Maren didn’t need to hear the rest of her colleague’s words to know Autumn was going to say those who were holding Mia wouldn’t harm her until after the baby was born. That seemed to be these awful people’s pattern.
Emmett held up a hand. “If you all will join me in a prayer for protection for Mia and any other young women who are being held hostage by this baby smuggling ring.”
Agreement swept across the room.
Maren bowed her head and closed her eyes. Colt’s fingers curled around her own. She squeezed tight as Emmett lifted up a prayer.
“Dear Lord, we come before You collectively asking for Your sovereignty and Your protection over Mia Andrews and any other young women who have been preyed upon by this evil that has invaded our state. Please show us the way. Guide our steps and lead us to victory. In Your Son Jesus’s name, amen.”
Maren murmured an amen and heard Colt do the same along with others around the room.
“Maren,” Emmett said, drawing her attention. “Tell us how your investigation into your sister’s disappearance is going.”
Maren’s stomach knotted. Colt gave her hand a squeeze before releasing his hold on her. She flexed her fingers, wishing she could hang on to him.
Slowly, she rose. “So far we know that the person responsible for my sister needing to disappear goes by the moniker of Shadow. We have no ID on this individual. He runs a large drug organization within our state.” She gestured to Colt. “Agent Dawson here is with the DEA,” she said for Dodger’s sake. “He has been working diligently to bring down this drug trafficker. However, Shadow has been elusive and seems to always be one step ahead of law enforcement’s efforts.” Outrage and speculation raced through the room.
Maren waited a beat for the others to quiet down before she continued, “Somehow, my twin sister became involved with one of Shadow’s top trusted men. But when she and her romantic partner wanted out of the drug trade, he was killed. My sister went on the run.”
Taking a breath, she fought to keep her pulse from racing. “I’ve been mistaken, several times, for Opal. For obvious reasons,” she said with a wry grimace. “But after the arrest of these last two assailants, I feel it’s possible Shadow is now aware I’m not Opal, and will stop fixating on me and turn his focus toward finding Opal. We’re doing everything we can to find her first.”
“I heard you have a CI in custody.” This from Trevor who addressed Colt.
Colt rose from his seat. “We did. Unfortunately, the safe house where he was stashed was hit and he was killed. A DEA agent was wounded. My CI is the one who led me to Barren Valley Clinic where I ran into Maren. But Opal slipped away.”
“We also have another source close to my sister who has reached out to her. We are waiting for Opal to respond,” Maren told the group.
“Aren’t you afraid Shadow’s men will get to this source?” asked Melody.
“We are,” Maren replied, her gut churching with anxiety. “The US Marshals have him in custody. As far as we know, they have not been compromised. But according to Agent Dawson’s now deceased CI, Shadow has informants in all areas of law enforcement. So, we can’t be sure.” Her gaze roamed over the room as an insidious suspicion reared up. Could one of these people be a mole for Shadow?
No. She couldn’t think that. Emmett had vetted each and every one of the task force members. She trusted Emmett, relied on his judgment. She trusted her colleagues. She wouldn’t let doubt and misgivings have any place in her mind.
“Does your missing sister have anything to do with the task force’s investigation into the illegal baby smuggling ring?” Dodger asked.
Maren replied, “It’s possible that Opal was targeted and groomed by Dr. Rolls just like another pregnant woman, Jennifer, was. Our only link is that Opal was at a clinic where Rolls once worked, but perhaps he also gave her a business card for another free clinic that she may decide to surreptitiously visit the longer she’s in hiding.”
“If nothing else, we do know Shadow is very plugged in to the criminal underworld within Colorado,” Colt added. “He may know something useful. Which is another reason we are trying to find and arrest him.”
“The task force will be concentrating on finding Mia and breaking up this baby smuggling ring.” Emmett held Maren’s gaze. “Stay on finding your sister and arresting Shadow. If you need anything from the task force, please let us know.”
“I appreciate that, Emmett.” Maren couldn’t begin to express her gratitude.
Her loyalty was to the task force, but her sister was family. Finding her sister was her priority. And if there was a possibility that bringing down Shadow would help the task force in their mission, then she had to seize the opportunity. “You have no idea how grateful I am.”
“Okay, people,” Emmett said, addressing the room at large. “Let’s get out there and make headway on finding our missing mother-to-be.”
Slowly everyone filed out of the conference room. Maren and Colt along with several other task force members headed downstairs to the training facility to retrieve their K-9 partners.
Eli Blackwood stepped up and kept pace with Colt and Maren. “If there’s anything I can do, don’t hesitate to ask.”
Maren appreciated her teammate’s offer. She knew the Oak City officer who specialized in dangerous cases had dealt with some serious losses in his life. “Thanks, Eli.”
The trio stopped at the edge of the training ring to check on the progress of the two German shepherd puppies, Chance and Trooper. The balls of fluff were running around the ring, chasing each other with the high school volunteer, Jessie, running after them.
Dev, the lead trainer, came over to stand with them and watched the chaos of the two little German shepherds. “Chance is doing well. Progressing like his esteemed parents.” He made a face. “Trooper’s still a bit behind.”
They watched as the puppies tumbled over each other. Dev let out a long whistle. Chance skidded to a halt and turned toward the sound. Trooper, however, continued to run, evading Jessie and racing toward the gate at the end of the ring.
