth and tossed the phone back into the seat to prevent himself from calling that number. He couldn’t take the risk. Thenhe checked her text messages and confirmed the instructions she had received from Solomon. She’d told him the truth.

Bent felt sick. Wanted to bust something with his bare hands.

County cruisers barreled past him, first one and then another, turning down the side roads up ahead.

The one thing that gave him comfort was the reality that Vera would not go down easy.

He smiled.

But if he got there first ... Vee wouldn’t have to bother.

37

The vehicle bumped, bumped over uneven ground.

As best Vera could estimate, they had been driving around for better than half an hour. Where the hell was he going? Away from Fayetteville? To some secret location he had set up over the past couple of months?

The sound of tree limbs or bushes scratching at the sides of the van had her instincts going on alert. Had he left the road? Taken a narrow, rarely used dirt road, maybe? There were certainly plenty of wooded areas in any direction going out of Fayetteville. She thought of the shack off McDeal Road, where they’d found evidence planted to keep the Time Thief case going. No trees or bushes close enough on that road to scratch a vehicle. Not unless the driver purposely drove more in the ditch than on the road to mislead her.

Possible. He would know Vera was paying attention.

Solomon had dragged first Eve and then her to the back of the news van and hefted them inside. A canvas tarp had been thrown over them. Since Patton had secured her, luckily the nail file and the blade end of the straight razor tucked into Vera’s socks hadn’t been noticed. That was the only bit of good luck so far.

As completely as she had despised the reporter in Patricia Patton, she felt sick that she and her colleague had been murdered. No one should die that way. Damn it. Patton and her friend had families. Now they were dead because the bastard had wanted to get Vera. It made her want to tear him apart. God, she hoped she got the chance.

She forced away the thoughts and focused on the moment. Nothing she could do about it right now. Whatever he had planned next, she and Eve needed to be ready.

She nudged Eve with her forehead. Vera whispered, “Daddy’s straight razor is in my sock on the inside of my left ankle.” Her sister nodded. Vera felt the move more than saw it. Almost no light filtered through the tarp. “Can you try to get it out and cut me loose if I pull my feet up to your hands?” Another nod.

With Vera’s hands secured behind her back, it would be very difficult, probably impossible to reach down and retrieve a damned thing, much less use it. She pulled her knees to her chest and scooted backward, being careful not to make any sound while placing her feet even with Eve’s hands. The move dragged the tarp from her face. She tilted her head back and looked toward the driver’s seat to ensure he hadn’t been alerted. He appeared focused on navigating the vehicle. Good.

She shifted her attention to the windshield as her sister’s cold fingers dipped into her sock. Trees just beginning to put on leaves were visible beyond the glass. Their limbs scrubbed at the sides of the van. Had he taken a trail through the woods? More of that swaying and bumping around seemed to suggest they were not on paved or graded ground. She tried to assess where they might be. He’d driven too long to still be in Fayetteville.

Unless he’d spent time just driving around to confuse her.

The tight band around her ankles suddenly released. Eve tapped on her knee. Vera scooched her upper body closer to her sister. “What now?” Eve asked.

Vera checked the driver again. Still focused straight ahead. “My hands,” she whispered.

She rolled onto her stomach and then onto her side to put her hands against her sister’s. Eve felt for the zip tie. For a few seconds she just held onto it. Vera suspected she was afraid of cutting her. Better to be bleeding and unrestrained. She nudged at her sister’s hand with her own. Eve inhaled a deep breath, then began.

Vera felt the cold steel against her skin as Eve sawed back and forth against the plastic restraint.

A slice through skin and the sting that followed had Vera swallowing a grunt. Eve’s hand stilled.

Her attention on the driver, Vera nudged her sister’s foot with her own and then held herself as still as possible while Eve started again. Another slice. Vera bit the inside of her jaw as the fresh sting radiated up her arm. Tears burned her eyes. Eve kept sawing. Vera gritted her teeth as warm blood slipped down her thumbs.

Then her hands were free.

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