Page 19 of Avenging Angel

Vinny clears his throat. “I’m more than happy to provide Overwatch. If my date with Dottie goes well tonight, it wouldn’t be out of place for me to sit at the counter and chat with her tomorrow morning. I can be a measure of security without interfering.”

Angel and I stare at each other, waiting for the other to blink. He loses the battle. “Fine. I won’t go to the diner and cramp your style, but please allow Vinny to arrive early and provide backup.”

My eyes dart between Vinny and Angel, both acting like my protective older brother, Owen. It’s suffocating while also very sweet and heartwarming. “Alright, Uncle Vinny can come, but only because I really want him to find love. Dottie seems like the ‘settling down’ type and perfect Auntie material.”

Vinny grumbles. “How about we catch ourselves a kidnapper first? Worry about marrying me off later.”

I tap the comm device in my ear to turn it on, then put on my helmet. Angel and Vinny do the same. Angel asks, “Where do you want to start?”

“The rim,” Vinny and I reply in unison.

“Brad said to avoid elevations above 4,500 feet.”

“Exactly,” I say, starting my ATV. One nice thing about our comm devices is that they filter out ambient noise. Even with the rumble of our engines, our voices come through crystal clear.

I rev the engine and head toward the trail that will take us to the road going up the mountain. Laughing, I say, “The best place to start is the one we were told to avoid.”

Chapter seven

Angel

As we return from our ATV excursion, the exhilaration I feel from being back in the area where I grew up, surrounded by mountains, fresh air, and the wind whipping across my body, brings me a sense of peace that everything will turn out fine in the end. Turning in my resignation was the right thing to do, but it leaves me with an ache in my belly and a sense of unease. If I had to give that feeling a name, I’d call it a “lack of purpose.”

While I might be jobless and have no idea what the future will bring, I still have one last mission: help Daisy battle her demons. If diving headfirst into danger is what I need to do, or step back and watch Daisy go on a date tomorrow, then I’m ready. However, it doesn’t mean I have to like it.

The worst part about it is that Brad was truthful with us, though I loathe to admit it.

The snow is already quite deep for this time of year; not the four to five inches that are typical for the area in late September and early October. So far, the plows have kept up with keeping the main road clear, but the trails have too much powder on them for the vehicles to traverse in a safe manner. That’s why we’re already back at the cabin earlier than expected.

At least there’s some good news. We were able to access the public campgrounds along the rim, sticking the micro-cameras at the entrances and near trailheads. The signal boosters that allow the video feeds to download to my laptop almost 20 miles away were easy enough to install. All we had to do was turn them on and find a good spot for a satellite signal. The best part about these devices is that they also store up to two weeks of footage in the event that a connection can’t be established.

“We’ll have to hike the trails for as many days as it takes before someone is kidnapped,” Daisy says as she comes back in from setting up a perimeter alarm. Now that we’re actively engaging with the locals and asking questions, an added layer of security is necessary.

She explained how the perimeter system uses infrared lasers as an invisible tripwire and cameras that quickly detect whether the intruder is human or animal. Because of the trees blocking her ability to create a square fence line, she had to add several more base points to create a distorted hexagonal pattern that extends anywhere from 100 to 120 yards out.

“I’d prefer to catch the guy before that happens,” I tell her while downloading the private security app that allows my phone to receive proximity alerts. It was developed by the Southern Knights’ parent company, Shining Knight Protective Services, and not available to the public.

“Me too, but this guy has successfully gotten away with kidnapping 18 girls, including me, over the past 23 years. The FBI couldn’t find enough forensic evidence, nor did the CIA care enough to continue looking into it once they took over the case. The guy’s a ghost, Angel. For undeniable proof, we need to catch him in the act.”

Daisy sounds cold, aloof, and distant: a polar opposite to her playful side that I’m accustomed to.

“That’s a little harsh, don’t you think?” I set down my phone and turn in my seat to give her my undivided attention.

“Yes, but necessary. We already have two potential suspects, including an unknown. Thankfully, Vinny was able to adhere a few micro-cameras to the diner’s hanging picture frames while Dottie was clocking out for the night. Lord willing, soon enough we can capture an image of the man from the diner and get an ID. Can we prove he was at all of the other abduction sites other than the two where our paths crossed? The short answer is, ‘No.’ As for Brad, he has reason to be at different national parks. It’s circumstantial at best. I spent a week with my captor and wouldn’t be able to pick him out of a lineup to save my life.”

Daisy turns off the burner she’s using for the ground beef she’s been cooking for the chili that’s simmering in a pot. With only two burners on the hotplate, it’s nearly impossible to multitask. I had only been kidding about having chili for dinner tonight as a deterrent, but she thought it sounded like perfect comfort food on a chilly evening.

“I don’t want to risk another girl being taken, but I don’t think we can catch this guy unless we allow it to happen.”

“We have to be careful how we proceed then,” I warn. “If we start asking too many questions, then he might not make his move. If he’s willing to go underground for five years, then there’s no reason he wouldn’t head elsewhere or skip this year altogether.”

Once Daisy has the beef drained and added to the pot, she puts the chili on a low setting to finish cooking. Then she walks over to sit on the couch, patting the other side in invitation. While I’d prefer to pull her into my arms rather than sit at the end, I get the feeling that whatever she has to say requires a bit of distance. “I know you have questions about what happened to me; questions that aren’t in my file.”

“I do, but only if you’re willing to share.” I accept the offered spot and get comfortable, resting my arm over the back of the couch.

Daisy shifts to the corner to face me, tucking one foot underneath her body. “For years, I’ve kept the details to myself. Roger and Director Finnegan know all of it because they were there and helped me and my family start a new life. But my brother? I didn’t tell him everything. Not because I didn’t want to, but because I didn’t want him to get dragged into the dark hole of despair that I had felt for years. My parents? They hovered enough after the abduction; always worried about me every time I left the house alone. So much so, they chose to homeschool me through my high school years.”

“That must have been very lonely.”