I pull the spotting scope and settle into position. Knox scans the terrain with binoculars, and we work in coordinated silence the way we learned downrange.
Devil's Acre spreads out below us. Beckett's truck sits near the barn, and he's working with one of the horses. It all looks like normal ranch operations, with nothing to suggest we've got a federal agent stashed twenty klicks west.
But the cartel didn't become one of the most effective criminal organizations in North America by being careless.
"South ridge, two hundred meters east of the old windmill." Knox's voice is barely a murmur. "Fresh tire tracks leading up the access road."
I swing the scope to the indicated position and find what Knox spotted. The tracks are recent, cut deep into the caliche, suggesting a heavy vehicle. I follow them uphill until they disappear into a cluster of cedar trees.
"Good position for overwatch," I confirm. "Can't see the vehicle from here. Too much cover."
"Want to move closer?"
"No. Getting closer risks compromising our position." I sweep the scope across the ridgeline. "We mark it, establish a surveillance rotation, and track their patterns."
Knox logs the position with GPS coordinates and estimated distance from Devil's Acre. We spend the next two hours identifying three additional positions that offer good overwatch of the ranch. All of them show signs of recent activity in theform of disturbed vegetation, vehicle tracks, and areas where someone spent time lying prone.
The cartel is watching. They are patient and methodical, and they're not making the mistake of rushing into direct confrontation.
By the time we low-crawl back down the ridgeline and hike to the trucks, the sun is dropping toward the western horizon.
"They're not going to wait forever." Knox stows his gear. "Once they establish our patterns, they'll move."
"I know." I close the truck bed. "Beckett needs to vary his routines at Devil's Acre. Different times, different routes. Make it harder to predict."
"Already told him." Knox meets my gaze. "What about Raven?"
"What about her?"
"The cartel knows you pulled her out of that safe house. They know your truck. Eventually they're going to connect the dots, and when they do, they'll come looking." Knox's expression stays unreadable. "You prepared for that?"
"They won't find the cabin. And if they do, they won't get past the perimeter." I mean every word.
Knox nods once, then climbs into his truck. "Stay sharp."
He's gone before I can respond, his taillights disappearing down the gravel road.
I drive back to the cabin by a different route, checking mirrors and watching for tails. By the time I pull up the driveway, full dark has settled over the hills.
Inside, Raven is still at the kitchen island, surrounded by printed documents and open files on the laptop screen. She glances up when I enter, and the tension from earlier is still there, banked but not extinguished.
"Find anything?" Her question is professional.
"The cartel has set up at least four surveillance positions around Devil's Acre. They're watching and waiting for patterns." I set my pack down and head for the kitchen. "Beckett's varying his routines to make it harder to predict."
"Smart." Raven turns the laptop toward me. "I found something too."
I move closer, and she pulls up a document. My jaw tightens.
"Like we discussed, Harlan has been signing off on accidental death reports for eighteen months using identical boilerplate language. Four ranchers, all with property on or near the old smuggling corridors your father used." She highlights sections of text. "Sanderson, Torres, Graves, and Pritchard. Same language, same format, same predetermined conclusions."
I nod, leaning against the counter. "He's not investigating. He's covering."
"Exactly." Raven pulls up another document. "And Annette Graves's daughter filed that formal complaint saying her mother reported threats before the fire. Harlan dismissed it personally, reviewed his own investigation, and closed it."
I go still. "How long has Harlan been sheriff? It has to be fifteen years at least."
"Twenty years. Since 2005."
