Page 36 of Closer Than You Know (Vera Boyett #2)

Carter Farm

Coldwater Creek Road, Taft, Tennessee, 9:35 a.m.

Bent struggled to catch his breath. He’d run all the way up and then all the way back down that damned hill. Deputy Fowler had rushed to get his vehicle so they could follow Vera. They were now barreling in the direction she’d gone. The county cruiser just wouldn’t go fast enough for Bent.

Three other deputies had checked the house and barn. No sign of anyone or any indication that someone had been there besides the owner.

Old man Carter had been home all day the day before and all night last night. He’d been surprised by the deputies and had no idea what they were talking about.

There were far too many side turns and not nearly enough time to assemble roadblocks on the other end of this road or any of the many others.

What the hell had Vera been thinking? Instead of turning into the driveway, she had driven away. The only reasonable explanation was that she’d gotten a call informing her of a change of plans.

Or she’d set this whole thing up as a distraction.

He swore under his breath. Didn’t want to believe she would go that far. But then this was Vee. She would do whatever she thought was necessary to save her sister.

A silver vehicle appeared in the distance. He leaned forward, his pulse surging faster.

“That’s her SUV,” he said to Fowler.

The driver’s side door stood open. A blade of fear sliced into his gut.

Fowler slowed just a little. “You want me to call it in, Sheriff?”

“Let’s check it out first.”

They parked, exited Fowler’s cruiser, and walked toward the SUV, weapons leveled and readied.

The engine was running, but the vehicle was empty.

Her cell phone lay on the passenger seat.

Fob was still in the cup holder.

Damn it, Vee.

He surveyed the area ... open fields. No houses within sight. Empty highway. No one to have noticed anything. Desperation climbed up his spine, camped at the base of his skull, and throbbed. Had the bastard been waiting here for her?

His cell vibrated. Jones. “Have you heard anything from Vera?” Bent asked rather than bother with a greeting.

“I haven’t. I just got off the phone with the agent in Nashville. Solomon flushed the phone down the toilet,” he said. “We can’t confirm anything he told Vera.”

She had insisted on leaving Jones out of this covert op. Now Bent knew why. He had no freaking idea what Jones was talking about. “This is news to me, Jones. What the hell are you talking about?”

“What’s going on, Bent?” The other man’s tone warned he understood there was trouble. “When I spoke with Vera, she said she’d been contacted by Solomon, but she didn’t give me any of the details. She hasn’t answered my calls since.”

“We followed the instructions Solomon sent her via text message,” Bent explained, defeat kicking him hard. “The location he directed us to was a ruse. Now Vera’s MIA.”

All this was assuming what she had told him was the whole truth. Every part of him ached at the realization of what he had allowed to happen. His gut twisted into a tight knot.

“What’s your location? I’m coming there.”

Bent cleared his head. He had to think. “You at the command center?”

“I am.”

“Tell Deputy Olson to bring you to my location. I’ll text him the address.”

“Bent, was she armed?”

“She had a handgun.”

Jones exhaled a worried breath. “Okay. Thanks. See you soon.”

Bent shot off a text message to Olson with the Coldwater Creek location. Then he turned to Fowler. “I’ll use this vehicle. You go back to the team we left at the Carter farm and orchestrate a grid search along this road. I want you to check every house, every barn, under every damned rock. If you see or hear anything even remotely suspicious, I want to know about it.”

“Yes sir.” Fowler hesitated. “I just heard ... they found Deputy Riggs. He’s dead.”

God damn it! Bent had expected that would be the case, but he still hated hearing it. “Thanks, Fowler. Make sure the news doesn’t get out until I have a chance to notify his family.”

Fowler nodded, then hustled to his vehicle and executed a three-point turn and headed back to the Carter farm.

It wouldn’t take Olson long to get here with Jones. But it was far too long to suit Bent. His mind was already playing over and over a collage of possible things that bastard could do to Vera ... could do to Eve.

He picked up her phone and reviewed the messages she had received. He’d been right. She’d left him at the Carter farm because she had no choice. She had received a call from an unknown number. He gritted his teeth and tossed the phone back into the seat to prevent himself from calling that number. He couldn’t take the risk. Then he checked her text messages and confirmed the instructions she had received from Solomon. She’d told him the truth.

Bent felt sick. Wanted to bust something with his bare hands.

County cruisers barreled past him, first one and then another, turning down the side roads up ahead.

The one thing that gave him comfort was the reality that Vera would not go down easy.

He smiled.

But if he got there first ... Vee wouldn’t have to bother.