“No elevator?” Abigail asked. “I do hate half-assed projects.”
Vexler swung the gun on her.
“Shut up,” Laurel said. Where was Viv? She began to climb down, found a wide hallway, and followed it past a clean room and then a lab. Apparently the place was well equipped, but most of the research must’ve been performed at the main lab. They just hadn’t found the right requisition records yet.
“Open the door,” Vexler muttered.
Laurel did so and walked inside another lab, this one humming with machinery. Viv sat on the floor against the far wall, her hands tied and a bruise on her jaw. Her eyes lit. “Laurel.”
Next to her sat a dazed-looking Tim Kohnex, blood down the side of his face. He swayed and then focused on her. “The wind told me you were coming. Did you see my dog?”
Chapter 36
Rain battered the roof of theFish andWildlife building, drowning out the sound of anything human. Huck leaned over the table with a dozen maps spread out, water-stained and marked with routes in red and black ink. Elevation lines, forest roads, decommissioned firebreaks—every inch mattered. Viv was still missing, and they were almost out of reasonable guesses.
Walter Smudgeon stood across from him, pointing at a trail that cut north past Deadman’s Hollow. “That was cleared within the last three months. Old satellite feed showed it washed out. This one’s recent. Maintained. Someone’s running through it.”
Huck narrowed his eyes. “That’s privately owned land by some corporation back east. I haven’t noticed any construction, but they’re far enough out, they could’ve come from the east and not through Genesis Valley.” The desk phone rang. Huck grabbed it, expecting a call from Norrs in the hospital. “Rivers.”
“Huck, this is Pastor John.” The voice was steady but off. “I’m here working late preparing for the Spring Worship Day tomorrow. Tim Kohnex’s dog just showed up at the church covered in mud with blood on his ear. The blood isn’t the dog’s.”
Huck straightened. “Is Tim there with him?”
“No. I went out to his place and saw no sign of him. His truck is gone, and his house is locked up with no lights showing. But the dog was soaked and shaking from cold. That man wouldn’t go anywhere without that dog.”
Huck stopped breathing. Maybe Kohnex hadn’t been full of crap earlier. “Thanks, Pastor. I’ll handle it.” He dropped the receiver and grabbed his jacket. “Kohnex is missing. His dog showed up at the church, with somebody’s blood on him.”
Walter raised an eyebrow. “You think this is related?”
“Who the hell knows. I’ll go ask Laurel exactly what he said earlier.” Huck was already out the door before Walter could ask more. He cut across the door and jogged up the FBI steps before realizing it was quiet. Too quiet.
“Laurel?” Nothing. No answer. He ran down to the conference room, which was vacant. No sign of her. She wouldn’t just leave without telling him.
Warning heated down his torso. He ran back down to his office and brought up the security feed. Skipped back. Found her. She and Abigail were walking outside to an older Caprice, Abigail’s attorney holding her close. Was that a gun?
Huck watched, jaw tight, as Laurel went with him. No hesitation. Eyes locked. Abigail’s mouth moved, but the audio was down. Didn’t matter. They both got into a trunk and allowed the man to shut it.
What the fuck?
Laurel hadn’t fought or gone for the gun. Or even tried to let anybody in Fish and Wildlife know what was going on. Why? He smacked his head. Viv. She thought she could get to Viv.
Huck turned. “I need a chopper in the air now. I don’t give a damn about the storm. We have an abduction, and it just went operational.”
Walter yanked on his coat. “What happened?”
“Vexler took Laurel. And Abigail. From inside the building.”
Walter stopped moving. “The lawyer?”
Huck didn’t slow. “Get his background. I want everything, and I want it on the way to the field.”
They ran outside and hit the vehicle, heading wildly toward the helipad. Wind shook the windshield, but Huck kept the speed high. The rain made it worse. Visibility was down to nothing, but they weren’t waiting for it to clear. Panic rushed through him, and he forced himself to calm. Laurel had just purposefully put herself in the hands of people he believed had a chemical weapon. It was the only thing that made sense. She’d done it to find Viv.
Hopefully, they were both still alive. He had to get to them.
Walter worked fast on the tablet, tapping into files. “Henry Vexler. Officially licensed out of Washington. Attorney with high-profile clients.”
“Military?”
