Page 66 of Smoky Mountain K-9

“Come on, come on,” Jake mumbled. “Show us your face.”

As they neared the door, Mara looked directly at the camera. The other woman still didn’t look up.

“What’s she doing with her hand?” Tristan pointed at Mara on the screen.

Gemma gasped. “It’s sign language.”

“What?” Carter leaned closer. He didn’t know she knew sign language.

“She knows a smattering because of the type of patients we see. So do I.” Gemma cocked her head, watching the screen. She rewound the video, blowing up the lobby camera feed, then let it play again.

“What’s it say?” Tristan asked.

“Constance. She spelled Constance.” She looked at her brother.

Carter pushed away from the desk, grinding his teeth. They’d been too late to identify her. He spun back. “Is there a view of the parking lot?” Maybe they could get a view of her license plate and the kind of car she was driving.

Gemma’s fingers flew over the keys as she changed the screen, then let it play. This time, Constance had parked closer, probably to limit the time people passing by saw her walking through the lot. But that meant the camera got the perfect view of her black Ford SUV and its license plate.

Tristan had his phone out before Gemma could hit pause.

Carter looked at Jake as Tristan called in the plate. “I don’t like this. She’s getting careless. Not only did she call from her room at the motel, but she let us see her license plate. She either intends to disappear, or not survive this. Either way, Mara’s in a lot of danger.”

Jake’s jaw twitched, his icy blue eyes hard. He nodded once. “Agreed.”

“Okay, thank you.” Tristan hung up. “It’s registered to a rental car company at the Asheville airport. Jake, we need to get a warrant for their records, and we need to get that fingerprint evidence to the lab.” Backing up a step, he patted his sister’s shoulder. “Thanks, Gems. Make a copy of all that and forward it to my email, would you?”

“Already on it.” Her fingers worked the keyboard.

“Carter, you coming with us?”

“Definitely.” He wanted to be close in case they needed Maverick. Even if a lawyer tried to argue he shouldn’t be on the case, he didn’t care. If it came down to saving Mara’s life or saving the case, he’d choose Mara every time.

“Good, let’s go.”

Thirty-Five

Dark shapes flew by as they wound up the mountain road, deeper into the forest. Mara had no idea where they were going, but hopefully, they’d stop soon. The further away they got from the equestrian center, the harder it would be for Carter to find her. She’d tried to get the woman to talk, to explain what she meant about Carter killing her husband, but Constance just told her to shut up and refused to answer any of her questions. Hopefully, once they reached their destination, she’d be more willing to talk. Mara would like to know what she’d meant by that cryptic comment.

The car slowed, and Constance turned onto a dirt road. Bouncing over the rough ground, the SUV delved into the trees, finally stopping at a small, one-room cabin. Lights glowed in the front window.

“Where are we?”

“Just a little place I rented. It’s better suited for my needs than my motel.”

“What motel?”

Instead of answering, she opened her door. “Get out.” She pointed her gun at Mara. “But don’t run. I won’t hesitate to shoot you.”

Eyeing the weapon warily, Mara opened her door and slid out of the vehicle. Based on the hard glint in the woman’s eyes, she didn’t doubt her words. Until she was alone and could escape or disarm her, Mara was stuck with the crazy bitch.

“Careful where you walk. We wouldn’t want you to have an accident.”

Mara’s eyes widened, and she eyed the ground. “You booby-trapped this place?”

“Of course I did. It’s a present for Carter when he comes to rescue you.” She gave Mara a shove. “Walk.”

Mouth flat as she glared at the woman, she turned her attention to the path. About halfway to the door, Constance yanked on her arm, halting her.