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Raising both eyebrows, Beth stared at him. “I decided to soak in a bath. What’s up? Do you miss me already? Do you want to come in?”
THIRTY-FOUR
Examining her flushed face, Styles swallowed hard. Beth had this way of looking at him sometimes and he found it difficult to interpret her mood. Was she joking or deadly serious? She’d been the perfect partner during these investigations, working hard without a complaint. Her company at dinner had been nice, almost like an old married couple. He smiled and hoped it was the best reaction. “Ah, I’m fine but thanks for the offer. Bear here was just checking you’re okay, is all. He likes you and I guess he wondered where you’d gone. I figured you must be in bed, and then when Bear stopped here and refused to move, I noticed the light under the door. When you didn’t answer the door, I figured something might be wrong, so I called. That’s what partners and friends do, Beth. They take care of each other.”
“Thanks for caring. Won’t you change your mind and come in? I’d enjoy your company.” Beth removed the towel around her head and shook out her wet hair. “Why don’t you call room service and order some hot chocolate with extra marshmallows? We could drink it in front of the fire.” She smiled at him and handed him the towel. “Before you do that, dry Bear. He is soaked through. There are more towels on the bed if you need them. I’ll duck into the bathroom and get into my PJs and drymy hair. If I leave it like this, it will be tangled in the morning. I figure Bear needs to know we’re both safe. He’s so used to seeing us together, he probably believes something is up. It must have been stressful for him, leaving him in a strange hotel room all alone.”
Surprised, Styles went to the housephone and called room service. It hadn’t been more than an hour and a half since they’d eaten dinner, but he added cookies to the order and went about drying Bear. Ten minutes later, she opened the bathroom door, and he watched her dry her long blonde hair until it fell like silk down her back. He stood when room service came to the door and allowed the server to come inside and place the tray on the table. He gave the man a tip and closed the door behind him. He looked at Beth and smiled. “There goes my reputation.”
“Your reputation?” Beth raised both eyebrows. “I’m in my PJs with my superior in a hotel room.” She laughed. “I don’t think that server is going to go running to the sheriff. He doesn’t know we’re FBI.” She took a cup and the plate of cookies and set them on the coffee table in front of the fire and then sat down on the sofa. “I’ve been busy, running a few abstract scenarios through a software program I created. I’ll validate my findings when we get back to Rattlesnake Creek, but I have a feeling the Convenience Store Killer will attempt to murder and dump his current victim out at Broken Bridge. I figure if we search for an area with open spaces alongside a highway, we’ll find him. If he follows his usual MO, which seems to be the case as far as we know, we’ll be able to get there before he drives by to release the girl.”
Sipping hot chocolate, Styles nodded. “How do you figure we disguise the chopper? It would be nice to have a cloak of invisibility, but an FBI chopper kind of sticks out from a mile away. Wide open spaces will mean we’ll need to get there in timeto catch him in the act. I’ll need to drop the bird a mile or so away or he’ll see us.”
“I can’t answer that until I get the results and view a map.” Beth shrugged and nibbled on a cookie. “Up to now, he’s chosen straight lengths of highway, so he can see anyone coming in both directions, and near a clump of trees. I figure he tells the woman to run for the trees, maybe to make her believe that she can call for help at a house close by or something. He aims as she runs and shoots her. That’s his endgame, the cherry on the cake.”
Running what he knew of the local area through his mind, Styles nodded. “I do have a camouflage tarp we could drape around the chopper if we get time. I’ll bring it with us. The main problem is that many of the open areas running alongside the creek are riddled with mineshafts. The old timers dug underground there. It’s not safe to drop a chopper in most areas, and we’ll need to find an old mining lease map to check it out. It’s overgrown with wheatgrass and people just walking by have fallen down old shafts. He looked at her. “Can you find that information before we leave? It will be one heck of a rush getting there as it is. We’ll be working on a hunch and hoping we can stop him. The odds aren’t in the favor of the victim right now.”
“I can only do my best, Styles.” Beth finished her drink and smiled at him. “I’m beat. Bear is fine. Mind if I hit the sack now?”
Styles emptied his cup and smiled at her. “My thoughts exactly. I talked room service into getting our breakfast here by five. Can you be ready to leave by five-thirty? I’ll need to do a preflight and it would be easier if you are with me, so we can leave without delay.”
“Sure.” Beth walked him to the door. “Why don’t you have them bring the breakfast in here.”
Styles headed for the door. “Okay, sure.” He paused and gave her a long searching look. “Sleep well, Beth.”
THIRTY-FIVE
FRIDAY, WEEK TWO
Rattlesnake Creek
The rain had stopped in the morning but everything around was damp and cold when they arrived in Rattlesnake Creek. Beth carried her bags to her room, grabbed her liquid Kevlar vest, and dressed in gear suitable for running across rough terrain. They’d decided not to wear their FBI jackets, as appearing as a couple walking a dog would be their best option if noticed. She packed a backpack with everything she’d need for a long hike, checked her weapon, and added more ammo to her pocket. Leaving her door open, she waited to hear Styles head to the office and then dragged her bag of wet clothes to the incinerator and slid them inside. They used the incinerator for their household garbage as well as any contaminated forensic gear, so it wasn’t unusual for either of them to activate it at any time. She made her way to the elevator and once inside the office checked her computer and scrolled down the results. Smiling at Styles over one shoulder, she pointed to the screen. “It agrees with me. The probability of him dumping the body out at Broken Bridge is eighty-nine percent. That’s good enough for me.” She indicated to thescreen. “These are the maps of the area. You check them out and I’ll get on my laptop and search for the old mining leases.”
“The clock is ticking, Beth.” Styles searched the map. “Okay, we need an open space, a wooded area, and a long stretch of open highway. There are only three options, but we don’t have the time to go to all three.”
Beth glanced at him. “Which is the most remote highway, the one not many people would use?”
“Okay. That would be a small place called Randy’s Mine. I’m guessing this guy owned the lease way back. Can you find it in the leases?”
Beth did a search and waited for the results. “Yeah, mines all over but not from behind the trees. From the diagram, the lease cut off just before the trees.” She overlapped the lease diagram on the map. “There’s nothing on the map apart from what could be the remains of a small building.” She waited for Styles to look over her shoulder. “What do you think?”
“I figure it’s safe to land the chopper there and we’ll have the trees for cover.” He straightened. “I’ll bring my rifle. If he lets the girl escape, I’ll be able to take him down from there before he kills her.”
Excitement tingled through Beth, she loved the chase to catch a killer, and now her dark side was appeased the need to take out the Convenience Store Killer had calmed to a low hum. All she needed now was the call telling them Deputy Branch Dryer had died in mysterious circumstances and her world would be complete. “Okay, let’s make this happen.” She looked at him. “So you’re a sharpshooter with a rifle? I don’t see you shoot very often, well, apart from the practice range.”
“I do okay.” Styles smiled at her. “I figure I shoot as good as I can fly.” He chuckled. “It was a requirement to be an MP, you know.”
Gathering up her laptop and pulling on her coat, she grabbed her backpack and headed for the door. “Just as well. We’re going to need all the help we can get.”
As they arrived in Broken Bridge and Styles circled the outlying areas, Beth used field glasses to peer at the highway. Styles had taken the chopper high and vehicles below looked like ants. As they approached Randy’s Mine the roads were deserted, but far in the distance Beth picked out a vehicle following the highway. “There’s someone coming. It’s the only vehicle on the highway heading in this direction. The road makes a sweeping bend before it hits the straightaway. This could be our man.”
“I see it. He must be fifteen miles away. We have time to drop down in the cover of the trees without detection.” Styles’ voice came through her headset. “The chances of him seeing us unless he comes into the straightaway before we land is minimal. The trees alongside that part of the highway will block his vision.”
Within minutes they’d landed, and Styles was out the chopper and draping the camouflage tarp around it. It was obvious he’d done this a number of times and worked fast. Even when Beth moved away, holding the backpacks, the chopper appeared to have blended into the trees. Only the main rotor blades and tail seemed to hang in midair. “That’s a useful thing to have on hand.”
“Yeah.” Styles came toward her, shrugged into his backpack, and picked up his rifle. “We should be able to get a good view of him from the edge of these woods, but that clump of trees closer to the highway would be our best option for an ambush.” He glanced at her. “You’re planning on taking him alive, right?” He frowned at her. “Sorry, Beth, but I’m not playing executioner here, even though he deserves it.”
She’d expected his reaction, he’d come to understand her to some extent, but working with Styles, she’d be working within the law… well, as close to within the law as possible. Beth gavehim a sideways glance. “Even if he’s aiming at the girl with intent to kill, you’re not planning on using deadly force?” She shrugged. “What part of the book is that rule in? I must have missed it. We have a serial killer hell-bent on murdering an innocent victim. Deadly force is warranted if and when he pulls a weapon on the victim.”
