Page 88 of Her Final Hours
“Unarmed?”
“I’m there for my daughter. Nothing more. Once you have checked the money, you release my daughter and go on your way.”
“You could alert cops to pull me over.”
“You were confident that I wouldn’t contact anyone before. Have one of the others watch over me from afar until you are long gone.”
“Others? What makes you think there are others?”
“Drop the façade — Frank.”
There was dead air. He knew Frank Rodriguez was wondering how he knew him. That, again, was thanks to McKenzie, who unearthed the details of the farm’s owner. The Sheriff’s Office had descended upon the farm, making entry in their search for Mia. Although they never found her, there was substantial evidence to believe that she was held there for a time and the property had been used to hold captives. Etched into the cement block walls of the basement were the names of the missing.
Like a wall of remembrance of lives lost.
“You think you know me?”
“I know enough that I wouldn’t lose an ounce of sleep if you were put to death.”
“There are many things I could do with your daughter before I take her life.”
“Then you might as well put a bullet in your skull before your pals do it for you. I hear withholding what is owed doesn’t go over well among your kind.”
“Is that what you think?”
“Think? I know. Tell me, Frank, how many get to walk awayin your line of work? Now you’ve got a chance to do it with three million, albeit, it’s not a lot nowadays but enough to set you up to live comfortably — let’s say in Mexico? I hear the cartel loves trafficking girls.”
There was a long pause as if Frank was contemplating. The offer Noah extended was a carrot on the end of a stick, a nudge in a direction he had to have considered.
“So? What’s it going to be?” Noah asked.
“The Heart Lake Campground fifteen minutes south of High Peaks. I hear you’re familiar with the place.” There was a slight chuckle on the other end of the line, a nod toward the site of Payton’s abduction.
“No, too many innocents could die if things go wrong.”
“In a snowstorm?” Frank replied with a chuckle. “I hardly think people are working on their tan.”
It went against the grain of most ransom exchanges. Having absolutely no one around gave them a false sense of security. But throw civilians into the loop? Things got complicated. Officers could blend in with a crowd but so could an abductor. Although the campground would be less populated because of the season, he knew it still offered lodging and cabins in the winter months. How many would be brave enough to be out in this was unknown, but it was a risk he didn’t want to take. Already his mind was beginning to wonder how Frank would enter and exit. There was only one road in and out. The lake was surrounded by hilly, forested terrain. It had to be daylight hours; darkness would only increase the chance of disappearing.
“Just off Heart Lake Road. We’ll meet outside High Peaks Information Center,” Noah said. “Let’s say at 12:35. Two hours from now. With the storm and all, you’ll need the extra time.”
“As will you if you planned on rallying the troops. No. Thirty minutes from now.”
“It would take me twenty on a good day to reach it from where I am.”
“In forty-five then because I see you’re out of the ditch now.”
With that, Frank hung up.
Fear spiked as he glanced out. They’d had a few vehicles drive by over the last hour; one of them had to be him.
32
Thursday, March 22, 11:20 a.m.
The violent wind howled through the dense forest surrounding the intersection of Heart Lake Road and Cascade Road. Noah’s Bronco rumbled to a stop, its headlights piercing the thick veil of falling snow.
Callie and McKenzie emerged from an unmarked police vehicle; their breath was visible in the frigid air.
