Cassie mulled that, said nothing.
“Like right now,” Cain said. “I imagine you could use an extra pair of eyes to track down this mysterious SUV.” He shrugged. “We’re not too busy.”
That almost drew a smile from Cassie. “Can’t say I’d turn that down.”
“Look,” Harper said. “This is what we do. In many of our cases. Track someone down. We’re pretty good at it.”
“Based on?”
“Training,” Cain said. “US military.”
“That explains the way you’re dressed?”
They were decked out in combat pants, shirts, and jackets. Black, snug, efficient.
“Sure does,” Harper said.
“What? You guys were MPs or something.”
“Not exactly.”
“Exactly what then?”
“Harper was with the CIA. Me? Let’s go with special ops.”
“You mean like a Seal or something?” Cassie asked.
“More like a something.”
“Care to elaborate?”
“Later,” Cain said. “Right now we need to get on the trail.”
“I hope I don’t regret this but we’re a small department and could use all the help we can get.”
“That’s why we’re here,” Cain said. “To help.”
“What’s your search plan?” Harper asked.
“You know anything about this area?” Cassie asked.
“Some,” Harper said. “At least the general layout.”
Cassie seemed to consider that. Probably still wondering exactly who they were. How they got a call and drove here on such short notice. How they had already done at least some research. Cain expected more questions but Cassie simply moved ahead.
“I have guys out roaming in every direction. But, to be honest, we only have a vague description of the vehicle. From a less than reliable source.”
“Marla Jackson,” Harper said.
Cassie couldn’t hide her surprise. “How do you know that?”
Harper nodded toward Mona.
“I gave them the thumbnail of Marla’s problems,” Mona said.
Cassie gave a slight head shake. “Yeah. She’s followed a rough path.”
“How reliable do you think her description is?” Cain asked.
Cassie shrugged. “I don’t know for sure, but I suspect even Marla would know a big black SUV when she saw one.”
CHAPTER 17
On the way out to the parking area, Cassie told them that she had three other units working the area. Most of the town had been covered and covered again. Now they were spreading out, mostly north and west as those directions were less populated and might be good directions to go in if staying off the radar was the main concern.
“Any idea why they’d kidnap a doctor?” Harper asked.
“Maybe disgruntled patients,” Cassie said. She smiled. “Actually, I have no idea.” She looked across the road toward the park. “Maybe it’s a ransom thing. He’s a doc, so is his father. So I guess that’s a good bet.”
“We considered that too,” Cain said. “So far the senior Dr. Buckner hasn’t been contacted. No money demands. Anything like that.”
“Might be too early,” Cassie said. “Maybe they’re hiding out somewhere. Waiting to make the call.”
“Let the pressure rise,” Harper said. “And the fear. That can translate into a larger payout.”
“I suspect that’s true.”
“But kidnappings are risky,” Cain said. “You have to keep the person alive. For a while anyway. Not to mention the money exchange. Big time exposure.”
“And if it isn’t a ransom deal?” Cassie asked.
“Then I’d say Dr. Buckner is in even worse trouble.”
Cassie gave Cain her cell number and said in no uncertain terms that if they saw anything suspicious they should call, not confront.
Harper climbed in The Rig, behind the wheel. They watched Cassie’s black Jeep Cherokee turn left on Main, back toward downtown. The rain had stopped, leaving a cool night in its wake.
“She seems matter of fact,” Harper said.
“She does.”
“Probably best not to step on her toes. Too much.” Harper snapped her seatbelt into place. “Not sure she’s overly thrilled with us being here.”
“She welcomed our help though.”
“Maybe she was just being polite.”
Cain eyed her. “We could’ve given her references.”
“Yeah. But they’d scare the hell out of her.” Harper cranked the engine. “How do you want to proceed?”
“We don’t know the area. Whatever we do will be random.”
“Sometimes random stumbles on random.”
That was true. Any soldier, any cop too, will tell you that they’d rather face a pro. More predictable, more likely to follow protocols and expectations. Understand the rules of engagement. Amateurs tend to be erratic and unpredictable. Often volatile and emotion driven. Can lead to some dicey situations. Of course, both Cain and Harper were trained for just such deviations. Virtually every operation Harper ran for the CIA and every mission Cain completed for the guys up the food chain were fluid. Constantly changing. Never an iron-clad plan. At least not one that couldn’t be altered as things unfolded.
“All we have is a satellite map.” Cain held up his iPhone. “But it’s a valley.”
“My thoughts exactly.”
High ground. See if there were any overlooks along the roads that climbed and fell and twisted through the hills that cradled Tanner’s Crossroads. Harper turned east and then north, looping back until she found a gravel turnout that faced south and looked down on the park, the hospital, and westward over the town. Harper parked. A two-foot high rock wall edged the area, the ground falling away beyond. Harper climbed on top. Cain opened the rear hatch, then one of the duffles. He joined Harper on the wall, passing her one of the two pairs of binoculars he held.
Cain switched to night vision and began scanning the terrain. The park was empty, the town quiet; few lights, no traffic.
“Got a vehicle,” Harper said. “Two o’clock. Looks like a residential area just south of town.”
Cain saw it. He zoomed in. Black Jeep Cherokee, white door panel, PD logo in gold, female driver, spiked blonde hair. “That would be the chief.”
Over the next fifteen minutes they saw the two other patrol cars roam into and out of town, mostly to the west, toward The Crossroads and The Confluence. They also tracked a half dozen other vehicles. Three merely passing through, the others entering and parking downtown. Probably shop owners arriving early to set up for the day. But no black SUV.
It was just after six a.m.
A flash of headlights caught Cain’s eye. Behind and to his right. He nudged Harper.
The lights bounced
