Page 99 of Lost Hours
She moved to their shelves of binoculars, both regular and night vision. She tapped the NVGs on a lower shelf. “I’ll grab a pair of goggles for both of us. They won’t be of use in daylight, but who knows how long we’ll be watching the place.”
“Sounds like a plan.” He reviewed the contents of his bag, making sure to have both a wide-angle and a selection of telephoto lenses. Satisfied, he closed the bag and reached for an empty tote to stow the binoculars and NVGs.
“I’ll take a signal jammer too. Wouldn’t want the doctor to use his cell phone.” He picked up a device they used to block electronic signals. “What about a drone?”
“We can’t legally fly one over his property without permission,” she said. “And if he’s guilty, I don’t want anything to prevent us from successfully prosecuting him.”
“Let’s bring one along, just in case. It’s better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.”
She looked up at him. “You really do have a first-rate surveillance business here.”
“Like I said.” He zipped up the tote. “We’re dealing with people’s lives, so we need to have the best tools available to increase the odds of bringing them safely home.”
She cocked a hip. “And I suppose you have an assortment of weapons as well.”
“Follow me.” He shouldered the bags, grabbed a drone, and left their equipment room. He set down the items to unlock a nearby door. “Our armory, as small as it might be, used to be a single guest room. We’ve reinforced the walls, door, and locks to keep everything secure. As you can see, we removed the window.”
She let out a low whistle, and he took the time to admire their weapon collection featuring various handguns, rifles, and even semi-automatics mounted on the upper walls. A store of ammo was neatly arranged and labeled on shelves below. And one wall held a hanging rack and dryer for Kevlar vests.
Her gaze flashed up to his. “Don’t tell me you need all of this?”
“Need? Nah.” He grinned. “A lot of the weapons we only use at the firing range, but like I said, we never know what we’re up against. If someone has abducted another person, they’re already walking on the edge, and it’s best to be prepared in case we push them over.”
She smiled back at him, reminding him how wonderful it would be to have a relationship with a woman who understood what his job required and his need for gadgets and weapons.
“I have my rifle and handgun,” she said. “Bring what you want to take along.”
He took a submachine gun and ammo, though he doubted they would need it. Still, he preferred it to a rifle.
“I figured you’d take that.” She laughed and stepped into the hallway. She hung one of the gadget bags over her shoulder.
He made sure the door locked and was secured, then grabbed the other bag, and they took off for her patrol vehicle. They didn’t speak as she maneuvered out of the inn’s parking lot and onto the road that led to Dr. Osborne’s cabin.
The miles clipped by, and Nolan really didn’t know what to say. Was it appropriate to have a personal discussion when they were on the way to try to rescue an abducted woman? Their issues seemed trivial compared to the life and death situation Becca faced if they didn’t get to her on time. That was, if she was still alive.
He just couldn’t do anything but ponder helping her, so he sat back and watched the rural scenery pass by. God’s handiwork on display. Majestic trees. Soaring hawks. Babbling brooks. Mountains. All right in front of him and a reminder that if God could make and oversee all of this, He could help Mina and Nolan work out their issues.
Mina slowed and clicked on her blinker.
It was go time, and he sat up straighter to take in the surroundings.
She pulled onto a small dirt road that the map told them would overlook Dr. Osborne’s cabin. She killed the engine. “Perfect lookout, and we can’t be seen from below.”
“I’ll grab the camera and binoculars.” He opened the door as silently as possible and went to the rear hatch to retrieve the equipment. Back in the passenger seat, he handed the binoculars to her and opened his gadget bag to select a lens and screw it into the mount.
She lifted the binoculars over the steering wheel and leaned forward. “Wow, these have really good clarity.”
“I told you. Nothing but the best for us.” He chuckled, but it was forced.
“No movement at the cabin,” she said. “Dr. Osborne’s vehicle is parked in the clearing.”
Nolan lifted his camera with a telephoto lens, and snapped a succession of photos taking in the entire area. He confirmed a small cabin in the large clearing as they had seen on the satellite images Hayden had retrieved and the white SUV parked near the door. Shades were drawn on all the windows, and lights were on in two of the front rooms.
“This clarity is so good, I should be able to see movements behind the blinds,” she said keeping her eyes on the binoculars. “Your aunt must’ve left you a lot of money to afford all this top-of-the-line stuff.”
“She did. A good chunk of change. But also, the team members bought into the business so they would each have a stake. We used that money for the equipment.”
“From what I’ve heard around town, you’ve been very successful in finding people.”
