Page 38 of Deadly Revenge
Bernardo and Ross came over to Maya and Kessler. Maya saw them glare, but ignored them. She knew she wouldn’t be happy either if she was cut out of this investigation, so she tried to cut them some slack. Nick and Aaron were also coming. Maya wished there was a way to keep Aaron out of the huddle without making a big scene.
“We found IDs in the van,” Bernardo said. “The victims are definitely Jake Dunn and Vicki Rollins. We’ll do whatever we can, but having more information would help.”
“I’ll give you all an update,” Kessler said.
This wasn’t good. Aaron was still on her radar as far as working with Abigail, but she also agreed with Eric, she didn’t trust anyone. Looping everyone in wouldn’t help pinpoint Abigail’s partner if it was one of these guys. At some point, though, Kessler needed the help from more than Maya, Josh, Pops and Eric, so she understood that too.
Kessler gave them a quick briefing, including the fact they suspected Abigail had someone helping, and finished with his decision to call in the HRT.
“No ideas then who might be helping her?” Ross asked.
“None,” Kessler said. He turned to Bernardo. “You worked with her on that bank robbery case. Anyone come to mind?”
“No,” Bernardo said. “But I’ll think through everyone who helped on that investigation.”
“Her partner could be anyone,” Ross said.
“True,” Kessler answered. “I would suspect that the person may also be in the area. Keep your eyes open and watch your backs. Anyone working with Abigail has as much to lose as her.”
Maya’s phone rang again. It was Sergeant Parker. She stepped away from the agents to answer. “Thompson.”
“I was able to get the VIN and get back out. The vehicle belongs to an Alexa Reed.”
“Great,” Maya said. “That’s our stolen vehicle. The FBI is going to deploy their HRT. I’ll let the lead agent tell you more so your department is prepared for what’s happening.”
Maya handed her phone over to Kessler, who started to fill in the officer about their strategy. Could they be this lucky? Would they be able to get Abigail and save Hope? Although Maya knew, somehow, when it came to Abigail, things never worked out as planned.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Kessler had called the FBI and told Maya HRT was on their way. She was glad to hear that. The Hostage Rescue Team was the best of the best when it came to a SWAT-type response. She would start the drive over to Stone Creek Falls and wait on the outskirts of town with Sergeant Parker. He was hanging back and trying to keep an eye on the room in case Abigail tried to leave. He’d told Maya though that there wasn’t a good spot for surveillance where Abigail couldn’t see him. He was only going to be able to see a little bit of the motel.
Maya turned on her vehicle and headed out following Agent Kessler. Aaron and Nick were behind her. Josh had gone back to Pinecone Junction when the FBI arrived. He had some other things to help Pops with. Juniper stood, turned a few circles and then lay back down, going back to sleep. She was tired and Maya would have to be careful with how much more she asked of Juniper today.
As she drove, her headlights picked up ash and other particles in the air from the fire. The smoke and smell were still strong. At least a small portion of the fire had been contained, but there was still a lot of it thatcould easily get going again—especially if thunderstorms came through with high winds and little rain.
The drive was uneventful and much quicker without traffic. It helped that it was nighttime and that many people had headed home once the fire broke out. Small neighborhoods in the area had been evacuated. Maya was careful to watch out for wildlife. The fire could drive them to different parts of the forest and she didn’t want to hit anything.
She was grateful for the quiet time to think about everything that had unfolded in a short amount of time. Who was Abigail’s partner? Was Maya only assuming Aaron because they’d butted heads? How could she find out more about Bernardo and Ross? They also had connections to Abigail. And now they knew everything too. She couldn’t trust anyone. Did that mean the HRT would be walking into a trap?
The road straightened and she could see the small town of Stone Creek Falls in the distance. There wasn’t much to this town and it amazed Maya that the motel stayed open year-round. Maybe without the fire, the town would have more tourists passing through. The terrain flattened out into large meadows, but there were rugged peaks off in the distance. Flames roared up one of the mountainsides, the bright orange glow standing out against the night sky. That part of the fire was between Stone Creek Falls and Pinecone Junction. If the winds picked up just right, it could blow the fire right toward Pinecone Junction. That was part of the reason Josh had to go back to town. He and Pops were getting information from the firefighters to determine if they needed to evacuate the community.
Maya saw a police cruiser and pulled up next to it “cop style” so they could chat. Kessler had gone on to a location where he would meet the helicopter and HRT. Aaron and Nick were in a rental car and parked near Maya. The window of the police cruiser rolled down.
“Sergeant Parker?”
“That’s me. You must be Officer Thompson.”
“Yep.”
“I haven’t seen any activity,” Parker said. “Hopefully that means they’re sleeping and we can surprise Abigail Harper and get her detained. Quickly.”
“I don’t ever assume that anything will go as planned with Abigail,” Maya said. With the window open she could hear a helicopter echoing off the mountain peaks. She and Parker both looked up. A few seconds later, a black chopper flew over. “At least the FBI HRT is here. Hopefully the helicopter didn’t wake Abigail up.”
“There haven’t been lights of any kind,” Parker said. “But they are in the end unit. If she knew I was watching her or wanted to get away, there’s a window she could get out of and I wouldn’t be able to see her from here. I debated trying to position myself over on the other side, but then I’d be easy to spot.”
“Abigail is an experienced, well-trained cop. If she saw you, it wouldn’t end well for one of you,” Maya said, leaving out that she’d put her money on Abigail. Not that she didn’t think Parker was an excellent officer. Abigail had similar training, but the difference was she was ruthless and didn’t play by the rules.
Maya pulled out her phone and texted Kessler, asking if he wanted her to come with Juniper. He texted right back that the team was just going to go in and breach. They had a no-knock warrant thanks to the danger Abigail posed.
