“No, I don’t.” Seth’s reply reluctantly pulled her back into the present. “Someone with the resources to figure out this report didn’t just miss a couple. I think she ruled some out, but for what reason, I don’t know. To figure that one out, we’re gonna have to locate each of these places on a map and see if something hits us.”
“What, like a two by four?” When both men stared at her, she shrugged. “Sorry. Sarcasm is one of my skill sets. So what now…we’re gonna stick pins in a map and count to seventeen?”
“You’ve got it,” Harper said.
He reached into his desk and pulled out a plastic box of multicolored pushpins, not exactly standard issue with every hotel room. Seth hadn’t been caught flatfooted by this latest news of coordinates; the maps strewn in the living room should have been her first clue.
“You look like you were expecting this, Harper…unless pushpins are part of the deluxe package here at the Peninsula. ’Cause I’m telling ya, you can’t get nifty office supplies at just any old five-star hotel. You gotta have real clout to score pins of this quality.”
“Can’t a guy conjure a little magic without you spoiling all the fun with how it’s done?” Harper sat back in his desk chair and swiveled, looking up at her with a big sheepish grin on his face. “You think those pushpins are hot, you should check out my stapler collection.”
“You need some fresh air, Harper. Being cooped up in this hotel room has seriously warped your perspective on reality.” She shook her head. “Let’s get to work.”
It didn’t go unnoticed that Seth had never answered her about the pins. He joked it off as usual. Normally she would have pursued him with questions until she got a reasonable explanation on why Harper was Harper, but she’d grown to accept a certain element of mystery surrounding the kid. For now, she’d accept his idiosyncrasies and be grateful for his help.
Seth coached them through another explanation of how longitude and latitude worked, then pinned his largest world map to a wall in the study, and they stuck pushpins into the coordinates he gave them. By the time they were done, they stood back and looked at their creation, having no greater insight.
“Okay, so we have colored pins on a map. I’m not seeing much that stands out except that one up there.” She pointed to a blue pin in the middle of the Bering Sea. “You think Globe Harvest went on a three-hour tour with Gilligan and went down with the boat?”
Seth narrowed his eyes. “I can see why Alexa might dismiss
Payton walked closer to the map, focusing at first on the blue pin in the Bering Sea. He then shifted his attention to the other locales.
“Well, if I was looking downfield for somewhere to unload the football, I’d be looking for an open man… someone isolated,” he began, almost muttering to himself. “But I’ve got a feeling that wouldn’t be the case here.”
With a furrowed brow, Harper gave her a quick look, but kept his mouth shut. Genius boy clearly didn’t speak jock.
“Go on, Payton,” she said. “What are you thinking?”
“Globe Harvest hides in plain sight. Maybe they think they’re too smart to get caught. I mean, they did that here in Chicago, operating right under the nose of the cops. These guys are savvy and they know how to fold up shop. But a location too remote might draw unwanted attention if it doesn’t have good cover for their comings and goings. Being isolated might work against them. Does that make sense?”
“Yeah, it does.” Seth looked at the map over Payton’s shoulder. “So maybe this location in South America would fall under that category. I don’t see a city of any size nearby, plus it’s all by itself in the middle of nowhere.” Harper pointed to a red pin.
“So maybe the Bering Sea and the Amazon jungle might be the two locations Alexa discounted, thinking they might be some kind of error.” Jess chimed in. “Not a bad theory, Payton. It definitely makes sense.”
“But should we assume that?” Payton questioned.
“What’re you saying?” she asked.
“If Alexa has fifteen locations covered, then that leaves us with two. Now I’m not proposing we hire a guide into the Amazon jungle, but what if this location on the Bering Sea was just a little off?” He pointed to a spot on the map, a place near Russia.
“The closest landmass to that coordinate is St. Lawrence Island, Alaska. And look how close St. Lawrence is to Russia. No more than forty or fifty miles, tops,” he said, his enthusiasm mounting. “And don’t you think it’s too much coincidence that the son of a bitch we’re chasing is Russian?”
“He’s got a point, Jessie. A damned good one,” Seth agreed. “I mean, what have we got to lose?”
For a moment, Payton stopped and stared at Seth, then quickly shifted his gaze to the map on the wall. She was sure Harper’s question was the reason. In fact Payton had a lot to lose. If his energies were focused on some wild goose chase, his niece’s trail would grow ice cold and they might never find her.
Was pursuing his theory worth the risk of losing Nikki for good?
“Well, I’ve never been good at sitting on the sidelines,” Payton muttered under his breath, as if he were alone and trying to convince himself. “I’ve gotta be doing something or I’ll go crazy.”
Silence filled the room. Seth avoided her eyes, but she could tell he felt the awkwardness.
“Well, I’m sure you’re not suggesting we row a boat to the middle of the Bering Sea and have a look around,” she said, picking up the slack in the conversation, “but I bet your friend Joe Tanu can help, him being a retired Alaskan state trooper and all. We could check out the island real quick.”
“We?” Payton questioned, looking over his shoulder at her. “Oh, no. This could be a rough trip, with no frills. I was planning on leaving right away, be there by nightfall, island time. Hell, Jess, there’s not much to St. Lawrence except for the small Native villages of Gambell and Savoonga. A sparse population. Once I hit the island, I’d be roughing it and camping out, keeping a low profile until I rule out the location. But if I get a hit, those Globe Harvest bastards won’t get another chance to vacate like they did here. Even if Nikki isn’t on the island, I’m gonna see to it that someone from Globe Harvest pays for what happened to her.”
Thinking about what he said, she swallowed hard.
“I hear ya.” She raised her chin in challenge and crossed her arms. “But are you saying you don’t think I can rough it, Archer?”
“Oh, hell, Jessie…” Payton cocked his head in exasperation. “Please don’t make me answer that.”
He looked to Harper for support, but found none.
“Don’t look at me. I’m out of this.” Seth held up his hands and ditched male bonding in favor of more coffee.
For nearly an hour Jess gave it her best shot, trying to convince Payton to bring her along on his trip into the wilds of Alaska. She presented her case in a clear and logical manner, while he countered with his version of reality—male rationale run amok. Eventually the gloves were off and cool heads warped into mouths on autopilot.
“Look, more than likely St. Lawrence Island will be nothing more than a Hail Mary pass in the final seconds of the game,” he said as he stuffed his hands into his pockets, leaning against a door frame in the study.
“Why do men always resort to sports analogies?” When she caught his glare, she said, “Did I say that aloud?”
“Jessie, come on. The world is a big place—”
“Wait, let me write that down,” she interrupted.
“—and Nikki could be anywhere,” he continued. “This is gonna be a long shot. We’ve got less than nothing to go on.”
“Then why are you shutting me out? Hell I’m good at…nothing,” she countered. “You said it yourself—it’s unlikely Globe Harvest would pick such an isolated place. If you think this is gonna be a walk in the damned park, you should have no objections to me coming along. I can handle myself.”
Payton dropped his head and took a deep breath. She had him on the ropes.
“You know if we don’t go together, I’ll just find a way to follow you there. And that’s not an idle threat,” she said. “I doubt the state of Alaska would be ready for Jess Beckett gone wild.”
“I’m not either.” Payton rolled his eyes and shook his head. “I’m just…worried for you, Jessie.” He’d softened his voice, and another wave of memories from last night took hold of her heart. “You’ve been through so much
