Page 25 of Taken from Her (Phoenix Ridge Police Department #4)

T he morning light streaming through Diana’s office windows carried hope that she hadn’t felt in weeks.

Evidence photographs spread across her desk told a story that was finally starting to make sense: cell phone data, surveillance reports, and community intelligence coming together and pointed toward a breakthrough.

Diana studied the forest topographical maps Detective Morgan Rivers had delivered an hour earlier, red pins marking locations where all three missing women had not just casual recreational connections but a meaningful relationship with Phoenix Ridge's wilderness areas.

Her coffee had gone cold while she absorbed the data.

Tara's environmental activism had taken her on weekly flora surveys along remote forest trails.

Isabel's photography expeditions sought the interplay of light and shadow beneath the canopy.

Joanna's trail running had been for mental health as much as exercise, following paths that wound deep into the coastal forest where cell coverage disappeared.

"Chief?" Morgan appeared in her doorway, laptop bag slung over her shoulder, excitement barely contained behind professional composure. "Ready for the briefing?"

Diana gathered the maps, her pulse quickening with anticipation that felt both professional and deeply personal. "Conference room. Five minutes."

The team assembled quickly. Detective Julia Scott already had her notebook open, Captain Michelle Reyes was consulting patrol schedules, and Lieutenant Angela Hodges reviewed tactical considerations.

Diana spread the forest maps across the conference table, noting how much steadier her hands were than they have been in weeks.

"Cell phone data from all three disappearances shows coordinated forest activity," Diana began, her voice carrying authority. "Someone was monitoring forest trailheads on the nights Tara, Isabel, and Joanna vanished."

Morgan pulled up data on her laptop, connecting to the conference room display. "Same device signature and coordinated timing with the women's known routines."

Julia leaned forward, studying the timeline analysis. "Community members provided intelligence about unusual vehicle activity near forest trailheads. Dark sedan with its engine running."

Angela consulted her notes. "The forest terrain provides natural concealment, multiple escape routes, and isolation from backup support. If our perpetrator has been using this area for staging, it's been strategically chosen."

Diana studied the surveillance data one more time, pieces clicking into place. Four weeks of investigation, and finally they had a course of action to take.

"I need to see these sites firsthand," Diana decided. "The forest terrain and vantage points."

"Should we put together a standard evidence collection team?" Michelle asked, already reaching for her radio.

"Not initially. I want Lavender's assessment of the locations first. She knows how the missing women used these trails." Diana gathered the maps. "If we find any evidence, we'll call in full support."

Angela frowned slightly. "Chief, if this is an active staging area?—"

"We'll have backup on standby. But going in with a full tactical presence might contaminate whatever evidence and intel are there." Diana looked around the table. "This perpetrator has been studying the community’s behavior for weeks. We need to understand what they saw."

Julia nodded. "Community perspective first, then an official response."

"Exactly." Diana assigned tasks quickly: Julia coordinating with traffic enforcement, Morgan expanding digital analysis, and Angela positioning discrete backup units. "I'll update you from the field."

As her team dispersed with clear assignments, Diana remained at the conference table, studying the terrain maps. After several minutes, Diana reached for her phone, already anticipating Lavender's voice.

"Morning," Lavender answered warmly on the second ring.

"We’ve had a breakthrough," Diana said without preamble. "Everything is pointing to there being a staging area in or near the forest. I need your help."

"When?"

"Now. I'll pick you up in fifteen minutes."

"I'll be ready."

Driving through Phoenix Ridge's morning streets felt different today now that she had a strong lead that would hopefully lead to clear answers.

Diana pulled up outside Lavender's Café.

Through the large windows, she glimpsed at the memorial corner where photos of Tara, Isabel, and Joanna watched over the space, surrounded by flowers and offerings.

Lavender came out of the café carrying a canvas bag and wearing clothes suited for forest hiking: practical boots, layered clothing, hair pulled back with care.

But when she settled into the patrol car's passenger seat, her presence immediately transformed the official vehicle into something more personal.

"The forest connection makes sense. All three women had a strong relationship with those trails," Lavender said as Diana drove toward the forest access roads.

"Tara's flora surveys were meditation as much as activism.

Isabel's photography helped her process corporate burnout.

Joanna used trail running to work through her transition from Olympic competitor to instructor. "

Diana absorbed this, understanding how case files had reduced complex women to schedules while missing the emotional significance. "Someone who understood those connections could predict not just when they'd be there, but why it mattered."

"These weren't just attack locations," Lavender said quietly. "They were sacred spaces."

The forest access road appeared ahead, winding through coastal vegetation toward towering Douglas firs that created cathedral spaces beneath their canopy.

Diana turned off the main highway, immediately noting how the pavement gave way to gravel, how civilization yielded to wilderness with each mile.

"There." Lavender pointed toward a pull-off area where tire tracks were still visible in the soft earth. "That's where community members reported seeing the surveillance vehicle."

Diana parked, studying the positioning. It was the perfect vantage point for observing trail access while maintaining quick escape routes. The location demonstrated tactical thinking, someone who understood both forest terrain and law enforcement response patterns.

"Ready?" Diana asked, gathering evidence collection equipment from the trunk.

Lavender shouldered her canvas bag, which Diana noticed carried water, emergency supplies, and what looked like herbal first aid materials. "Ready."

They stood at the forest entrance where a gravel road turned into the wilderness trail, morning light filtering through the canopy in golden shafts that made everything seem both beautiful and potentially dangerous.

Diana felt her protective instincts activate, hyperaware of Lavender's presence beside her as they prepared to enter terrain where three women had been studied, stalked, and taken.

"Stay close," Diana said, checking her radio and emergency equipment one final time.

"Always," Lavender replied, the word carrying weight that had nothing to do with forest safety.

Diana led the way onto the trail, case files and personal connection combining as they entered the wilderness where she hoped answers waited.

The trail wound deeper into Douglas fir territory, morning light filtering through the canopy in scattered patches. Diana’s boots found steady purchase on the packed earth while Lavender moved beside her with the easy grace of someone who belonged in this environment.

“Tara would’ve come this way for her surveys.” Lavender pointed toward a narrower path that branched off the main trail. “She documented plant communities along these corridors for her environmental reports.”

Diana photographed the junction, noting how someone could position themselves to observe multiple trail approaches from a single vantage point. The forest provided natural concealment while the elevation offered clear sightlines in three directions.

They followed the survey path for twenty minutes, Diana documenting potential surveillance positions while Lavender provided context about how each woman had used these spaces.

“Someone spent time learning these patterns,” Diana observed, studying fresh boot prints in the soft soil beside the trail. Not hiking boots or running shoes, but tactical footwear with aggressive tread patterns.

Lavender crouched beside the prints, her expression growing serious. “These are recent. Maybe a day or two old.”

Diana’s hand found her radio automatically, but static greeted her attempt to contact the station. The forest terrain was interfering with communications more than she’d anticipated.

“How much farther to the main survey area?” Diana asked.

“Another half mile. The trail opens into a clearing where Tara conducted most of her detailed work.” Lavender shouldered her pack, but Diana caught the tension in her movements. “It’s more isolated than this section.”

They pressed deeper into the forest, the canopy growing thicker overhead while underbrush closed in around the narrow trail. Bird calls that had provided a cheerful soundtrack earlier fell silent, replaced by the whisper of wind through branches and their own careful footsteps.

Diana’s training kicked in as the environment became more confined. Limited visibility, restricted movement options, and increasing distance from backup support. Every instinct told her to turn back and return with a full tactical team.

But three women had been taken. Someone had studied these trails, learned the victims’ routines, and used their knowledge to strike when detection was least likely.

“There.” Lavender pointed ahead to where the trail widened slightly. “The clearing is just past those fallen trees.”