Page 56 of Operation: Valiant Angel

Lambchop had already dialed Ops. Brad ‘Circles’ Dupont was on. He relayed the information. “Shepherd needs to get a hold of St. Vincent and get her license plate number and, in the meantime, get a hold of the Iowa State Highway Patrol and give them the exit she took. Not far off, it is the scene of her car accident. And Wilson is still on the line with her phone. Run a trace to locate her phone. Also, have them put an APB out on the black SUVs plates.”

“Roger that, Lambchop. Will take care of it immediately.”

“Get back to both me and Wilson when you have anything to report.”

Wilson kept the phone to his ear, straining to hear whatever he could through the phone. The line was still open. The call had not terminated. He’d listened to Lambchop on the phone with Ops. “Who’s on?”

“Circles took the call.”

Wilson felt good about that. Dupont was an experienced Ops Analyst.

“Is her phone line still active?” Lambchop asked.

“Yeah, I can’t hear anything, though. I hope she’s okay.”

“You mean you hope Ashley Carona and her companion didn’t cause the accident to do her harm,” Lambchop said, as though he could read Wilson’s thoughts.

“Yeah, that,” Wilson confirmed. His thoughts were overwhelmed as unfamiliar emotions assaulted him. He realized the depth of his feelings for Rae. He’d taken for granted her friendship, but the thought of her no longer being there to bring a focus outside of the job left an emptiness he couldn’t reconcile.

The others stepped off the plane. Their gear was secure. Wilson and Lambchop filled them in on what had happened and why Wilson still clutched the phone to his ear.

“I’ll tell the pilots we’re going to hold off departing until after law enforcement is on scene and can give us a report,” Lambchop volunteered.

“Thanks, I appreciate that,” Wilson said.

The minutes passed slowly. Wilson kept the phone to his ear, waiting. Finally, fifteen minutes later, he heard the faint sound of sirens through Rae’s phone. They grew louder until he was sure the siren was beside Rae’s phone and then it cut out. He waited, his heart pounding. Even though he didn’t want Rae to be hurt, he hoped a cop would get on and say Rae was there,unconscious from the accident, but okay. Somehow, he knew that wouldn’t be the case.

“Hello?” he yelled into the phone.

A few minutes later, a voice came through her phone, a male voice. “Hello, this is Iowa State Trooper Dorant.”

“My name is Wilson,” he said. “Special Agent, DEA. I was talking with the owner of that car when I heard a car accident occur. Is she there? Is she okay?”

“No one’s here, Agent Wilson,” the trooper said.

“The car should be registered to a Reina Ellis,” Wilson said. “Can you confirm the plates are registered to her?”

“In a moment,” Dorant said. “First, I do need to confirm your credentials. Give me a call back number and I’ll contact you on my mobile. This phone is nearly dead.”

“She’s not there,” Wilson told Lambchop after the trooper had disconnected the call.

Seven minutes later, Wilson’s phone rang an incoming call routed through the Iowa State Highway Patrol per the caller ID. “Wilson,” he answered.

“Thank you, Agent Wilson. This is Dorant. Thank you for allowing me to follow my procedure. I can now release information to you. I can confirm the plates on the car are registered to Reina Ellis of Cedar Rapids.”

“That’s who I was on the phone with when I heard the crash. That’s her phone.”

“There’s no sign of her or anyone else,” the trooper said. “The airbag deployed in the crash. Besides her phone being on the floor of the vehicle, when I got here, the driver’s side door was open, and her purse is sitting on the passenger seat.”

“I have a license plate number that one of my colleagues has requested an APB on. That vehicle, a black SUV, may have had something to do with the accident. The driver of that vehicle may have forcibly taken Miss Ellis after.” He read the license plate number to the trooper.

“And you suspect that why?” the trooper asked.

“I’m sorry. I’m not at liberty to say. But be advised that if you find the occupants of the SUV, they should be considered dangerous.”

“We’ll be in touch if we have anything to report.” The trooper had been looking through her purse as they’d talked. “Also, Miss Ellis had just made an ATM withdrawal of two hundred dollars less than an hour ago. The money and receipt are in her purse.”

“Unless she’s injured and wandered away from her car, she didn’t leave it willingly,” Wilson said, becoming more concerned about Rae.

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