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Before departing to surveil Osborne’s cabin, Nolan escorted Mina to the team’s equipment room. She carried the tension of the day on her shoulders like a heavy weight pushing them down. He wanted to help alleviate it, but he didn’t know how or if he could.

Her jaw dropped when she walked into the room and turned full circle. “Man, oh man, this is something. You must have a ton of money tied up in the inventory.”

More than she realized. “You can’t put a price on rescuing someone. We don’t want to be caught without the right equipment when someone is missing and needs our help.”

She waved her hand toward the floor-to-ceiling shelf holding their camera gear. “Seven different gadget bags?”

“One for each person and a spare in case one is malfunctioning.” He tried to keep any pride of ownership from his voice as this wasn’t about the items they’d accumulated. It was about how they used them. “We each chose a camera and various lenses. Some are interchangeable with different bodies, but for the most part we stick with our own gadgets.”

She tilted her head. “Why different cameras?”

“It was just preference starting out, but then we discovered along the way which brands were the best.” He blew on his fingernails and polished them on his chest. “Mine seems to produce the best quality photos and has the least amount of mechanical issues.”

“I would expect you to choose the best one. You said you were a photo buff. You took so many pictures when we were together.” She narrowed her eyes. “I don’t suppose you kept any of them.”

He had. All of them, every picture, but didn’t want to answer and seem like a fool for hanging on to them when he’d thought she’d dumped him. But he wouldn’t lie. “I don’t know why, but I have them all. In a box in storage.”

“Would you show them to me sometime?” She smiled softly up at him.

His heart somersaulted in his chest. “I’d be glad to get the box for you, if you want.”

She broke eye contact. “Maybe we can look at them together.”

“Maybe,” he said, but was he ready for that? Not if she hadn’t learned to trust him again. Better to move on now and do their job.

He grabbed his gadget bag. “I can handle taking any photos we need. Help yourself to whichever binoculars you’d like to use.”

She moved to their shelves of binoculars, both regular and night vision. She tapped the NVGs on a lower shelf. “I’ll grab a pair of goggles for both of us. They won’t be of use in daylight, but who knows how long we’ll be watching the place.”

“Sounds like a plan.” He reviewed the contents of his bag, making sure to have both a wide-angle and a selection of telephoto lenses. Satisfied, he closed the bag and reached for an empty tote to stow the binoculars and NVGs.

“I’ll take a signal jammer too. Wouldn’t want the doctor to use his cell phone.” He picked up a device they used to block electronic signals. “What about a drone?”

“We can’t legally fly one over his property without permission,” she said. “And if he’s guilty, I don’t want anything to prevent us from successfully prosecuting him.”

“Let’s bring one along, just in case. It’s better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.”

She looked up at him. “You really do have a first-rate surveillance business here.”

“Like I said.” He zipped up the tote. “We’re dealing with people’s lives, so we need to have the best tools available to increase the odds of bringing them safely home.”

She cocked a hip. “And I suppose you have an assortment of weapons as well.”

“Follow me.” He shouldered the bags, grabbed a drone, and left their equipment room. He set down the items to unlock a nearby door. “Our armory, as small as it might be, used to be a single guest room. We’ve reinforced the walls, door, and locks to keep everything secure. As you can see, we removed the window.”

She let out a low whistle, and he took the time to admire their weapon collection featuring various handguns, rifles, and even semi-automatics mounted on the upper walls. A store of ammo was neatly arranged and labeled on shelves below. And one wall held a hanging rack and dryer for Kevlar vests.

Her gaze flashed up to his. “Don’t tell me you need all of this?”

“Need? Nah.” He grinned. “A lot of the weapons we only use at the firing range, but like I said, we never know what we’re up against. If someone has abducted another person, they’re already walking on the edge, and it’s best to be prepared in case we push them over.”

She smiled back at him, reminding him how wonderful it would be to have a relationship with a woman who understood what his job required and his need for gadgets and weapons.

“I have my rifle and handgun,” she said. “Bring what you want to take along.”

He took a submachine gun and ammo, though he doubted they would need it. Still, he preferred it to a rifle.

“I figured you’d take that.” She laughed and stepped into the hallway. She hung one of the gadget bags over her shoulder.

He made sure the door locked and was secured, then grabbed the other bag, and they took off for her patrol vehicle. They didn’t speak as she maneuvered out of the inn’s parking lot and onto the road that led to Dr. Osborne’s cabin.

The miles clipped by, and Nolan really didn’t know what to say. Was it appropriate to have a personal discussion when they were on the way to try to rescue an abducted woman? Their issues seemed trivial compared to the life and death situation Becca faced if they didn’t get to her on time. That was, if she was still alive.

He just couldn’t do anything but ponder helping her, so he sat back and watched the rural scenery pass by. God’s handiwork on display. Majestic trees. Soaring hawks. Babbling brooks. Mountains. All right in front of him and a reminder that if God could make and oversee all of this, He could help Mina and Nolan work out their issues.

Mina slowed and clicked on her blinker.

It was go time, and he sat up straighter to take in the surroundings.

She pulled onto a small dirt road that the map told them would overlook Dr. Osborne’s cabin. She killed the engine. “Perfect lookout, and we can’t be seen from below.”

“I’ll grab the camera and binoculars.” He opened the door as silently as possible and went to the rear hatch to retrieve the equipment. Back in the passenger seat, he handed the binoculars to her and opened his gadget bag to select a lens and screw it into the mount.

She lifted the binoculars over the steering wheel and leaned forward. “Wow, these have really good clarity.”

“I told you. Nothing but the best for us.” He chuckled, but it was forced.

“No movement at the cabin,” she said. “Dr. Osborne’s vehicle is parked in the clearing.”

Nolan lifted his camera with a telephoto lens, and snapped a succession of photos taking in the entire area. He confirmed a small cabin in the large clearing as they had seen on the satellite images Hayden had retrieved and the white SUV parked near the door. Shades were drawn on all the windows, and lights were on in two of the front rooms.

“This clarity is so good, I should be able to see movements behind the blinds,” she said keeping her eyes on the binoculars. “Your aunt must’ve left you a lot of money to afford all this top-of-the-line stuff.”

“She did. A good chunk of change. But also, the team members bought into the business so they would each have a stake. We used that money for the equipment.”

“From what I’ve heard around town, you’ve been very successful in finding people.”

“We have,” he said, careful not to sound prideful. “By God’s grace. So far everyone we’ve found was alive, but I know the odds are against us for that continuing.”

“You’ve got to expect that in your business, though, right?” She turned to look at him. “I mean, we all know the longer a person is missing, the more likely they’re no longer alive.”

He nodded, but kept his eyes on the viewfinder. If he looked at her, he knew he would see her concern for Becca there, and he couldn’t let any emotions get to him. He had to stay levelheaded. “By the time families come to us for help, the police have investigated for some time. It’s only when they come up empty-handed that the families hire us as a last resort.”

“That’s got to be hard.” She turned back to the cabin. “What made you decide to get into such difficult work?”

“Goes back to my earlier days before the Secret Service. When I was a deputy in Portland. I was first on scene for a missing girl. Four years old. Taken from her bed. No suspects. No one ever found. Not even the little girl.” The full force of that past experience coupled with the present tension hit him, and he had to stop talking or he might lose it.

“And that stuck with you,” she said. “I can see that. I have a homicide investigation from Portland that I’ll never forget. Not because it was unsolved, but because it was a husband killing his wife, and the brutality he used is beyond comprehension.”

She shuddered, but lowered her binoculars to look at him. “It’s nice to be able to talk to someone who understands what this job does to people.”

“I agree.” He shifted to face her. “But honestly, I just like talking to you about anything.”

“I feel the same way.”

Music to his ears. “Do you think you can talk to your parents? To find out once and for all that I’m not lying to you?”

“I can, and I plan to.” She fell silent. “But you know if they admit to warning you off and then not telling me about it, I’m not sure I’ll be able to forgive them.”

“What if they lie and say I never came there?” he asked. “How will you feel about me then?”

“I don’t know. I just don’t know.” She looked away. “I’m having a hard time forgiving you. Not that you even need forgiveness if you did indeed leave me the note. Every time I think about how badly it hurt to have been left like that, I let the pain take over my common sense. My faith. The knowledge that I need to let it all go no matter what happened.” Her fingers tightened on the binoculars as if she were squeezing them to death. “Add my family into this, and I don’t know what I’ll do.”

She shuddered, then lifted the binoculars and pointed them at the house.

Okay, then. The end of their discussion. But it wasn’t the end as far as he was concerned.

Please let her parents tell her the truth but not at the expense of their relationship. I can’t be responsible for coming between them.

Mina’s phone vibrated from the holder on the dash. He’d never been more thankful for an interruption in his life. He spotted Sierra’s name on a video call.

“Answer,” he said. “She could have evidence.”

Mina tapped the button. “Sierra.”

Sierra smiled broadly. “I have DNA from Becca’s house.”

“And?” Mina and Nolan asked at the same time.

“And we have three viable profiles from the portable AC filter.” She took a breath, and Nolan wanted to push her along. “Mayor Sutton’s as expected, as well as Becca’s.”

“And the third person?” Mina asked.

Sierra frowned. “It belongs to your medical examiner. The AC unit likely picked it up while he was on scene. It was on the bullet casing too, which I found odd, but he must’ve accidently contaminated the scene.”

Mina shared a quick look with Nolan. They both knew he’d never gone to that scene.

“Looks like you both find that odd,” Sierra said. “But maybe this will help you figure out what’s going on. Did he also touch the invitation envelope for any reason? Because he left his DNA on there too.”

What? The invitation too? Nolan shouldn’t be surprised. If Osborne killed the mayor, he also arranged the night at the mansion and would’ve sent the invite. But he’d been so careful thus far, so why would he have touched or even licked the envelope? The only reason that made sense was that he didn’t think they had his DNA on file. So where did Sierra get it?

“He’s not law enforcement,” Nolan said. “And his DNA wouldn’t be in CODIS, so how do you know it’s a match to him?”

“We have his profile on file here for elimination purposes for an investigation we did years ago.” Sierra fell silent for a moment. “I’m sorry, I can tell this bothers you. You never like to hear that one of your professionals might’ve slipped up.”

“He didn’t slip up on the job,” Mina said, her tone low. “He was never at the scene in a professional capacity nor did he handle the envelope after we took it into evidence.”

“Oh. Oh-h-h!” Sierra’s expression held the same measure of surprise as her tone. “That’s a different story then. Do you have reason to suspect him of the mayor’s murder?”

“We do,” Mina said. “We’re actually watching his cabin right now as we think he has Becca inside.”

“Oh, wow.” Sierra shook her head. “I’m sorry to hear it could be him, but at least you know it, and now you have forensic evidence to help you prove it.”

“Thanks to you and your team,” Nolan said.

“I appreciate the thanks, but none is needed.” She smiled. “One last thing before I go. If you remember, we cast the shoe print outside Becca’s window. I was able to identify it from the shoeprint database as a size eleven men’s Brooks Adrenaline. So if you locate this brand and size in Osborne’s possessions, we can match it to the print.”

“We’ll let you know. Thanks again.” Mina ended the call and raised her binoculars.

“It’s Osborne, then,” Nolan said. “No question.”

“I’m not sure if I should be glad because we’re outside his cabin and will soon be able to arrest him or be disappointed and disgusted because he’s the medical examiner.”

“Yeah, being right for once is painful.”

“We have movement behind one of the windows,” she said, her tone lifting.

Nolan raised his camera again and began clicking. The door soon opened, and a woman was shoved out onto the porch, a gun to her back—Osborne, the man holding it.

“It’s Becca,” he said, though Mina would’ve come to the conclusion already. “Dr. Osborne is our guy. He really abducted Becca.”

“Yeah,” she said, her tone now low and melancholy. “I’d like to say it’s not what it looks like, but the gun tells us it is.”

She bent down to her radio and called for backup, requesting them to arrive silently so they didn’t spook Osborne.

“At least Becca is alive.” He watched Osborne march her down the steps toward the woods, the gun firmly in the middle of her back, then lowered the camera to look at Mina. “Looks like he might be planning to kill her now.”

“Yeah,” was her only response.

“Backup won’t likely arrive on time.”

“Yeah,” she said again, but lowered her binoculars to meet his gaze.

“Then it’s up to us,” Nolan said. “It’s our job to find a way to apprehend Osborne and bring Becca home alive.”

Mina would rather be anywhere, doing anything else, other than creeping up on Dr. Osborne, where he held Becca at gunpoint. Dr. Osborne, for goodness’ sake! The man she respected and looked up to. She really didn’t want to arrest him, but it didn’t matter what she felt. She had to do her job.

Handcuffed, Becca trembled in the harsh wind. “You don’t have to do this. You don’t have to kill me.”

“But I do, don’t you see?” Dr. Osborne asked. “I can’t let you live, or you’ll tell everyone I killed your father.”

She lifted her shoulders and eyed the doctor. “Then you should be a man and take responsibility for killing a defenseless person.”

Dr. Osborne growled. “Maybe he was defenseless, but he wasn’t innocent. He deserved to die.”

She shook her head. “But why? If you’re going to kill me, isn’t it time you finally tell me what this is all about? I know you’ve been worried I would escape and tell others, but it’s the end now. If I’m dead I can’t tell anyone.”

Mina didn’t know how Becca kept her composure and was able to speak of such things without falling apart.

Dr. Osborne planted his feet as if he’d reached a decision. “Taxes. It’s all about taxes. My parents were struggling for years to keep their business afloat. They went to your father for help. Asked him to lobby on their behalf to reduce the taxes on the inn so they could afford to stay in business. But would he do it? No, absolutely not.”

“So that’s it?” Becca’s eyes narrowed. “You blame him for your parents losing the inn and that’s why he had to die? Seems lame to me.”

Mina had to agree. This was one of the weakest excuses for murder she’d ever heard.

“It’s not lame.” Dr. Osborne waved his gun. “I didn’t really think anything of it until Nolan Orr and his team showed up in town. Then your dad arranged for tax breaks for his business so he could afford to operate the inn.” Dr. Osborne glared at her. “A newbie! Your father takes the side of a newbie over a couple who’d been in business their entire lives. People he knew. I went to school with your dad, and he didn’t care one bit for my parents.”

“I’m sure he had a reason.” She lifted her shoulders again. “Did you ever ask him?”

“Sure,” Dr. Osborne said. “But he gave me the stupid line about if he gave the inn a tax break, he would have to give a break to all of the resort-type businesses in town, and the tax revenue would fall too dramatically. Then the county wouldn’t be able to operate. But Orr’s business wasn’t at all related to the resorts so they could have a break and not set a precedent.”

“That makes sense to me,” Becca said.

“Of course it does.” He waved his gun wildly. “Your father is the one who made the horrible decision. My father is the one who lost his business.”

“Did you ever try to lobby for him before he lost his business?”

Osborne let out a long sigh. “Dad was really old-school and wouldn’t accept any help from me. He said if he couldn’t manage to get a tax break on his own, he didn’t deserve to run the business.”

“And now? How are your parents doing?”

Tilting his head, he didn’t answer right away. Perhaps he didn’t expect her to inquire about their well-being when he had her at gunpoint.

“Okay, I guess,” he said. “But just okay. I moved them to Florida so they didn’t have to get up every day and see the inn sitting empty and decaying as was happening before Orr bought it. I made sure they were comfortable, but every time I visit, my dad talks about how he’d rather be running the inn than anything else.”

“So when Nolan and his team took over the inn, you decided to get revenge.”

“Oh, I decided to get revenge a long time before that, but I had to find the perfect way to kill him and not take the fall for it.” Dr. Osborne smiled in a disturbing way Mina had never seen from him before. “When Orr took over the inn, I knew I could set it up to point in their direction.”

Becca shook her head. “But surely the sheriff will figure out they’re not guilty.”

“Could be. She’s pretty sharp, but she’ll still have to investigate all the members of the Lost Lake Locators team. Word will get around. No one will trust them again, and they’ll be forced out of business. The inn will be offered at a reduced price that I can afford to pay, and I can bring my parents back.”

Remaining calm, Becca arched an eyebrow. “What if she suspects you?”

“Hah! No way.” He snickered. “I played my part perfectly. No one suspects me, and that’s why you have to die. I can’t go to prison. My parents need me to buy the inn back.”

Becca started shaking. “I could just go away. Live somewhere else.”

“Like I can trust you not to want me to pay for your father.” He waved the gun toward the tree. “Over there. Move slowly and don’t try anything.”

Becca didn’t move. “If you shoot me, there’ll be blood everywhere, and the police will find it.”

“Like I said, they don’t suspect me so why come out here? Secondly, if you dig in the pile of leaves you’ll see I came prepared. Go ahead. Start scattering the leaves.”

She brushed the leaves away with her feet and looked up. “A tarp.”

He’d really planned ahead. Mina didn’t want to be impressed, but she was. He’d seen enough murders in his day or heard enough details to plan what he thought would be the perfect murder.

“We have to intervene,” Nolan whispered.

“Agreed,” she said without hesitation. “I’ll go in. You cover me.”

She took a step, but he squeezed her arm. “Be careful. I can’t lose you again.”

His voice choked off. Her heart clutched. The feelings swimming inside her caught her by surprise. But she wouldn’t admit them, or he might try to stop her.

She gave him a tight smile before stepping through rotting leaves and vegetation. Her footfalls were silent. Neither Dr. Osborne or Becca showed any indication of hearing her. She stopped fifty feet from the doctor to keep from scaring him.

“Dr. Osborne,” she called out, her hand on her sidearm at the ready.

He spun, his gun waving. He locked gazes on her, then turned to the side and waved his gun at Becca. “Don’t move. Either of you.”

Mina held up her hands. “There’s no need for the gun, Dr. Osborne. I’m not here to hurt you. I heard everything you told Becca, and I’m here to help you.”

“No, you’re not. You’re here to arrest me.” He glanced at Becca, then back at Mina. “Now you put me in a real predicament.” His gaze traveled over the area, his eyes unfocused and wild. “I’m not going to prison, and I don’t want to kill you, but I will if I have to.”

“No, you won’t.” She took a few steps closer. “You really aren’t a killer. You took an oath to save lives, not take them.”

“Some people just deserve to die. My cases as a medical examiner show me that.”

“Say that’s true,” she said to keep him focused on her. “Who gets to decide who should die? Should you? Should I? Should Becca over there?”

“Stop talking,” Dr. Osborne said. “You’re just trying to confuse me. I’m not a criminal, and I’m not going to prison.”

“But you are a criminal.” Mina firmed her stance. “You committed murder. Kidnapping. You need to pay for your crimes.”

“I’ve always respected you, Sheriff, and enjoyed working with you, but you’ve stuck your nose in where it doesn’t belong.” He shook his gun. “Get over there with Becca.”

She slowly moved forward, hoping when she reached him that she could disarm him, but as she approached, he backed away. She couldn’t reach him without taking a bullet. Her only hope at this point was to talk him down. If she couldn’t, then there was only one option. She would put herself between him and Becca.

Mina would likely take a bullet, but then Nolan would take Dr. Osborne out before he could kill Becca too.