“Stay down,” Devin ordered softly.
He watched as Sienna took Colby and disappeared into a back bedroom. With his gun drawn, he hovered near the window and peered out.
A truck pulled up.
Whoever was driving wasn’t trying to be subtle. That could be good or bad news.
Devin would reserve his judgment.
A man hopped out of the truck and sauntered toward the door. Devin observed him. The man was probably in his sixties with a long, salt-and-pepper beard and a nearly bald head. He was dressed in well-worn jeans, an old white T-shirt and a dirty khaki jacket.
He reminded Devin of a typical mountain man—someone who enjoyed the outdoors and hunting and living off the land.
He was nearly certain the man who’d broken into Sienna’s house hadn’t had a beard like this. It would be hard to keep it tucked into a ski mask. But he still had to be on guard.
Devin tensed as he waited to see how this would play out. A moment later, there was a knock.
He considered not answering, but his SUV was obviously parked here. Devin didn’t see any weapons or anything thing else on the man outside that caused him to pause.
After lifting a quick prayer, he opened the door, concealing his gun behind the wall.
“Can I help you?” Devin asked, trying to ease the tension from his voice in order to not raise suspicions.
“Howdy,” the man said. “I always come up here to check on the cabin for Jim. Saw your SUV here.”
“Jim is a friend, and he said we could stay here,” Devin said. “Sorry for the confusion.”
“Yeah, he said someone would be here. I thought about calling him to give him the warning to give you. Then I thought it was too complicated. Besides, Jim’s going through chemo right now, and I didn’t want to bother him again.”
“We’re all praying for his health,” Devin said. “What did you need to tell him?”
“Lots of people in the area have been spotting bears around here lately,” he said. “And they’re not shy. Wilma a few houses down the mountain was chased into her house by one. They’re all over this area. Ever since they put that new neighborhood in about twenty miles from here, it’s like nature has gone crazy.”
“I appreciate the warning. We’ll keep our eyes open.”
“I know a lot of people who come out here like to hike. I just thought you should be aware. I don’t want anything to happen to one of Jim’s friends. A friend of his is a friend of mine.”
“We will be. Thanks again.” Devin watched the man walk away before closing the door.
So one more person knew they were here. It wasn’t ideal, but Devin still thought they had some time to rest before they’d need to move on.
As soon as the man pulled away, he motioned that Sienna could come out.
“Is everything okay?” Sienna held Colby close, obviously protective of the boy.
“I think so. He was just trying to be a good neighbor. But the fewer people who know where we are, the better.”
“I agree.” She shivered and glanced around. “What now?”
“Now I’m going to try and call this reporter again.” Still standing near the window—just in case someone else pulled up—Devin pulled out his phone and dialed.
Colby began fussing, so Sienna disappeared into a back bedroom with him. He was grateful for the quiet.
Devin listened to the phone ring and ring with no answer. The call went to voice mail.
What kind of reporter didn’t answer her phone?
Devin would give her the benefit of the doubt. Maybe she was doing an interview and couldn’t answer right now. Most reporters he’d dealt with were so curious, they couldn’t pass up not knowing who was on the other end of an unknown phone number.
He left a message and hoped Lisa would call back.
In the meantime, Devin used the search engine on his phone to look for any mentions of the article Sienna was interviewed for. There was none.
It probably wasn’t anything, he realized. But maybe—just maybe—this woman knew something about Anita. Maybe Lisa Daniel had some of the answers they’d been looking for.
* * *
“Devin, look at this.” Sienna called him over to the computer in the spare bedroom. While Colby played with some pots and pans on the floor beside her, she’d booted up the old desktop—after asking Devin’s permission, of course.
She’d done an online search for Lisa Daniel, and she’d finally hit the jackpot—she thought.
She’d found a social media site for Lisa Daniel. One of Lisa’s friends, a man named Jared Anderson, had left a couple messages on her page over the past two days. Both had asked where she was and asked her to call him. He’d even left his phone number. There was no response from Lisa.
Unrest rumbled in Sienna’s stomach.
Devin grunted behind her. “I’ll call him.”
She stood, hovering close as he dialed the number a few minutes later. She desperately wanted to hear what Jared had to say.
When she heard someone answer, she hoped they’d hit pay dirt. She leaned closer, thankful she could hear fairly well.
“Jared, this FBI Agent Devin Matthews. I’m trying to get in touch with your friend Lisa Daniel, and I wondered if you knew how I could do that.”
“I’ve been trying to get in touch with her also,” Jared said. “Is everything okay? What’s this in regard to?”
Sienna could hear the worry in his voice, which was stretched tight with tension.
“This is in relation to a case we’re working on,” Devin said. “We need to talk to Lisa. No idea where she is?”
“No, I’ve been trying to call her. It’s not like her not to answer.”
“Have you been by her house, by chance?”
“I have. She didn’t answer the door. I’m trying not to worry, but…”
“Do you know of any reason why she might not be answering? Was there anything going on in her life that might have caused this?”
“I don’t know. She was working on some article that had her all excited. Said it might be the big break she was looking for.”
Devin glanced at Sienna and sent her a knowing look. “But she didn’t hint what this article was about?”
“No, she said she couldn’t talk about it yet,” Jared said. “She had to find some more details first, but she said it was going to be a life-changing piece of journalism.”
“If you hear anything, could you give me a call?” Devin asked.
“Yeah, man. Sure. I hope she’s okay. I’m concerned, to say the least. She’s one determined lady, and once she gets something in her head…well, there’s no stopping her.”
Devin ended the call and turned back to Sienna. “What do you think?”
“I think I want to talk to Lisa now more than ever.” Maybe this was the clue they’d been looking for.
“Me, too.” Devin clamped down, and Sienna could tell he was thinking about something.
They both glanced at Colby. He was the determining factor here. They couldn’t risk exposing him—not if they didn’t have to. Yet they might not be safe staying put, either.
“I have an idea to run past you,” Devin said. “Let me know what you think.”
* * *
An hour later, they’d left the little cabin where they’d stayed for only several hours. Soon after, Devin pulled up to a ten-foot gate with a guard station.
A man there checked his ID before returning to the guard station. He picked up a phone there, spoke to someone and then returned.
“You’re cleared,” the man said. “Go straight through and then veer to the right. You’ll see a house on the left at the end of the road. Someone will be waiting for you there.”
Devin thanked the man, raised his window back up and then pulled through the gates as they slowly opened, welcoming him inside.
“Devin, where are we?” Sienna asked, glancing around in amazement at her surroundings.
“The Jennings Center,” he said. “My friend used to be special forces in the military. After he got out, he opened this place. They do special assignments for the government. Everything is hush-hush. But he and his wife live here at the headquarters. As you can see, it’s almost impossible to get into this place—almost as hard as Fort Knox.”
“This is fascinating. I never even knew it was here.”
“People aren’t supposed to know it’s here. That’s the beauty of it. I’m kind of surprised I didn’t think about coming here sooner. Colby will be safe here. There are multiple layers of protection to ensure that.”
He followed the guard’s directions and finally came to a stop at a huge log cabin—mansion was more like it—at the end of the lane. His friend Rick stepped out from the front door, a wide grin on his face as he approached Devin’s door.
“It’s been a long time, my friend,” Rick said, a friendly smile on his face as he clamped down on Devin’s shoulder. “Of course you can stay here for a while. Why don’t you hop on out? I’ll have one of my guys park your car for you.”
He stepped out and grabbed the bag in the back. None of them had brought much. Then again, neither of them had thought this would last longer than a day. At the rate they were going, Devin had no idea when this would be over.
Rick ushered them inside, where his lovely wife, Trina, greeted them with a wide smile and a warm hug. She had a baby girl on her hip—Sarah, who was about the same age as Colby.
“I’d say you look great,” Trina said teasingly.
Devin ran a hand over his scruffy chin. “Yeah, I know. It’s been quite the ride over the past couple of days.”
Her gaze turned to Sienna, and Devin introduced her to his friends. A spread of sandwiches and fruit salad had been laid out, and as they caught up, he, Sienna and Colby dug in.
The conversation remained lighthearted—it was like a balm to his battered emotions. Devin shouldn’t have pulled away after Grace died. His friends had always been there for him, and he was wrong to put up his walls.
As they talked, Devin’s phone buzzed. It was Detective Jenson.
He excused himself to answer. “What’s going on?”
“We’re still trying to ID the victim we found in the woods near Anita’s car. The only identifying thing we could find on her was a necklace.”
Devin’s heart thumped in his chest. “What kind of necklace?”
“It was a crown. Can you ask Sienna if that’s familiar?”
“Of course. I’ll let you know.”
“Thanks. And be safe. This case is giving me nightmares. I can only imagine what it’s doing to you.”
It was giving Devin nightmares also.