“We’re moving her to a room on the third floor. I can give you a few minutes after she’s settled,” the doctor said. “I understand there’ll be security with her?”
“Yes.” While waiting for Chip’s examination to finish, Riley had called Northstar to arrange for local law enforcement to stand watch on Lorraine’s room.
“I don’t like armed personnel in my hospital.” The doctor’s face showed his disapproval. “Is it necessary?”
“Absolutely.” Riley spoke with authority. “We aren’t taking any chances that the kidnapper will try to recapture her or keep her from talking.”
“Very well.” The doctor turned to leave. “Someone will bring you up when Ms. Voras is settled.”
Approximately twenty minutes later, Riley and Chip stood at Lorraine’s bedside. She was awake, but not fully alert.
“Lorraine.” Chip whispered to the woman in the bed. “Lorraine, can you hear me?”
“Who are you?” Lorraine’s big brown eyes were wide with confusion.
“It’s me, Chip Anderson. Fiona’s friend.”
“Chip?”
“Yes. Do you remember me? We met at the opening for Fiona’s Runaway Home facility.”
Lorraine’s eyes opened wider. “Yes…yes, I remember you. What are you doing here?” She glanced past Chip at Riley. “Who is he?”
“My name’s Riley O’Neal.” He stepped closer. “We’re here to help you.”
“What’s going on?” Lorraine searched Chip’s face. “What’s happened to me?”
The poor woman was visibly shaken. Her dark hair was in wild disarray around her face and tears started to fill her brown eyes.
“Have something to drink.” Chip lifted the cup and held it close so Lorraine could use the straw.
As Lorraine sipped at the water, a little trickled down the corner of her mouth.
“Take it slow.” Chip patted the other woman’s shoulder. “You’re safe now.”
“I can’t believe you’re here,” Lorraine whispered. “How did you know where I was?”
“That’s not important.” Chip put the cup on the bed tray. “Do you feel up to answering some questions?”
“I think so.” Lorraine nodded slowly.
“Let’s start at the beginning.” Chip coaxed softly as she shifted closer to the bed. “We know you and Fiona were abducted from her cabin at the resort the night before last.”
“Abducted? Like kidnapped?”
Chip nodded. “When you were rescued, Fiona wasn’t with you. Do you know where she was taken?”
Lorraine rubbed her forehead. “I don’t remember.”
Chip exchanged a concerned glance with Riley and then turned back to Lorraine. “You don’t remember being kidnapped? Or you don’t know where they took Fiona?”
“I…I can’t remember anything.” Lorraine let out a frightened sob. “I know we were planning to go to New Mexico, but I don’t remember the trip.” She stared with wide eyes. “I want to help. But I can’t remember. You said Fiona was taken too?”
“She—you both were being used to blackmail Andrew,” Chip replied. “The smallest detail you can give us could save her life.”
“Andrew? Do they want money?”
“No. The reasons for the blackmail are classified.” Riley didn’t want to reveal more information than necessary. “Did you know Senator Pomeroy has property near the resort?”
“Ummm…”
“You’re seeing Dean Weston, correct?” Chip interjected.
“Yes…” Lorraine started to tremble.
“Dean is Senator Pomeroy’s aide.”
“I know…” Lorraine’s expression turned a little panicked. “You don’t think he had anything to do with this. Dean wouldn’t… He loves me. He couldn’t possibly…” Tears stopped her words and streamed down her face. “Please. None of this makes any sense. And I don’t know… I can’t remember anything.” She rubbed her temples. “I think I need to rest.”
The nurse who had been hovering nearby stepped to the bed. “You need to leave, now.” She spread her arms to usher them out of the room.
“We’re not through questioning her.” Chip sounded as frustrated as Riley felt at not getting any details from the rescued woman.
“You are for today,” the nurse insisted. “If there’s any change in her condition, we’ll let you know.”
Riley grabbed Chip’s arm and steered her toward the door. He turned back to the woman on the bed and handed her a card. “Thank you, Lorraine. This is my number if you remember anything that can help.”
Lorraine nodded and took the card, then closed her eyes as she lay back against the pillows.
Outside the room, Chip spun on Riley, her finger pointing at the door. “We need more information.”
“We aren’t going to get anything more from her today, so save the tirade.” He wanted answers too, but it looked as though Lorraine didn’t have any. Getting upset about it wouldn’t help.
The elevator doors opened and a uniformed police officer stepped out. He eyed Riley and Chip as he approached Lorraine’s room. Riley held out his hand and introduced himself. “Thank you for getting here so quickly.” He gave the officer another card. “Ms. Voras is not to have any visitors without first notifying this office.”
The officer took the card and slipped it in his pocket. “Yes, sir.”
“Also, she’s not to leave the hospital for the next forty-eight hours.”
“I understand.”
“Good. Someone will keep you and your department updated with any new instructions.”
Riley took Chip’s arm and headed toward the elevator where he pressed the call button.
Chip kept pace in spite of her limp. “We should have pushed harder.”
She was one of the most persistent partners he’d ever worked with. “Wouldn’t have made any difference. She doesn’t remember anything.”
“I find that hard to believe, don’t you?”
“I’m not sure what to believe.” He glanced down the hall at Lorraine’s room, wishing they had more to go on, then he stepped into the open elevator. “We’ll find the information we need another way.”
****
Chip couldn’t believe they still didn’t have a solid lead on Fiona’s location. “What do we do now?” She kept pace with Riley as they exited the hospital and headed for the SUV in the parking lot.
“We visit the local police department and ask to borrow their lab.” He held up a large plastic bag with the hospital’s logo.
She stared at the bag and realized how thoroughly her frustration had taken over that she hadn’t noticed Riley carrying Lorraine’s clothes. He’d promised a way around Lorraine’s uncooperative attitude and it looked like he knew how to deliver. “You know how to run forensics on her clothes?”
“I know a few things, but mostly how to ask the right questions. We’ll employ the expertise of the locals and the lab at Northstar to expedite the findings.”
“Okay, then. What are we waiting for?” She climbed into the SUV. “Let’s go.”
A few minutes later, they drove into the Los Alamos County P.D. parking lot.
Chip noticed the facilities weren’t as high tech as Northstar’s, but what they lacked on the technology side, they made up for in local knowledge. No sooner had the technician taken Lorraine’s shoes out of the bag and scraped off the soles, than he said, “I can tell you exactly where these shoes have been.”
“Already?” Riley sounded impressed.
The gloved tech held up the left shoe and pointed the tip of his pen at a reddish stain on the bottom. “See that?”
Both Chip and Riley nodded. “That’s slurry—fire retardant. It’s fresh enough to tell me she’s been near the latest burn. I’d say she was somewhere on the Pomeroy ranch. There was a fire out there a few weeks ago. We haven’t had another in the area since.”
Disappointment made Chip curl her fingers. She wanted to hit something. “We already knew that. Can yo
u tell if she’s been anywhere else?”
“Not without examining the rest of the clothing and running additional tests.” The tech peered closer at the bottom of the shoes. “There may be something more here. Give me some time and I’ll see what I can come up with.”
For the third time that day, Riley pulled a card out of his wallet. “You can enlist all the resources you need at this number. They’ll be able to expedite the results.”
The tech glanced at both sides of the card. “No can do.” He tried to hand back the card. “This is a civilian firm.”
Riley pushed the card back at the tech. “Call that number. You’ll get all the permission you’re going to need.”
His eyes narrowed. “Who are you guys?”
“We’re the people trying to find some answers. Please, make the call. We’ll be in touch.” Riley placed a hand on Chip’s shoulder. “Time for us to head back.”
Once inside the vehicle, Riley phoned Northstar with an update on their visit with Lorraine. He gave them a heads-up about contacting the Los Alamos P.D. to expedite the lab work. Unfortunately, the bad news was that even though they had rescued one kidnapped victim, they were still no closer to finding Fiona Burnsworth.
Chapter Eleven
Riley parked the SUV in front of the resort cabin and turned off the engine. He was worried about Chip. She hadn’t said a word on the drive back. “What’s going on in that head of yours? You’ve been quiet since we left Los Alamos.”
His phone chirped and he hesitated pulling it out, hoping Chip would share what she was thinking. It chirped a second time.
“Are you going to answer that?” She gave him a look that said she was still unhappy about the setback.
He sighed and thumbed on the speaker. “Riley and Chip here.”
“Senator Burnsworth received another phone call from the kidnapper,” Byron said, without preamble. “He knows we’ve rescued Lorraine Voras.”
“We were afraid that would happen,” Chip whispered, her face going pale.
“How?” Riley frowned. “Lorraine was the only person on Pomeroy’s property. The team barely took twenty minutes to get in and out.”
“Apparently the property’s security system was wired with cameras. Burnsworth received another video showing the entire rescue. From the angles of the footage, it appears every building had a camera transmitting live feed.”
“Why didn’t Pomeroy mention he had security cameras before the troops went in?”
“He didn’t know about the cameras.” Byron sounded annoyed. “The kidnapper must have installed them.”
“That was a tactical error on our part.” Riley swore, upset at how badly this assignment had turned. “You should have let us scout the location more thoroughly before sending in the troops.”
“Second-guessing won’t help now. We had good intel, more importantly, we had permission, and had to move quickly. We rescued one of the hostages. Now we need to deal with the next crisis. The kidnapper has threatened to kill Mrs. Burnsworth because the senator contacted the authorities.”
“No.” Chip snatched the phone out of Riley’s hand. “You can’t let that happen. Please. We need more time to find Fiona.”
“It’s too late. Burnsworth’s already agreed to rescind his vote on the UAS surveillance program.”
Riley leaned into the phone. “He what?”
“He also agreed to a trade.”
Riley and Chip looked at each other. “What kind of trade?” Riley had a feeling he wasn’t going to like the answer.
“He’s offered the software code for the surveillance and UAS technology for the safe release of his wife.”
“I don’t believe it.” Riley refused to believe the senator would backpedal his position. “What about all that talk of national security?”
“Andrew said he wasn’t going to cave.” Chip’s voice raised in pitch, showing her distress. “He promised that vote would go through.” She paused, looking at Riley with wide eyes. “He’s planning to double cross the kidnapper, isn’t he?”
“He’s…we’re…considering all options.” Byron’s voice came through the phone’s speaker with quiet authority. “In the meantime, the meet is set to take place in four hours.”
“Where?” Riley wasn’t sure how this was going to play out, but he knew that Chip would never give up on her friend.
“There, in New Mexico. The clock is ticking for us to pull together a plan that will put the bad guy out of business.”
“Give us the location of the meet and access to the same troops who rescued Lorraine.” His mind started running through their options. “We can set up a trap.”
“We would if we could.” Over the line, he heard his father’s resignation. “But he’s holding all the cards. He’s only given us a general location of where to meet, and will supply the exact coordinates fifteen minutes before the deadline.”
Riley swore. “Depending on the terrain, fifteen minutes could be as many as fifteen miles in any direction. No way to stage anything.” He silently admitted the kidnapper had worked the situation to his advantage.
“Right. The good news is we don’t believe your cover is blown,” Byron said. “We’re hoping we can use that to our benefit.”
“What about putting pressure on Pomeroy to see what he knows?” Riley still couldn’t believe Pomeroy was totally innocent in all this.
“Already done,” Byron replied. “He’s been cooperating with us since we’ve learned of the connection between Ms. Voras and Dean Weston. Remember he gave us permission to enter his property.”
“Because he didn’t think we’d find anything.” Riley almost shouted. “What’s his explanation for Lorraine being inside his house?”
“He has none.” Byron’s tone indicated he was just as disappointed.
“What about Weston?” Chip interjected. “Have you found anything to link him to this? Does Pomeroy know where he is?”
“Those are the questions everyone’s trying to answer right now.” Byron sounded weary as though he’d been up all night, which Riley suspected was true. After Riley’s mother died, his father typically stayed involved in all Northstar cases, even though he didn’t do fieldwork anymore.
“What’s the next step?” Riley tapped impatient fingers on the steering wheel.
“We want you to scout the area around the location we’ve been given. Determine how we can use the assets we have on the short notice.”
“What about satellite time?” Chip leaned closer to the phone. “Did we get any? Do we have any real-time intel available to us?”
“Unclear at this time. The general is still working on it. We’ll keep you updated as we have more data available. You have a little time before the deadline to eat and rest. I suggest you take advantage of both.”
Byron signed off, leaving an uncomfortable silence inside the vehicle. Chip sat back in her seat, a scowl marring her pretty face. “I don’t like waiting around. Why can’t we check out this area now?”
Riley’s phone beeped. He glanced at it and smiled. “We can. Just got a text with the directions.” He looked over at her. She was still a bit muddy from her fall into the stream. “It’s not that far from here. Do you want to take a shower or change first?”
“No.” She shook her head. “I want to see what we’re up against.”
“I’m sure the troops were given the same location and instructions, we’ll have them in our corner through the exchange.”
“I’m happy for any help we can get at this point.” The corner of her tempting mouth lifted slightly. “All I care about right now is getting Fiona home safely.”
*****
Chip was glad Riley hadn’t tried to change her mind about cleaning up before they left the resort. She wasn’t in the mood for an argument, and the sooner she saw what they were up against, the better she’d feel.
He pulled out of the resort, turned on the highway and headed northwest. “You’re extremely passionate about this rescue.”
“Why wouldn’t I be?” She wanted to blast him with a piece of her mind about how vested she was in saving Fiona, but he stopped her with a raised hand.
“Settle down. I want Mrs. Burnsworth safe, too. I’m curious where all the zeal comes from. I would’ve expected a more calculated, methodical approach, given your background.”
Chip wanted to tell him it wasn’t his business how she approached her cases, but in a way, it was. Her drive to rescue Fiona directly intersected with the way she and Riley first met. The more she was in his company, the more attuned to him she became. And since their kiss, that damned attraction was growing whether she wanted to admit it or not. “You’ve never had to move around much as a child. Am I right?”
“What’s that got to do with anything?” He raised a brow.
She shrugged. “You brought up my background. I’m offering a different perspective. If you’re not interested—”
“I had a few different homes when I was fairly young,” he interrupted. “While my parents were overseas, I stayed with an aunt and uncle on my mother’s side. After my parents returned from their final overseas assignment, bringing home a little sister as a surprise, they resigned from the CIA and started Northstar Security. I was around ten years old when we moved to our house in Maryland. Dad still lives in that house.”
“An interesting coincidence on the age.” Chip considered that maybe their backgrounds weren’t so different after all. “I was ten when my dad was posted to a location on the west coast. We lived there for six years. The longest we’d stayed in one place.”
“That must have been hard, especially at an age where you’re figuring out who you are, trying to make friends, meet boys…”
“Yeah. It was.” She was quiet for a moment, remembering how hard it had been to keep friends over the years and how easily, at age ten, she and Julia clicked in a matter of seconds. Over the years, the pain she felt when she thought of Julia had lessened, until something like this brought it all to the surface again.
“What does moving around have to do with this rescue?”
“I’m getting to that.” She stared out the window as memories rushed to the fore. “My first day at the new school, I was at recess, minding my own business, and feeling like an outsider, when some playground bullies started shoving me around. Then, out of nowhere came this girl, a head taller than me, and the boys. She started pushing them back. They ran off like their clothes were on fire.”
Beyond Duty Page 13
