Frowning, he studied the picture. “Okay.”
“I think she was taken through the trees across the street—” I pulled out an aerial photo that showed the town as a whole. “—and I think she was taken to a service road back here,” I said, tapping to the road that led toward the ranches on the west side of town.
“And what makes you think that?”
Here’s where I was going to lose him. “Because Jim Callahan owned that property, and he had access to Murky Falls Ranch.”
His eyes shot up to mine, narrowing dangerously. “That’s a pretty serious accusation.”
“I’m just following where my gut is telling me to look. And it’s not usually wrong.”
“Jim died years ago,” he pointed out.
“That doesn’t change the facts. If he is the one who took Dakota, her family deserves closure.”
Sighing, his fingers scraped along his beard as he considered what I was saying. “How much digging into the case have you done?”
“I’ve gone over the files many times, and I’m telling you, this is the one location no one bothered to consider.”
“They would have checked the woods.”
“Yes, but there was a snowstorm that day. Any footprints would have been covered up. If the woods were searched, they wouldn’t have found a thing. And if Jim Callahan parked on that service road, those tire tracks would have been long gone by the time they looked.”
“Still, it’s a stretch.”
I leaned forward, knowing he needed more to convince him. “That road leads up into the mountains just before it cuts off toward Jim’s property. From what I’ve been told, no one goes up there because of the terrain. And if no one goes up there, that road would have been easily discounted by the police back then. They wouldn’t have taken the road all the way to the ranch, which means more than likely, the property was never searched. It was probably never even considered.”
He thought about it a moment, but I knew I still didn’t have him fully on my side. “How would you even prove it?”
That was the part he wasn’t going to like. “I need access to the property. According to recent aerial photos, Jim’s house is still there.”
“Yeah, his brother bought the property, but the house is basically in ruins. He hasn’t done a damn thing with the place.”
“Exactly,” I grinned. “Which means if he kept any souvenirs, they could still be there.”
“And you want me to get you a warrant to search the property,” he sighed.
“Well, you would have to be on the property with me.”
He shook his head, and I already knew it was coming. “I can’t do it. Blake, there’s literally no evidence pointing to the Callahans, and I can’t go to a judge with a gut instinct.”
I figured he was going to say that, which was why I kept my mouth shut. I would do my own investigation, with or without his help.
“Yeah, I figured it was a long shot.”
But Maverick was not a stupid man. Not even close, which was why I was grateful Remi showed up in time before Maverick could ask me any more questions. Putting the folder away, I smiled as he walked up, but that smile dropped when Parker stepped out from behind him, a scowl on his face.
“You wanna tell me what the fuck happened?”
25
MICHAEL
Pissed didn’t even beginto cover what I was feeling right now. When I got the message from Remi, I wanted to kill someone, but everyone I could kill was already dead.
The idea that Blake had a panic attack so bad while she was driving that she had to pull over set my blood on fire. And the fact that she wanted to hide it from me made it even worse.
Sliding into the booth beside her, I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and leaned in close. “Baby, do you want to tell me why I had to hear from Maverick that you had a panic attack?”
