Page 60 of Veil of Silence

Austin glanced at her as if taking a quick assessment. “Send me the location.”

“You planning to show up?” Luke’s skepticism came clearly through the speaker.

“Yes.” Austin said the word as if there had never been another possibility.

“Fine, but you stay out of my scene,” Luke warned. “You’re there as an observer.”

“I know how this works. I won’t interfere.” Austin ended the call and lowered the phone.

“Mikey didn’t run with him.” Nora’s voice sounded thin even to her.

“It doesn’t look that way.” Austin slipped the phone into his pocket.

The blood felt like it drained from her face as the implications settled over her.

Nora paused. Luke had told her Preston’s disappearance was probably domestic, and she had desperately wanted to believe him because a furious father was frightening—but understandable.

This wasn’t understandable.

Maybe Mikey had driven to the pull-off and fallen from the cliff. Maybe everything about his injuries was exactly what it appeared to be.

But that still didn’t explain where Preston was.

Nora gripped the porch railing with a trembling hand.

Every hour they had lost had given whoever took him more distance. Maybe the false trail had never been intended to hold forever. It had only needed to last long enough for the real kidnapper to move the boy beyond their reach.

By the time Austin and Nora reached County Road Nine, dusk had begun settling over the trees. The remaining light caught along the tops of the ridges while shadows gathered beneath them.

Luke had positioned a deputy at the entrance to a narrow gravel pull-off. Beyond him, an older dark-blue Ford F-150 sat crooked near the tree line with its driver’s door open.

Austin parked well back from the tape, but Nora was out before he could remind her to stay clear of the scene. He caught up with her just as the deputy lifted one hand to stop them.

Luke approached from the truck, his expression grim. “Mikey made it to the hospital. He’s still unconscious, but his vitals are stable.”

Nora looked past him toward the woods. “Have you found anything showing Preston was here?”

“Nothing conclusive.”

She pressed her lips together as her gaze traveled over the truck, the surrounding brush, and the darkening trees.

Austin studied the vehicle from where he stood. The front passenger tire had sunk into the soft ground near the drainage ditch. “Any idea how Mikey ended up at the bottom of that cliff?”

“There’s a trail leading from here to the overlook,” Luke said. “We found him at the base of a thirty-foot drop about half a mile in. At first glance, it could have been an accident. We won’t know more until we finish processing the area.”

“Was his phone on him?”

“We haven’t found his phone.” Luke glanced toward the woods. “Until Mikey wakes up, we won’t know why he came out here—or whether he was alone.”

A crime-scene technician leaned out of the passenger side and called Luke’s name. Luke held up one finger before excusing himself and crossing the gravel to speak with her.

Austin remained beside Nora at the tape barrier. She hadn’t taken her eyes off the woods. Her hands curled into fists at her sides as if she could hold herself steady through force alone.

Luke returned carrying a clear evidence bag. Inside it was a small red Matchbox car.

Nora sucked in a breath and stepped closer. “That’s Preston’s. He was playing with it yesterday when I visited Shelby.”

Luke’s attention sharpened. “You’re certain?”