As Jesse drove along the coastal road, Kaia rolled the Jeep window down and inhaled the scent of the sea, hoping it would soothe the razor-sharp edge of her fear. Her brothers had gone to retrieve her truck and drop it at the dock for her. They wanted to tell their grandfather about his daughter’s abduction, and Kaia had promised to keep them informed of the investigation.
She was still reeling from Jesse’s revelation that Mano had been working undercover. She shouldn’t have doubted him. What kind of sister was she?
She glanced at Jesse. “You’re quiet,” she said. “Are you doing okay? We’ll find her.”
“I’m scared,” he admitted. “I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to Heidi.”
“This isn’t your fault.” She laid her hand on his arm.
“She was my responsibility.” His jaw flexed, and his gaze stayed on the road.
“The missile test is in the morning too, isn’t it?” From his sudden intake of breath, she realized he’d forgotten about it.
“Yeah.” He pulled to the side of the road. “I wonder if there’s any correlation.”
“Wait, I’m not following you. How could Heidi’s kidnapping be related to the missile test?”
He ran his hand through his hair. “I don’t know; maybe I’m grasping at straws. Maybe they want to use Faye and Heidi as hostages.”
“For what purpose?” Kaia hated to discourage him, but she didn’t see how he was coming to this conclusion. “We already know they were planning on blowing up the storage caves in the mountain. Mano thinks they’re buying time for Aki and his thugs to get away. He never said anything about the missile test.”
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “You’re right, it’s probably completely unrelated.” He dropped the Jeep back into drive and started driving again.
His cell phone rang, and he grabbed it. “Matthews here.”
He listened then said, “Yes sir. I’ve got problems here too. My niece has been kidnapped.” He listened a bit longer then said, “Yes sir,” again and clicked off the phone. “I’m being called back to duty. The officer in charge of security was just killed in a helicopter crash.”
“Right before the missile test? What about the espionage charge?”
He shrugged. “My prints weren’t on the papers they found. Lawton is giving me the benefit of the doubt.”
“What about Heidi and my—I mean Faye?” She’d almost said “my mother.” The realization shook her.
“The captain is giving me until seven to report for duty. Everything at the base seems under control. I’ve got six hours to find them.” He sounded grim. “And we’re going to find them. This island isn’t big. They have to be here somewhere.”
Kaia nodded. “Could Heidi and Faye have been taken somewhere by helicopter?”
Jesse’s eyes widened. “We can only pray that’s not the case.”
“Let’s try the Aki house again. Maybe he’s gone back.”
Jesse shook his head. “He wouldn’t be that obvious. No way would he take them there. The police are checking there and the helicopter pads on the island.” He frowned. “And he wouldn’t take them to the mill. Do you know of any remote buildings around?”
“There are some old sugar mills.” Kaia directed him where to go, and they drove out to the closest sugar mill. The track back to the mill was overgrown, and there had obviously been no cars along this way in years.
Jesse sat staring at the road then slapped his thigh. “I’m so stupid! My cousin Kade is here on his vacation with his family. His wife, Bree, has a search-and-rescue dog who is just phenomenal. Maybe they can help us.”
“A search dog?” Kaia hadn’t heard much about them, other than a brief mention or two on television after national disasters.
Jesse dialed Kade’s cell phone. He explained the problem then gave them directions and clicked off his phone. “They’ll meet us at Faye’s house in half an hour.” He wheeled the Jeep around and drove back toward town.
The police were still on the scene when Jesse parked on the street. The yard was illuminated with halogen lights, and the yard had been roped off with crime-scene tape. Kaia saw the police dusting for fingerprints at the back door.
“I’ll get a personal item,” Jesse said. “You wait here and watch for them.” He loped to the front door and said something to the policeman then disappeared inside. When he came out a few minutes later, he was carrying a paper bag.
“Kade told me what to do.” He showed the bag to Kaia. “I’ve got Heidi’s socks in here and Faye’s hairbrush.”
A few minutes later, a tan SUV pulled up behind them. “There they are,” Jesse said. He jumped out of the Jeep, and Kaia followed him. A stocky, dark-haired man got out of the SUV and opened the rear door to let out a big dog. The dog seemed to be a mix of German shepherd and maybe chow, Kaia thought. A petite woman with red-gold hair hopped out of the passenger side.
“Kade, thanks for interrupting your vacation.” Jesse gripped his cousin’s hand then introduced them. “Did you leave Davy with Lauri?” The man nodded. Jesse turned to Kaia. “I hope you’ll get a chance to meet the rest of the family—my cousin Lauri and Bree’s son, Davy.”