“Because I don’t want to involve the family until I know what’s going on,” I say simply.
He tilts his head quizzically.
“I wasn’t the target,” I explain. “And I used my alias, so they have no idea who I am. And I doubt they knew who Damon was when they targeted him. This has nothing to do with us or the family, and getting everyone involved will just complicate things. And they have a lot going on right now with trying to figure out what’s going on with that other hacker they’ve been tracking, so I don’t want to add to things if all this ends up not being a big deal.”
“I’m pretty sure that being drugged and kidnapped isalwaysa big deal, but it’s your call.” He picks up one of the phones and turns it over in his hands. “Did they get either of your phones when they grabbed you?”
“They got the ones we were carrying, but not the ones we use.”
“Your burner?”
I nod. “And Damon was using a burner too. He gave me the number so you can trace it.”
Carter taps on one of the keyboards on the desk, and an oversized screen flickers to life. “Hit me with it.”
I recite the number, and his fingers fly over the keyboard as he does his thing.
“How many of them did you say were still out there?” he asks, staring at his screen intently as he keeps typing away.
“How many phones?” I ask stupidly.
“Kidnappers,” he clarifies.
“At least one.”
He stops typing and studies the fast-moving text on his screen. “Well, he’s not a complete idiot, but he’s not the brightest crayon in the box either,” he says. “It looks like both phones were turned on multiple times in different locations.” He angles the screen toward me so I can see the map he brought up. “Each of those inverted triangles are cell towers that picked up theirsignals, and the circles are the service radius for each tower. Does any of it look familiar?”
I study the map for a few seconds. “The one on the outskirts of the city is close to where the rave was held.”
“Do you know the exact location?” he asks, zooming in on the service radius.
I tell him the address, and he marks it off with a black X. “What about this one? Is it familiar?” He zooms in on another circle.
“That’s part of the highway we took to get back from the cabin.”
He marks the highway with another black X. “What about these two?” He points to two overlapping circles that are right on the edge of the city, but on the opposite side from where the rave was.
I study the map, then shake my head. “No. I don’t recognize that area, but that last one all by itself is close to the cabin.”
“Do you remember exactly where it is?”
I tell him, and he marks it off.
“Is there anything on either of your phones that could be used to figure out who you are or give them any information about you?” He flicks his gaze to mine.
I shake my head.
He shifts his focus back to the monitor. “I’ll wipe them just in case and keep tracking them to see if they flash them up again and we get a new location. Do you know around what time you were snatched? If you can give me some rough estimates, I can put together a timeline of their known movements.”
“Not sure,” I tell him. “The drugs really fucked with our memories, but it was after Damon’s set was over, so I’m guessing it was probably between one and two in the morning.”
He nods and types something on his keyboard. “That tracks with when both phones stopped pinging at the tower nearest tothe rave. The next time a signal is picked up is about an hour later on the highway, then about three hours after that, they ping off the one closest to the cabin. Then there’s nothing until almost ten in the morning when the city towers pick up their signal about twenty minutes apart. That indicates that they were moving, but I can’t be sure if they turned them off and kept moving or if that’s where they stopped.”
I watch as a thick black line appears on the map with timings written over it while he explains what he found.
“It’s an incomplete picture because so much of the area outside the city has no cell coverage, so we can’t be sure if they went to other locations or if they brought you straight to the cabin, then one of them left with your phones.” He leans back in his chair and spins it so he’s facing me. “It’ll take a bit to go through the goodies you brought me, but I don’t have anything else on my plate right now, so I should have answers for you soon enough.”
“Thanks, I appreciate it.”
