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FORTY-ONE
Chewing on her bottom lip, Jenna leaned over Kane’s shoulder watching the laptop screen as he typed the emails to Poppy. She could just about cut the tension in the room with a knife. Kane had jumped into action at once, contacting Bobby Kalo and forwarding the messages as they came in in an attempt to locate the IP address of the laptop Poppy was using. Jenna contacted Carter to explain the situation. “How long before you take off?”
“I’ll be leaving here soon but I need to stop by Wolfe’s office to refuel. I’ll be over the mines in thirty or forty minutes.”Carter’s boots crunched on the gravel as he headed toward the chopper. “Jo will contact you by text as soon as we’re over the mining area. I’ll stay at altitude and make sure there’s no vehicles in the area. If it’s safe, I’ll drop low and search the riverbed. Ask Poppy to listen for the chopper and then tell me when she hears it. I’ll sweep the area until we get a fix on her position. I suggest you head out for the lowlands now.”
“Copy that.” Jenna relayed the message to Kane. “Send the email to Poppy. Carter will need an accurate location, so message Jo the moment Poppy gets back to you. I’ll get what we need from the gun locker. Contact Rio and Rowley and head them in the same direction.”
“Maybe we should think this through some?” Kane sent the email and then rubbed the back of his neck. “If the killer shows while we’re there, he’ll hightail it out of town. That description Poppy gave us fits three of our suspects… both the Bright cousins and Parsons. If he gets back before we arrive, and we spook him, he might kill them.”
Jenna considered the situation and nodded in agreement. “I agree. Susie and Poppy’s safety comes first. We’ll go in covertly, and if he’s not there, we’ll get the women out and lay a trap for him.”
“That might not be so easy.” Kane frowned at her. “Poppy seems to think he could be away for a few hours or days, and we sure as hell can’t sit down there for days on end, hoping he’ll show.”
Allowing Kane’s words to percolate through her mind, Jenna paced up and down, thinking through every angle. There was no way she’d leave anyone in danger. “Okay, you’re the expert in covert operations. Do you think Carter can drop us somewhere close to the caves Blackhawk showed us? You’ll be able to communicate with Poppy on your phone to find out if the killer has returned. If he hasn’t, we’ll go in and get them out and have them picked up by Carter. Once the victims are safe, we’ll take shifts watching the entrance road to the mines for him to return. I know that area. If you recall, we found a body there. There’s an access road for the maintenance of the electricity lines. Do you recall speaking to a linesman who’d spotted a body near a mine shaft?”
“Yeah, that’s not something I’d forget in a hurry.” Kane raised both eyebrows at her. “The area is open plains for many miles. It would be difficult to watch who comes and goes without being detected.” He rubbed his chin. “Do you remember that old cabin along the mining road? We could hook up a camera in there to watch the road and be waiting out of sight a mile or so away—if we could get in and out before he spotted us. There’s no telling when he will return.”
Jenna considered the distance between the main highway and access road and took into account the time it would take to get back up to the area. “I figured we would be on our own if he is there or returns when we’re rescuing the women. Carter isn’t going to be able to do much when he’s flying the chopper, and Rio and Rowley will be at least a mile away.” She sighed. “We’ll be on our own, but we’ve done it before. I’ll go and get the gear. I assume we’ll be repelling out of the chopper on the rockface beside the old riverbed?”
“Yeah. It’s not going to be easy. Carter will have to drop us from altitude to avoid anyone seeing us. It will need to be a rapid decline.” Kane gave her a long considering stare. “Are you sure you want to do this? Wolfe can fly the FBI chopper and Carter could go in with me. It’s something we’ve done a million times before.”
Jenna snorted. “You’re not getting overprotective again are you, Dave?”
“No, it’s not about being overprotective. It’s about speed.” Kane’s lips flattened into a thin line. “Me and Carter can descend fast. We’ve had to because we’ve been under fire. You’ll need to drop and trust the rope. It’s not easy.”
“I’ll manage.” She headed for the door. “I’m going with you. Call Rowley and see if he’s got eyes on Parsons. If so, we can remove him from the suspect list. Poppy didn’t mention two men, so we have to assume our killer is Sam Bright. He may or may not be alone.” She turned to look at him. “The Bright cousins are already spooked. There’s a good chance they’re already heading back to the caves to kill the women. We can’t wait for Kalo to pinpoint the laptop, Dave. We have to move now.”
“I’ll text Jo with the new plan.” Kane pulled out his phone.
Running, Jenna rushed to the equipment lockers, pulled out liquid Kevlar vests, helmets, and harnesses. She grabbed rifles and their backpacks. Dressing, she’d strapped on her helmet when Kane came into the room. “Are we set?”
“Yeah, we’ll head out to the rocks behind the riverbed. There’s an old track leading out to it but most of it will be off road. Carter will pick us up, and once we get a location, we’ll drop down. He’ll take off to avoid attention, so we’ll be on our own.” Kane pulled on his liquid Kevlar vest. “Rowley had eyes on Parsons about half an hour ago. They were on their way back. I sent them out to the industrial area on the edge of the lowlands to await instructions.”
Sighing with relief, Jenna nodded. “That’s good, so we have one or both of the Bright cousins to deal with—if they show.” She smiled at his worried expression. It wasn’t like Kane to show any emotion before heading into a situation. “What’s up with you today? We’ve handled worse killers than this one. At least he hasn’t made personal threats against us. For once, I’m not his target.”
“Jenna, you are. He hates women.” Kane’s gaze narrowed. “He especially hates women in law enforcement or he wouldn’t have placed the cop’s mask on his victims. He’ll take great pleasure in taking you down and making you suffer. How Poppy has survived so long is a miracle.”
Sobered by his revelations, Jenna nodded. “Okay, okay. It just seemed to me Sam Bright didn’t pose too much of a problem. He was cooperative, almost passive.” She swallowed hard at Kane’s raised eyebrow. “A psychopath can fool anyone. Yeah, I know.” She cleared her throat. “Talk to me.”
“We have no idea what weapons they have, or what they’ll do when cornered. An unpredictable psychopath could use the women as a shield, or just kill them in front of us.” Kane turned a concerned expression to her. “You know, they’ll do anything to escape.”
Jenna squeezed his arm. “I remember when a killer had a knife at my throat and you killed him. They don’t know what they’re up against. We’re a good team and I’m not planning on seeing Suzie or Poppy die today.”
“Let’s hope we get there before they do and can get the women out without a fight.” Kane attached his earbud and turned on his com. “Discharging a weapon in granite caves is dangerous. Miss the target and the ricochet could kill one of us.”
Jenna nodded and attached her com. “I know.” His combat face was back, and the sight of it was like a wall of armor around her. He made her feel safe. She handed him a helmet. “It’s just as well you never miss then, isn’t it?” She went on tiptoes and kissed him. “Let’s go.”
