Kill Shot

by Susan Sleeman

  “Guess they didn’t think you were worth mentioning.” The words slipped out before she could think.

  He jerked back, his eyes narrowing into tiny slits. His breathing sped up, and he slammed the truck into park. She’d done it. Made him mad, and now she was going to pay. She waited, breath held, for him to hit her. Kill her. Respond in any way.

  Instead he looked at the other guy. “Get the bikes unloaded and the truck covered, Virgil. We’ll wait here.”

  “But the rain,” Virgil whined.

  “Won’t hurt you. Now move! We have a timetable to keep and the rain has already slowed us down.”

  Virgil climbed out. Olivia didn’t let a second pass before she scooted away from Ike. The rain swirled like a hurricane into the truck, drenching her. With her hands restrained behind her back, she couldn’t wipe the water from her face, so she blinked hard through the drops.

  “Not so smart now, are you?” Ike sneered.

  “Why did we stop here?” she asked, hoping to move him on.

  “You’ll just have to wait to find out.”

  They sat there, time ticking by. The only sounds were his nasal breathing and the rain pelting the roof. She couldn’t believe she was sitting here next to a killer. He’d ended so many lives and seemed happy to end more. Wait. She hadn’t asked him about the last man.

  She faced him. “What did Norm Mooney do to you?”

  A look of confusion crossed his face. “Do to me? I don’t even know a guy named Mooney.”

  “Then why kill him?”

  “Oh, I get it.” He grinned. “You must be talking about the homeless dude I offed to get the feds away from protecting you. Didn’t even know his name.”

  Olivia’s stomach roiled over his callous disregard for life. She had to get away from him soon.

  Virgil jerked open the door. He was drenched and angry looking. “We’re good to go.”

  “Before you get out”—Ike met her gaze, locking on and holding—“you should know that I’m more than willing to plug you with a bullet. Especially since it looks like I may not need you to get to Mexico.”

  Why had she told him the FBI didn’t know his name? Why oh why?

  “You try anything foolish, and I mean anything, and you’ll find this.” He drew his gun and pressed the cold barrel against her forehead. “Exploding in your face.”

  Fear almost paralyzing her, she forced herself to move. Her bare feet hit the slippery soil, and she had to rock back and forth to stand upright. Thankfully, the rain had let up a fraction. In the morning light trying to break through the clouds, she made out a narrow path ahead.

  Virgil shoved her forward. With her hands tied, she lost her footing and landed on the drenched soil. Her head screamed, but she bit her lip to stay quiet, the taste of thick clay mud filling her mouth.

  “Clumsy much?” He laughed and jerked her up by the zip ties, the hard plastic cutting like razors.

  He dragged her to a pair of motorcycles. The mowed-down shrubs and plants stabbed her tender feet, but he kept pushing her after Ike, so she couldn’t take her time to pick her way through the spiky vegetation. She found Ike already mounted on a motorcycle. He started it up, and given the size of the bike, she expected a powerful rumble resembling Rick’s Harley, but it barely hummed.

  “What’s with the motorcycle?” she asked. “It sounds weird.”

  “This baby?” He patted the side. “The military’s stealth prototype. Lets me sneak up on unsuspecting enemies.”

  “There it was. Right in the van with the smart bullets and ours for the taking.” Virgil chuckled.

  “Now quit wasting time.” Ike waved his gun at her. “You’ll ride behind Virg, and I’ll be right on your tail with my gun at the ready. Cut her ties, Virg, and then get her on your bike.”

  Virgil freed her hands. She flexed her fingers to start the blood flowing and briefly considered taking off, but Ike’s gun kept her following directions, and she climbed on the bike behind Virgil. She didn’t want to touch him, but other than ending up on the ground, she had no choice but to grab hold. He drove them through a narrow path cut in the trees. As they rumbled along a wide ditch, she listened for Ike’s motorcycle behind them. She didn’t hear it, but she sensed him following. They traveled a short distance when Virgil stopped the bike.

  “Get off,” he demanded.

  Gladly. After she’d stepped away, she swiped moisture from her face and gulped in the cooler mountain air. Ike parked behind them, and she watched him dig out a headlamp from a saddlebag and put it on. He handed a second one to her.

  “Let’s go.” Ike shoved her ahead of him.

  She turned to snap at him, but he pointed the gun at her face, so she continued on, climbing the hill in front of her. She counted her footsteps. She’d gotten to a hundred when he stepped toward a round opening in another hill.

  “Get in the tunnel,” he said.

  “In that dinky hole?” She shot him a look. “You’re kidding, right?”

  “Nope. We’re going to the mine. You first.”

  “But I…” She didn’t know what to say. What could she say? A hole gaping in the hillside. Black and tiny. She wasn’t even sure she’d fit unless she lay down. Not to mention the rain rushing into the opening. Water and a tunnel did not mix in her mind.

  Who in their right mind would climb in there?

  “Turn on your headlamp and get moving,” Ike commanded. “I don’t have all day.”

  God, please, she begged. Don’t let him take me underground, please!

  Chapter 29

  Atlanta, Georgia

  9:50 a.m.

  Barely able to stand still, Rick forced himself to remain behind Kaci and her computer in her bedroom at his parents’ house. She brought up a screen holding several columns of data.

  “These are the listings for drones that flew in the area last night.” She ran a finger down the list and clicked an entry dated the prior evening. Another window opened to display a flight path that led from Levi’s murder scene to where Levi’s parents lived.

  “He tracked me when I went to notify April of Levi’s death.” He slammed a fist into the desk.

  Kaci jumped but didn’t speak. She clicked a few additional links showing the drone following Rick home from there and hovering for hours over the house, then disappearing and not returning.

  He punched the wall. “I led him to her.”

  Kaci shoved her computer away. “You couldn’t have known.”

  “I know, but—”

  “Stop wasting time on feeling bad. We have a killer to catch. What else can we do to find him?”

  Rick resumed pacing. “Wait, my parents’ security footage. If the suspect ever approached the house he’ll be on the feed.”

  “Hold on.” Kaci clicked a few keys on her laptop. “I can see the security system log-in on the network. If you get me the password, I can download the files.”

  “I’ll be right back.” Rick charged down the hall and pounded on his parents’ bedroom door. “Mom. Dad. I need your help.”

  His mother opened the door, still dressed from caring for Natalie and visiting the hospital. “What is it? Is it Natalie? Olivia?”

  “Olivia,” Rick said. “I need the password for your security system so I can look at the gate footage.”

  “It’s ‘Rick’ with a capital R plus your date of birth.”

  With Olivia missing, Rick doubted he could feel more pain, but he did. Deep inside. His mother could be using his name as a password because it was easy to remember, but her angst said that she was still suffering after all the years they’d spent apart and the password was a connection she’d made to him. A sad one. Desperately sad and all his fault.

  He grabbed her in a hug. “Thank you.”

  “You care for Olivia, don’t you?” his mother whispered.

  “Yes.”

  “I like her, too.”

  He released her, and she gazed up at him, her eyes hopeful.

  “I’m sor
ry, Mom, for not getting in contact sooner.” The words slipped out. Surprised him as much as they appeared to surprise her. “I have to go. We can talk after I find Olivia.”

  “Stay safe,” his mother called out as he dashed down the hallway.

  The moment he reached his bedroom door, he rattled off the password to Kaci, and she typed it in. “Okay, I see the gate camera files. I’ll rewind slowly as we watch.”

  Rick moved behind her to see the footage roll past. Nerves frayed, Rick tapped a finger on the desk to keep from losing it.

  Kaci planted her hand on his finger to still it. “You’re making me nervous.” She pointed at the screen. “There. Olivia and Shane are leaving the property.”

  Rick’s mind drifted to Olivia. To what she must have been thinking at that time. Get moving. Get Natalie quiet. Get back home. She hadn’t a clue what was awaiting her. He hadn’t had a clue when he’d left her either, or he wouldn’t have gone.

  Dark emotions grabbed him. Emotions like those he experienced the night he’d learned of Traci’s death. He hadn’t been there for her when she needed him. He hadn’t been there for Olivia in her time of need either. At least in this case she and the baby were alive. Or he thought Olivia was alive, anyway. He couldn’t consider anything else at this point and stay upright.

  Kaci stopped the video. “Nothing.”

  “Back it up to when Olivia and I first arrived here,” he demanded.

  She cringed, but pressed the button again. She had to know continuing with the recording was a long shot. He knew it, too, but he couldn’t miss any chance to locate Olivia.

  Where are you? Are you all right?

  The file whizzed by until Kaci had backed up beyond the day they’d arrived at the house. “We should stop wasting time and head over to the accident scene,” she said. “Maybe Brynn has a lead.”

  If Rick had been thinking with his brain instead of his heart, he wouldn’t have needed Kaci to tell him. “Let’s roll.”

  He took off and expected Kaci to keep up. He got the siren going in the SUV and made good time, pulling up to the side of the road near Dianna’s car in minutes. Large klieg lights cut through gloomy skies, a fine mist falling now.

  He reached the car and got his first clear view of the damage. Of the blood left in the driver’s seat. On the door. On the wheel. His knees buckled. He planted his hands on the roof to steady himself. With the amount of blood and Shane’s extensive injuries, Rick wouldn’t be surprised if Olivia’s injuries were severe as well.

  Are you even alive? He hated the thoughts taking over his brain.

  Brynn joined him. “We’ll find her.”

  He felt like someone was strangling him, and he focused on not hyperventilating. “Tell me you located something to back up that claim.”

  “Three things, actually. White paint transferred from the truck to Dianna’s car, plus several male footprints, and tire treads holding very interesting particulates.”

  Hope started to flourish in his heart. “So the paint can help us find a vehicle, but the particulates? What will they do for us?”

  “My analysis could help us figure out where the suspect was before coming here and could lead us to him.”

  “How long will that take?”

  “If I leave right now, I could have it done in a few hours.”

  “A few hours! No way. No. We can’t wait that long to find Olivia.”

  “I can’t get the results any faster.” Brynn frowned. “Didn’t you say the guy from Chick-fil-A drove a white truck?”

  He nodded. “But there weren’t any plates in that video. No plates. No registration and no driver ID. And there aren’t any traffic cams around here, so we have no idea the direction he headed. It could take days to view the closest cams.”

  “Then you and the team can figure something else out while I process the particulates. I arranged to use the lab again. I’ll do the particulates first, then the paint, which I have to warn you will also take time.”

  “Time we don’t have.”

  “They’ve also reserved a conference room for the team, so you all can work on locating another lead.”

  Rick appreciated her help, but they were fresh out of leads unless her particulates or the paint gave them something. He could do nothing—nothing!—to find Olivia any sooner. He was helpless. Exactly as he’d been when Traci died. When his father hit him. When Levi died.

  He struggled to breathe.

  Time to face facts. Everything was out of his control. Only God could fix this, and Rick didn’t even know if God wanted to hear from him, much less come to his aid.

  * * *

  Lumpkin County, Georgia

  10:15 a.m.

  Ike started toward Olivia, his gaze mean, ugly, and as focused as a honed knife. She didn’t want to incur his wrath. No telling what he might do. She sat down at the tunnel opening, put on the headlamp, and slid her legs inside. The ground dropped away.

  Reality hit. They’d be going down. Down. Into the ground. Her fear ratcheted up.

  “I can’t…”

  “Just feel for the large rocks with your feet and hold on to the walls.”

  She found a cold, rough boulder to settle her feet on. She slid into the darkness. The minuscule space smelled of mold and raw, earthy scents. She swung her head around, the light illuminating yellow stone walls and a narrow tunnel that felt like a prison.

  She forced herself to move a few more feet. A cool breeze wafted up from below.

  Good. She could breathe, at least. Plus she was out of the rain. Okay. She could do this.

  “These tunnels aren’t safe,” Ike called from behind her. “Keep your hands off the ceiling. You don’t want to cause a collapse.”

  Her confidence evaporated. She hunched down. Put out a foot. Felt around. Stepped ahead. One painstaking step at a time.

  Halting thumps sounded behind her. Ike. Likely Virgil, too, finding their way over the rocks. She moved through the seemingly endless tunnel. Suddenly it widened into a small room. She hurried ahead. Turned in a circle, her lamp displaying sparkly flakes of dust dancing in the air.

  The room smelled foul. A mixture of marijuana and rotting food. She spotted a mound of garbage in the corner, mostly McDonald’s bags. A long wooden box marked with stenciled letters and seemingly random numbers sat nearby. Could it contain the rifle used to fire the smart bullets?

  Footsteps sounded in the room. She turned to see Ike. Watched the tunnel and waited for Virgil to emerge from the dark. He didn’t.

  “Where’s your buddy?” she asked.

  “Now that he helped me get you down here just fine, he has some business to attend to.”

  She wasn’t fond of Virgil, but being alone with Ike underground? Alone. With a killer. Not good.

  “Might as well take a load off,” Ike said. “You’re gonna be here for a while.”

  “How long?”

  “Until Virg confirms our meet is on to deliver the weapon and bullets.”

  “And how long will that take?”

  “Eager to get rid of me?” He snickered.

  “Just curious.”

  “Round-trip, I’d say he’ll be back in less than four hours. Then I’ll deliver the package and reevaluate my need for you.”

  Four hours. The exact time it would take for this killer to decide if she would go with him to Mexico or if she would die in a hole in the ground, never to be found.

  * * *

  Atlanta, Georgia

  2:00 p.m.

  “You won’t believe what I discovered.” Brynn sat back from the petri dishes lined up on the lab countertop and lifted her safety glasses.

  “Just tell us,” Rick demanded then felt bad for pushing her. “Sorry.”

  “The boot print had gold in a tread. Not refined gold like in jewelry, but raw gold.”

  Rick’s mouth fell open, but his mind flew over the implications. “The north Georgia Mountains are known for the eighteen-hundreds gold rush. There are quite a few abando
ned mines in the area.”

  “You think our suspect has been hiding out in an abandoned mine?” Kaci asked.

  “No one would think to look there,” Cal replied.

  “Means we now have a direction he might have headed and we can review traffic cams for his truck,” Rick said. “The most direct and fastest route to the mountains is US 19.”

  “If he took the main road,” Cal said. “He might have gone the back way to avoid police.”

  Rick wouldn’t even consider that now. “We’ll start with the main road. If that doesn’t pan out, we’ll regroup.”

  “I can’t give you a make or model of the truck until I analyze the paint,” Brynn warned.

  “I’m not waiting for that. With the extensive damage to Dianna’s car, the truck has to be bigger than a pickup.”

  “Tire tracks we cast at the scene confirm that,” Brynn said. “But I can’t give you the exact size without sending the casts to Quantico for analysis.”

  Rick didn’t care about proof right now. “We know the truck’s white. Maybe a two-ton vehicle like the guy drove in the Chick-fil-A video. That should be easy to spot in traffic cams at this time of night.”

  Kaci jumped off her stool. “I’ll get started obtaining access to cameras on that route.”

  “And I’ll process the paint,” Brynn said. “The test requires special light sources, so head back to the conference room, and I’ll come find you when I’m done.”

  Kaci started for the door. Rick and Cal followed. In the conference room she went straight for her computer on the long table. Cal sat next to her. Her fingers flew across the keyboard, giving Rick some comfort that they’d soon be tracking the truck and locating Olivia.

  Her fingers stilled, and she sat back. “There. Now we wait.”

  “Wait? Why?” Rick asked.

  “I’ve texted my contact at GDOT for access to the files. He’s been great so far at getting back to me quickly.”

  “No!” he shouted, and she cringed. He lowered his voice. “We can’t wait. Every minute could be the difference between life and death.”

  She peered up at him, her face a mass of frustration, too. “The only other choice I have is to hack the feeds. I’ll get started on it just in case he doesn’t get back to me.”