Renz and I left Tara and promised to return later, hopefully with Jane as a roommate.
“So we’ve got a dark truck and now a red van to look for. It shouldn’t be too hard, Renz. We’ll go to every ranch in that twenty-five mile radius under the guise of looking for some fictitious person and scan the surroundings. If we see a red van or a dark-colored truck, we’ll check off that place and dig deeper into the residents living there. It’ll be a process of elimination.”
“I guess that could work.”
“Of course it could, and we need to make progress. We have to get Jane talking too. I’ll pull up a map of the area on my laptop, show Jane where she was found, and see if she can tell us where she started from. We have to do something productive.”
“I agree, and the sooner the better. Let’s grab a bite to eat in the cafeteria then see if we can talk to Jane again.”
“We need to do something else first. Come on.” We crossed the parking lot, and I remembered we didn’t have a windshield. “Damn it. Are you okay going three blocks without the windshield or a passenger window?”
“Of course, but when are they getting replaced?”
“Honestly, I haven’t even thought about it. I suppose we need to call the rental agency and have them send someone out to do that.”
“And the sooner the better in case we need to take off at a moment’s notice. Or better yet, have them bring us a different car.”
I helped Renz into the rental and climbed in behind the wheel. “Hand me the rental agreement from the glove box. I’ll make the call right now.”
With that taken care of and a different vehicle scheduled to arrive by nine a.m. tomorrow, we were good to go. I drove to the sheriff’s office, and we got out.
“So, what’s the plan?”
“There are two things I think will unnerve Mr. Motorcycle Maniac. One, to let that ass know you aren’t dead, meaning he failed to carry out his own plans or what the top dog told him to do.”
“And the other?”
“To tell him we have Jolie.”
“What is that going to do?”
“I don’t know, but Jane seemed very upset when I mentioned that I had a sister. That’s when she said the only word that came out of her mouth—Jolie. Either somebody with that name is missing, or she’s at the ranch. Regardless, he won’t know for sure what I’m talking about since I’m going to be vague about it. All I want to do is check his reaction. I need to know if Jolie is a real person. When I said the name Malcolm, he went white. Maybe saying Jolie’s name will be enough to make him think we’re on the verge of finding out everything. It might get him talking.”
Renz scratched his two-day stubble. “I guess it’s worth a shot.”
Once inside, I explained that we needed to see the shooter again and have a word with the sheriff. We were told he was in his office and to go ahead and give his door a knock. We did, and Burke waved us in. We told him we needed to speak to the detainee again and try to get a response. He agreed, called the guard, and asked him to take the man into the interrogation room. After hanging up, Burke gave us the good news—sort of. He’d said that all the slugs taken from Byron, Tara, and Renz appeared to be from the same gun and that the prints on the shell casings matched our unknown assailant, although they weren’t in the system.
I clenched my hands into fists. “Damn it. One step forward and five back.”
Renz patted my shoulder. “We’ll nail him soon enough, Jade. Let’s go see if we can get him to slip up.” Renz turned to the sheriff. “Do you know anyone named Jolie?”
Burke rubbed his forehead. “Jolie, huh? Nope, can’t say that I do.”
“Okay.” Renz nudged me. “Come on. Let’s see what we can get out of him.”
Five minutes later, Mr. Motorcycle was sitting in the same interview room as earlier and angrier than hell. I wondered why.
“Now what do you want?”
“We’re the FBI. We can talk to you as much as we want. Funny how you haven’t lawyered up, though.” I cocked my head and smiled. “Is it because you’d have to reveal your name?”
“Go to hell.”
“Thanks, but I’ll wait on that for a while, and so will Agent DeLeon. Apparently, you aren’t that good of a shot.”
He snickered. “I hit him, didn’t I?”
I swatted the air. “And I hit you. You’re an amateur and just taking orders from the big man. Am I right?”
He flipped me the bird.
“Good one,” Renz said. “Just so you know, we have Jolie. Everything else will come together in the next day or so.”
“What?”
Renz looked at me and shook his head. “Did I stutter?”
“I don’t think so. Agent DeLeon said we have Jolie. Did you hear it clearly now?”
“That’s impossible. She’s—”
“Impossible why?”
“I’m not saying another word.”
I laughed and slapped the table. “You don’t have to. You’ve already told us what we wanted to know.”
Renz and I stood and walked out. Back at Burke’s office, we told him what we’d learned.
“Jolie is, or was, a real person, and I’m assuming she was Jane’s sister. Also, Tara told us that the vehicle that ambushed them was a red van. Put out a BOLO for a local red van. We don’t have a plate number or a make and model, but in these parts, a red van would still warrant checking into. There can’t be many of them.”
“You got it, Agent Monroe. Anything else?”
“Not anything new. We need to find out who Malcolm, Jolie, and the man in custody are, along with the missing shooter, but most of all, we need to locate that ranch and have probable cause for going there. It’s a tall order, but with all of us working together, we can do it.”
Renz took his turn. “We’ll keep you posted. Right now, we’re going back to talk with Jane again. Hopefully, she can tell us more.”
We returned to the hospital, where Dr. Barnes gave us permission to speak with Jane. He said we could press for information but not to overdo it. Jane hadn’t met Renz yet, but I would take care of the introductions. She didn’t even know I was an FBI agent. I knocked on the door then peeked around the curtain before walking in. Jane was sitting up in bed and looked my way. I was sure I saw a slight smile of recognition.
“May we come in? I’d like to talk to you some more.” I was careful not to call her Jane. I didn’t want to confuse her even more, and I doubted that Jane was her real name anyway. I entered with Renz right behind me. “This is my friend Lorenzo. He’ll be listening to our conversation and might ask you questions too. Is that okay?” I hoped for a response, but she only nodded. “Good. You said the name Jolie earlier. Is she your sister?”
Her eyes welled up. “Jolie.”
I glanced at Renz, and he tipped his head. I needed to press her.
“Do you know why you’re here?”
She reached up and touched her bandaged head.
“That’s right. You have a head injury, but you’ll be better soon, and then you can go home.”
“No, no, no!” She squirmed.
I gave the monitors a quick look. Her heart rate was increasing again. “Okay, you don’t have to go home, but I have a very important question to ask you. I need to know if this man is familiar to you and if you know his name.” I cautiously moved closer and opened my phone to the photo of our assailant. I held it near her face. Her back arched, and her whole body went stiff.
“Donny! Bad man!” She slapped at my phone.
I quickly pulled it away. “Donny is a bad man?”
She nodded.
“Are there more bad men at the ranch?”
She nodded again. “Bart.”
That information was helpful, but without a location, first names weren’t enough. “Do you know where the ranch is?”
She stared straight ahead with a blank look on her face. I felt discouraged, but I needed to press on.
“Do you remember my name?”
“Jane.”
I smiled. “Close. It’s actually Jade. What’s your name? I don’t think we were properly introduced.”
She frowned and remained quiet. I opened my briefcase, pulled out my laptop, and placed it on the roller table that extended over her bed. After clicking on the map we’d put together earlier, I pointed at the place where Tara had found her.
“This is where Donny hurt your head.” I pointed at the red teardrop. Do you know where you came from or how long it took you to get there? Did you walk over the mountain or stay on flat ground?”
She reached out and touched the screen.
“Go ahead and show me where you came from.”
She moved her finger over the mountain range and stopped at the previous valley. She poked the screen with her index finger. “Jolie.”
“Jolie is there?”
She nodded.
“Is Bart there too?”
She nodded again.
“How many nights were you outside before Donny found you?”
Her forehead creased, and she appeared to be thinking. “Tree.”
I shook my head and looked at Renz.
“Three? You were outside for three nights?” he asked.
She nodded.
Then I understood. She was still unsure of her words, but luckily, Renz caught what she meant.
“Does Bart have guns?”
Tears slid down her cheek, and she nodded vigorously.
“Is Bart the boss, and does he have four-wheelers too?”
She groaned.
“Were you trying to get away when you ran off?”
“Me and Jolie.”
I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand. It was all coming together. Donny had said it was impossible that we had Jolie, and he as much as admitted she was dead—likely at his own hand.
“Are other kids still at the ranch?”
“Lots.”
I had to pause to keep from cursing. After a few deep breaths, I continued. “Does the ranch have a name, or do you know what road it’s on?”
She shook her head.
“Do you know Donny or Bart’s last names?”
She shook her head again.
“Okay, I think this is a starting point. Do you remember seeing a lady in the woods when you were with Donny?”
She frowned and looked like she was remembering. She nodded.
“That woman saved your life, and she’s here in this same hospital. She’s very concerned about you. Would you like to share a room with her or at least meet her? Her name is Tara.”
“Cassie.”
“It’s Tara, honey. Her name is Tara.”
She patted her chest. “Cassie. I’m Cassie.”