“Ohhhh,” Evander says.“Totally understandable, then.”
“Well, she left no digital footprint whatsoever yesterday,” Finn says.“She didn’t show up on any retail, public transport, or traffic surveillance camera in Sweetbriar, which I find interesting, since that’s the logical place of departure for anyone leaving the area.”
“Did you use facial recognition when you hacked into the cloud and on-prem data?”I ask.
Finn tilts his head.“Of course, I did.”
“Then what did the girl do—just walk off the ranch and hitchhike cross-country?”Cal asks.
I know he’s exaggerating, but it’s a possibility that I’ve already considered.
“And nothing else is missing?”Evander asks.
“Well…” I don’t want to mention it, but I know that withholding details won’t get us anywhere.“She took the Vegas wedding ring Beyoncé gave us.It was on her dresser in the cabin, and it’s gone.”
Cal winces.Finn’s eyes widen.Evander slowly shakes his head.
My wife has run off, and I’m the object of pity.
“No one saw her at all yesterday,” Cal says.“I checked in the bunkhouse and with all the hands and nobody knows a damn thing.Unfortunately, I asked Victoria if she’s seen Summer, and now everyone knows we can’t find her.”
“This is about not being able to have kids, isn’t it?”Evander asks me this with a kind tone of voice, which is unsettling.
“Yeah,” I say, trying my best to keep any hint of emotion out of my response.“She doesn’t believe me that none of that matters to me.That the only thing I care about is her.”
“That’s rough, man,” Cal says.“I’m sorry.”
“That fuckin’ sucks,” Finn whispers.
I glance over at my baby brother, who’s managed to devour the entire triple-decker meat tower of a sandwich he brought in here with him.He goes over to the conference room coffee bar to grab a dozen sheets of paper towel.He wipes his face and hands and sits down again.
He turns to look at me.“I may have some information,” he says.
I rear back.“Oh?”
“I located an ATV by the hot springs, keys in the ignition.I found footfalls leading to the White Snake River.It looks like she launched a kayak from the west bank.One of our new Trak 2.0s is missing from the shed.”
“What?”I stare at him, incredulous.“And you’re just now telling me this?”
“I was eating.”
“When did all this happen?”Cal asks.
“Yesterday.”
I snarl at my little brother.“Kevin, I’m gonna kick your ass.Then, I’m gonna reenact the ass-kicking.”
He doesn’t bother to respond to my threat.“Summer’s tough, though.She can take care of herself.I doubt she’s in any danger.She’s just taken off, is all.”
“Right, butwhere?”I ask.
“No idea.But I followed the ATV tire tracks and found where she’d hidden the vehicle near the cabin.She had it all worked out well in advance.”
“What else?”My voice cuts through the air like a whip.
“That’s all I know.But that’s how she got off the ranch without being seen.And downstream is in the opposite direction from Sweetbriar.”
Finn laughs.Evander wads up a piece of paper from his legal pad and throws it at K’s face.Cal gets up, walks all the way around the conference table, and smacks Special K on the back of his giant melon head.Then he sits down again.
