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I was out of options.
“You feel like doing a little tracking with me?” I asked the pup, waiting until his tail wagged. “Good. You’re going to keep an eye out for our lady friend while I drive.” I rose from the chair, heading toward my gun cabinet, turning the combination. When it clicked, I shot him a look. “Don’t say it. I know what I said about the next time I opened this damn thing, but this is for a good reason. We need to find her.” The ache refused to go away as I pulled out a rifle and my favorite pistol.
At least this time, it could be used with different intentions in mind.
I slapped in a magazine then grabbed another as well as additional bullets for the rifle, finally shoving my phone into my pocket. Then I thought about whether or not Apollo could be used as a bloodhound. He was mostly Golden Retriever, although the mutt side of him was yet to be fully determined.
It couldn’t hurt, even if it was a longshot. It had been a couple of hours with no sightings and no information. I wasn’t a patient man under the best of circumstances and this particular wait was sheer torture. I headed into the bathroom, Apollo dutifully following. Then I grabbed the shirt I’d been wearing the last time I’d seen her. As I pulled it to my nose, the same familiar perfume made the ache deepen, the fury enough I almost knocked a hole in the wall.
It wasn’t just about the lack of control but the sickening feeling every second that ticked by would be a second too long.
In my mind, I could see an hourglass that had just been turned over. Once the sand was drained, she would cease to exist. I hadn’t been able to shake the feeling all day.
“Take a sniff, baby boy.” Apollo’s eyes drifted up to me as soon as I shoved the material under his snout. Then he started whining.
“I miss her too, buddy. So we’re going to find her. You and me.” As we headed out the door, an image of her popped into my mind, the way her face looked when she was challenging me. Her nose wrinkled every time she was upset or angry. And the way her eyes flashed when she was ticked could set a fire inside of any man.
As soon as I opened the door, Apollo jumped inside, his bright eyes encouraging. I rounded the front, glancing toward the mountains. Then I said a silent prayer, which was something I hadn’t done for a very long time. I had a feeling she needed it.
Apollo sat calmly in the seat beside me as I decided to trace her steps leaving her house. There were two roads she could have used to get into Missoula, both hilly nightmares. There was also a distinct possibility that she’d become distracted, run off the road.
When I finally reached a fork where one of two roads could be taken, I had to think like her. If she’d been running late, she’d take the shortest route. I made the turn, crawling along and rolling down the window. After a few miles, I was becoming discouraged. There was no sign of an accident, including rubber left on the road from hard braking tires.
“I don’t know, bud. Maybe this is a wild goose chase.”
My pup remained quiet, barely wagging his tail as I drove the entire length, getting to a point I knew she wouldn’t have reached. Then I turned around, more frustrated than ever. I idled for a few seconds, tapping my fingers on the steering wheel, allowing a line of cars to pass before heading in the opposite direction.
I’d barely gone a mile when my phone rang. Seeing Gage’s number pop onto the screen, I stiffened. “Please tell me you found something.”
His first response was to sigh. “Lance Rollington fooled everyone.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
“It means he had a perfect doppelganger willing and able to take his place. He had supervised visits and upon the insistence of the detective who’d worked on the case, he was checked.”
“What the hell? Aren’t there safeguards? How was that possible? Someone should have noticed the difference.”
“Not necessarily. The man has a twin brother.”
Oh, my God. “How long has he been out?”
“Over a week.”
“Fuck. Fuck!” I slammed my hand on the steering wheel. “Are you ready to help me now? Are you ready to turn over every goddamn rock?”
“The FBI is already involved. It’s their case.”
“The FBI couldn’t manage to get their thumbs from their asses if they tried. She’s in danger, Gage. I will find her one way or the other. And Rollington won’t survive.”
“Don’t do that. Let me organize a search party.”
When Apollo started barking, Gage’s voice was drowned out. “What is it, boy?” I slowed down, almost to a stop and he crawled all over me to get to the window.
“What the hell is going on?” Gage yelled.
“I’m searching for her car. Apollo noticed something. Just hold on.” I narrowed my eyes, catching a glimpse of metal. “Fuck. It appears someone was run off the road.” I pulled over to the side, immediately putting on my flashers.
“Where are you?” he demanded.
