Page 48

Forty-Six

The sun had dropped in the sky, leaving a line of shadows along the perimeter of the hillside. Kane kept close to the rocky outcrop until they came to a deep fissure that would conceal the team from view. He tapped his com. “What do you see, Rio?”

“There’s a white van concealed beneath a large camouflage tarpaulin outside the mine entrance.

The metal gate appears to be intact.” Rio paused for a beat .

“I’m seeing what could be a CCTV camera above the entrance to the mineshaft.

I wouldn’t have noticed it, but it must have a sweeping motion because the lens caught the light just before. ”

Beside Kane, Carter was miming shooting a rifle. He nodded. “You sure you’re not seeing the scope on a rifle?”

“Yeah, I’m sure. There’s no place to conceal a shooter above the front of the mine. All I see is straight rock with hardly any cover.” Rio grunted and his breath caught. “These darn lines are live. I can’t appear to be working on them. If I touch the wrong thing, I’ll be toast… literally.”

Kane moved his attention to Rio’s position. “Change of plan. Climb down and head back to where we left the vehicles. We’ll need you back here pronto with a transport vehicle when we catch this guy.”

“Copy that.”

Waving the team forward, Kane edged through the shadows toward the mine entrance.

He scanned the area where Rio had spotted the camera and noted that it was set high and well above the entrance.

He tapped his mic. “The CCTV camera is covering the road. I don’t figure it covers the entrance, so as long as we keep down, we should be able to get in without him seeing us. ”

Duck-walking to the mine entrance Kane ran his fingers over the chain hanging free on one side of the large metal gate.

On one end hung an open shiny new padlock.

In the dirt at his feet sat a rusty discarded lock.

He kicked it with his toe, noting the cut where a bolt cutter had sheared it from the chain.

He eased the gate open slowly hoping it wouldn’t creak, and waved Carter and Zorro inside.

Having an explosives sniffer dog and a bomb disposal expert with him was an advantage, especially when hunting down a perpetrator known to use explosives.

He switched on his bodycam to record the takedown and ducked in behind Carter with Raven close on his heels.

Kane had been in many unusual situations during his time in the military, and small claustrophobic spaces didn’t worry him—although he’d admit pitch-black root cellars gave him the creeps.

Both members of his team were ex-military and would have endured the same type of training as he had.

He trusted they wouldn’t freak out in the oppressively dark environment.

Unable to use flashlights, Kane moved along behind Carter, feeling his way in the dim light with one hand on the damp moss-covered walls.

Stale air around them coated his tongue and tasted like the inside of a mausoleum, as if a thousand corpses had been buried close by.

As they moved deeper inside the tunnel, the outside light slowly vanished.

Once they turned a corner, the way ahead would be pitch black and each step would be into unknown danger.

Ahead, Carter held Zorro’s leash, trusting his canine friend to keep him safe.

It never ceased to amaze him how Carter worked with Zorro.

The dog understood the need to be silent and communicated with Carter using body language.

When he stopped abruptly, Carter turned and pressed a hand on Kane’s chest. Something was directly in front of them.

Kane recalled the layout of the mine, many passages branched off from the main one, but they needed to turn a corner before anyone would see them.

They could risk a penlight without being detected.

He took one from his pocket and played the beam across the floor.

A fine wire glistened in the light. Moving closer he followed the tripwire to an explosive device.

The idiot had set a device that could bring down the roof.

Heart pounding, he held the flashlight steady as Carter went to work.

Although he’d seen Carter work previously, and trusted him, it didn’t stop the trickle of nervous sweat running down between his shoulder blades.

Beside him, a ripple went through Zorro.

The dog understood explosions and he’d never seen him back away from some of the most dangerous devices.

Behind him, he could hear Raven breathing hard.

As Carter worked, he could have cut the tension inside the tunnel with a knife.

The threat neutralized, they moved forward.

Small rocks dislodged as they continued downward, each tiny pebble sounding loud in the silence.

Ahead, the tunnel broke into many dark endless maws, and Kane counted six possible places for the killer to be hiding.

He recalled the layout of the main area.

The last time he’d been down here, an underground office and storage area lay directly ahead.

They had assumed if Olivia was here, her kidnapper would be holding her in one of the cells.

As they moved forward, Carter suddenly flattened himself against the wall, one arm flaying behind him to stop Kane.

Kane pressed his com. Even in the caves the coms would work, and with Carter, no language was necessary.

He tapped a message to him and received the reply:

“Don’t move. Someone’s in the passageway on the left.”

Without hesitation, Kane pulled his weapon, stepped past Carter, and keeping his back to the wall, aimed his penlight into the darkness.

The sight chilled him to the core. He waved the others forward and moved the penlight beam slowly across a macabre scarecrow dressed in a tattered sheriff’s uniform.

Obviously female, the head, made from a roughly sewn burlap sack, had large haunting eyes and an open mouth drawn with bright red lipstick.

The outstretched arms were attached to a crossbeam and the legs hung to the floor.

Kane’s attention moved to the necklace, made from a piece of yellow twine with a dozen locks of hair attached.

Bile curled his gut at the sight of the killer’s trophies, proudly displayed.

An involuntary shudder went through him as he moved the light lower.

A long kitchen knife protruded from the swollen belly. Now this had gotten personal.

He indicated for Carter to move forward.

The passageway widened, and ahead, he made out a small flickering light.

The next second, voices came from every direction, women’s voices, pleading, crying, and begging.

Kane tapped his com. “He’s playing the recordings of the murders, the sick freak.

He’s trying to psych us out. Fat chance of that.

Spread out. Carter, take the left; I’ll take the right.

Raven, this is going to get nasty. Hang back and watch our backs. We’re going in.”

At a signal, Zorro moved forward and then stopped and sat down. Kane looked at Carter when the dog turned around and moved back to Carter’s side.

“He smells explosives, a cache likely C4 or Semtex. If it were an IED, he gives a different signal.”

Kane nodded. Carter’s voice had come through his earpiece at just above a whisper but he could hear it just fine. He indicated to keep going. Ahead was an unknown quantity who liked to play mind games.

As screams echoed around them, Kane dropped deeper into the zone and embraced the cold unemotional state.

Nothing would stop him taking down this killer.

He moved forward keeping his back to the wall, behind him Raven retraced his steps.

As they moved through one open metal gate and then another, the single bulb hanging from the roof illuminated a young girl tied to a chair wearing an explosive vest. The girl’s eyes looked hopeful at the sight of him but she shook her head and tipped it sightly toward the right.

He stopped midstride and glanced at Carter before scanning the small space.

It hadn’t changed since the last time he was here, an office type space, a shower, and cells.

The mind-altering screaming of tortured souls finally stopped and a man’s voice replaced it.

“There you all are, ready to take me down.” The man chuckled. “I didn’t figure you’d make it past the tripwire. The last deputy didn’t.”

Unfazed, Kane indicated toward one of the open cell doors and then looked at the girl, who gave him a slight nod.

“Sheriff’s department, why don’t you come out and we can discuss this?

No one needs to die today. So far, we have you only on kidnapping Olivia.

If she’s okay, then it won’t be so bad. I’ll put in a good word with the judge if you cooperate. ”

“You won’t need to, Deputy Kane, because I’m walking right out of here, but first you need to hear my story.” The man walked out of the cell, dressed in black and wearing a balaclava. In one hand he held a device, and his other rested on a Glock pushed into his belt.

“Why would we care?” Carter was aiming his weapon at the man’s head. “You put down that detonator and we’ll talk.”

“No way.” The man shook his head. “This is my guarantee of freedom.”

Keeping his M18 pistol leveled on the man’s chest, Kane stared into eyes like empty sockets. “So you wanna deal?”

“I want the truth, is all.” The man waved the detonator. “Didn’t you understand my notes? All those murders and people you put in prison, but you got it wrong one time. I’m putting the record straight and then I’m out of here.”

“How did you know the details of the murders you copied?” Raven moved closer.