After they left, Minchin locked up, made sure no light from inside could be seen through the blackout drapes and then went to check on the girls. They were lying on their backs; their wrists were bound by ropes and their breathing was shallow. He had no idea what was in the syringes and he didn’t like the idea of having to give them more.
At least, they weren’t gagged so they could breathe easier while they remained unconscious. He didn’t want them choking and dying on him because of that.
He went back and got comfortable on the sofa. He didn’t care what his boss said. If the girls were out there was no need for him to stay awake as well.
Rafferty groggily wokeand found he was back in his hospital room. His mouth felt dry and he really wanted a drink of water. He vaguely remembered being in the recovery room after the surgery and being told it went well. He even had flashes of memory of being pushed down the corridor back to his room.
He blinked a few times and looked to his left, and then to his right at the bedside stand for the pitcher of water. Kenneally was sitting in the chair where Liberty had the day before.
“Kenneally?”
The man chuckled. “Good to see you aroused. I hear your surgery went well and they plan to have you up and walking, on crutches, later this morning.”
“Wh-what brings you all the way out here from Leesburg?” Rafferty said, his head feeling muddled.
“I always come to check on my injured men who have surgery, and I was invited to spend Labor Day weekend with Hank and his family in Montana,” Kenneally explained.
“I’m afraid I’ve let you down,” Rafferty said.
“No. You were doing your job,” Kenneally said. “These things happen. I’ve seen the footage of how it happened and what you did afterward. I’d say you did what you were trained to do. And Rawlins will be a little more suspicious of good fortune phone calls in the future so he isn’t sent on wild goose chases.”
“Yeah.” Rafferty finally reached for the water pitcher and poured himself a cup of water and drank a few sips. “I still want to be out there looking for Justus and Chaney.”
“I’m sure Asher and Rawlins are doing all they can to find the girls. Give yourself some time to heal if you want that knee of yours to be any good in the future.” Kenneally stood and came over to the bed, laying his hand on Rafferty’s shoulder. “If you want, I’ll reschedule my flight to Montana and stay to help look for the girls. Hank won’t mind my arriving later and staying a few extra days at the end of the visit.”
“I can’t ask you to do that,” Rafferty said.
“I’m your leader. I care about what happens to my team members. You aren’t asking. I’m offering. So, it’s settled,” Kenneally informed him. “I’ll call the airline and make the arrangements and let Hank know I’m coming later.”
“I have no idea where Asher and Rawlins are for you to meet up with them.”
“I’ll take care of that too. You rest and recuperate,” Kenneally told him. “Who can come and get you when you are released?”
“If later today, then Liberty I suppose. She’s staying at my condo to take care of Justus’ dog.”
Kenneally nodded. “We’ll need to call her.”
Hours later
Rawlins, Asher, and Kenneally sat at the table at Rafferty’s condo and reviewed the footage of the car leaving the parking garage again. Then they compared it to the image of the car that had been captured by CTV footage at different locations in Colorado Springs the day before.
“It looks like they drove around all day until it got dark,” Rawlins said. “But we lost them when they got off the interstate.”
Liberty walked in with For All on his leash to take him outside. “Do you think sitting around here staring at a laptop screen is going to get my sister and Chaney back any faster?”
“Honey, we’re trying to figure out where the car went that took the girls after the car that had them left the parking garage” Asher explained. “It’s like trying to search for a needle in a haystack.”
“Hmm. Maybe in the old days, but metal detectors could be used today to help make it faster. There has to be an easier way to find Justus. Have you tried her cellphone? I’m sure she had it on her not in her purse that they tossed away,” Liberty said. And without wasting a second, she dialed her sisters’ number and put it on speaker as it rang. It rang and rang before going to voicemail.
“Give me her number and then do it again,” Asher said. He quickly pulled up an app on his laptop and plugged in the phone number. Instantly it began to triangulate her cellphone from all the cell towers she’d passed in the last twenty-four hours. An orange dot flashed on his screen like a heartbeat.
“What does that mean?” Liberty pointed at his screen.
“Her cellphone location,” Asher said.
“Let’s plug in Chaney’s phone number and see what we get on hers,” Liberty said. “If it shows the same then surely that will tell us it is not a coincidence that two phones are at the same location. It has to be the girls’ location instead.”
Kenneally and Rawlins walked around the table to stand behind Asher and waited as he used the app on the second phone number. Once again, the number triangulated all the same cell towers and the orange dot flashed on the screen like a heartbeat.
