Page 43

Forty-two

A TEXT DINGED on Greyson’s phone at the Waffle House adjacent to the truck stop. “Do you mind seeing what it says?” he asked, deep in research mode.

“Sure.” Riley reached over, careful not to get her sleeve in the syrup on her plate. She scanned the screen. “Oh my word.”

“What?”

“George called from the garage.”

“And?”

“There was a hole drilled in the brake line.”

He set his mug down with a shake of his head. “Kevin’s smart. He must have used it as a backup measure in case we got away. It takes time for a brake line to lose fluid. Driving out in a blizzard, the roads treacherous. He could have killed us if we’d pushed fully through the snow wall to the drop off below.”

“Thankfully we didn’t.”

“God saved us on that one,” he said.

“Yeah, He did, but I’m curious what else Kevin has in store. No way we’ve lost him for good.”

“No. But I think we’ve thrown him off our trail for now. Speaking of which, I’m going to let Phillip know I’ll cover the truck, but I think we should get a different set of wheels. Kevin, no doubt, will be looking for the truck, and it stands out. We need to get a more nondescript vehicle.”

“Agreed.”

He glanced at the dark sky. The sun had slipped away while he’d had his nose in the computer. “We better take an Uber to the closest rental car place before they close.”

“Good idea.”

An hour later, they pulled out of the rental lot in a white Chevy Traverse.

Riley’s cell rang. “Hey, Christian,” she answered on speaker.

“Hey, Cool Whip. How’s it going?”

“Still no sign of Kevin, so I can’t complain.”

Though he could always be waiting in the wings for them to lead him to Kelly and Jared. Maybe he and Steve had taken that tack, which was all the more dangerous. Riley was the tracker, and it seemed now as if the roles had been reversed.

“I’ve got some good news for you,” her brother said.

“Great. What’s up?”

“Joel called. Police found the stolen Honda stashed in another restaurant parking lot in Kayenta.”

“Interesting. Do you know which restaurant?”

“Uh, hang on ... Okay, The Three Pigs.”

“Seriously?” She chuckled.

“Yep.” Christian chuckled as well. “Apparently, it’s a highly rated barbecue place.”

“Okay.” She ran her hand up Greyson’s neck, slipping her fingers

through his hair.

He shot a quick look over at her with warm eyes, then fixed them back on the road.

“I’ll run a search for the restaurant on Google Maps,” she said, still rubbing his neck. They both were sore head-to-toe from their adventures so far.

She punched in the name on the laptop keys. “Got ’em, I think. It appears The Three Pigs is within walking distance of the bus depot.”

“The bus depot.” Grey smiled, pride for her in his voice. “Guess we got our next ping. Good work, guys.”

****

Greyson held the bus depot office door open for Riley. They approached the first window.

A bored-looking twenty-year-old glanced up at them. “Ticket?” he asked.

“No.” Grey pulled out Kelly’s and Jared’s pictures. “Have you seen either of them?”

“What are you, cops?” the young woman asked.

“Private investigators,” Grey said.

“Cool.” She bobbed her head.

“Have you seen them?” Riley asked.

“No, but I just came on duty. You should ask Adam.”

“Okay. Where’s Adam?”

“He just headed for the locker room. I’ll grab him.” The kid jumped up and returned with a short blond man—probably midthirties.

“Casey said you’re looking for someone?” the man asked.

“Yes.” Greyson handed Adam the pictures.

He stared at them for a long while. “I recognize the face, but...”

“But?” Grey leaned in.

“She’s got short black hair, not blond.”

“She might have changed her physical appearance.”

“She on the run from something?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, I sold her a couple tickets to Flagstaff.”

“Flagstaff? Are you sure?” Riley said.

“Positive.”

“Thank you so much,” Grey said.

“Why Flagstaff?” Riley asked as they exited the depot and headed back for the Traverse they’d rented.

“I doubt they’d take the bus to their final destination, in case someone discovered where they were headed. Flagstaff is on the way to Phoenix and Vegas.”

“Vegas again?” Riley’s face paled.

“I hate to say it, but I’m leaning there.”

“Why?”

“It’s a great place to launder money, get fake passports ... that type of thing. Plus, they’re from there. They must have connections. They can probably blend in and have coverage during their time there.”

“Not a great place to stay hidden.”

“No. But it might be a stopover,” he said as they settled in the car and pulled out of the lot. “I’ve been thinking about all the books on Kelly’s shelf Deck mentioned. He said there were books on outdoor survival, solar panels, and composting. What if they weren’t just to prepare Kelly and Jared to go on the run in the wilderness?”

“What do you think?”

“What if they’re heading for an off-grid location? Some place out in the wilderness where they plan to lay low and not be found.”

“Okay, so they launder money in Vegas and then head for an off-grid location. Any idea where?”

“There’s a lot of open land in Nevada.”

“True. It would be like finding a needle in a haystack.”

“Agreed. So let’s hope we catch them in Flagstaff.”

“And if we don’t?”

“Then I think we should head to Vegas.”

She swallowed, her throat closing in, her pulse kicking into high gear.

“I can call Deck and Christian to go,” he said, reaching for her hand.

“No. I’m in this for the long haul.”

“You sure?”

“I’m not going to let my past stop me from doing my job.”

He clutched her hand, and she didn’t let go.