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The Commander stared at Jake with concern. “The details explained to me by a few different officers are somewhat vague. Apparently, there were orders presented for his release. Someone put it out that he was working for AFOSI.”
“He definitely had to have been conspiring with someone else in high command,” Jake stated grimly.
The Commander heaved a sigh, nodding his agreement. “There’s not a doubt in my mind.”
“And it can’t be a coincidence that it happened right before he was supposed to go on trial.”
“We tried to rush him through a court martial as quickly as we could. But I agree. We’ve been able to keep it quiet, so someone on the inside had to have been behind his supposed accidental release.”
Jake closed his eyes, counting to ten beneath his breath, and then opened his eyes again. “So, I take it that you need me back on his trail?”
“I hate to have to assign you to something like this right before Christmas, but I feel it’s imperative to get Darnell back in custody, and no one seems to know him any better than you. Every lead I’ve obtained about his whereabouts has led me nowhere.”
“As you know, Christmas isn’t exactly my favorite time of year,” Jake answered derisively. “I’d welcome the diversion.”
Commander Drummond stared at him intently and finally nodded his acceptance.
“Alright,” the Commander murmured. “Let’s work out the details. I’m afraid this is going to have to stay between the two of us for obvious reasons. If I hadn’t gotten a call from one of my operatives who was working here in the area, I would have never even known that Darnell had been released.”
When Jake had taken Darnell into custody two months earlier in Crystal Rock, Wisconsin, he’d flown back with him here to Quantico, where Darnell had been held in the brig awaiting his probable court martial as all the evidence against him was being compiled in order to make sure they had as close to an airtight case against him as possible.
A few hours later, Jake was on his way to his condo where he’d try and get caught up on laundry and start packing for his cross-country trek which he would begin tomorrow. He’d physically follow all the leads that the commander had obtained, although Jake had a feeling he knew Darnell’s destination. It amazed him how Darnell had managed to avoid detection when Jake had been tracking him earlier this year, and he suspected there was a private plane at Darnell’s disposal even though Jake had been unable to locate anything other than a truck in Darnell’s name.
But if Darnell wasn’t working alone, it was starting to make more sense.
It was frustrating for Jake that after watching nearly every move Darnell had made and finally succeeding at taking him into custody, Jake had to start all over again, even though the charges had still been in contention and there had been a long list of witnesses that would need to be lined up for Darnell’s court martial. Darnell had somehow managed to weasel out of the previous charges against him one year earlier and had been granted early retirement instead.
But Darnell had sworn revenge against Jake after being taken into custody for the second time in Crystal Rock, Wisconsin a few months earlier.
But what no one knew? Although he couldn’t prove it, Jake was sure that Brian Darnell had been responsible for the rape and murder of his younger sister at Christmas, five years earlier, and Jake had vowed that no matter how difficult it was going to be to get him convicted, Darnell would pay for every single thing he’d done.
Chapter One
Two Days Later
Crystal Rock, Wisconsin
“Where in the world did this guy come from? He’s the size of a small pony.” Veterinarian Kinley Mathis studied the massive dog, who seemed to be staring at her longingly from inside the largest cage available at the Crystal Rock Animal Shelter.
Obviously realizing she was talking about him, the dog started wagging his tail like crazy as he stood expectantly and began to whine.
Rose Atkinson grimaced. “Dad brought him in. Supposedly, he was wandering around at the beach near the house.”
Kinley smiled widely. “So, how many animals have shown up at your doorstep through the years?”
Rose grinned. “Too many to count. I suspect that Dad doesn’t mention half of them to Mom anymore.”
The Atkinsons were rather an amazing family. Rose’s mom Emily Richardson was a Grammy Award winning vocalist who had settled in Crystal Rock with her husband Tim, a former Air Force Veteran and service dog trainer who had taken over the running of the shelter when he’d returned home as a wounded warrior. Tim’s idea had been to turn strays into service animals for people with disabilities, and the program had been highly successful.
Rose had come into the picture as a young disabled girl who’d been blinded in a car accident where she’d lost her parents, and Emily and Tim had ended up adopting Rose when they’d fallen in love with the six year old girl who had needed a service animal.
“I’m surprised you’re back in Crystal Rock already. Aren’t you and Ben usually touring until Christmas?”
Rose suddenly looked flustered.
Kinley gave her a wry smile. “Okay. What’s going on? You’ve been acting distracted the entire week.”
“I was going to wait to announce it at the Christmas charity event, but since you’re already like a member of the family anyway…”
