As Holt stepped away to make his call, June moved closer to Dean. "Lacey wears one of those fitness tracker watches, doesn't she? The kind with GPS capability?"
"Yes," Dean said, feeling a spark of hope. "But I don't know how to access the tracking information. Do you?"
"I'm not sure, but it's worth trying. Most of those devices have companion apps that can show location data." She glanced toward where Holt was speaking on his phone.
"Let's see what Holt finds out about the rental car first," Dean suggested, watching as Holt frowned at his phone screen while listening to whoever was on the other end of his call.
"Thank goodness she has a rental," June said. "Her old pickup truck didn't have a GPS system."
"I know," Dean nodded, his eyes fixed on Holt, who was now walking back toward them with a deeply troubled expression.
"I have the coordinates for her car," Holt announced. "But this can't be right."
"What do you mean?" Dean and June asked in unison.
"According to the GPS data, her rental truck is at Ember Lake in the campgrounds," Holt said, showing them his phone screen."But based on these exact coordinates, the vehicle appears to be in the lake itself."
"That has to be a mistake," June said. "Maybe the GPS is malfunctioning, or maybe the car is just parked very close to the water."
"Either way," Dean said, his voice rough with fear and determination, "we need to get there right now."
Within minutes, they were in Carmen's car with Holt behind the wheel, racing through the darkening streets toward Ember Lake Campgrounds. June had called emergency services while Dean contacted the campground management to alert them to the situation.
The drive felt like it took hours, though Dean knew it was probably less than fifteen minutes. His mind kept running through worst-case scenarios, each one more terrifying than the last. If Lacey's car was in the lake, if she had been forced off the road or attacked while driving...
"There," June said as they crested a small hill and caught sight of the lake. "There are already vehicles down there."
Dean could see the flashing lights of emergency vehicles reflected on the water's surface. Forest rangers, the local fire department, and what looked like a tow truck were all positioned along the lake's edge.
As they parked and hurried toward the scene, Dean recognized Willa and Ace among the firefighters who were preparing to assist with the vehicle recovery. Carmen was there with her EMT team, ready to provide medical assistance if needed.
They stood anxiously on the bank, watching as the combined efforts of rangers and firefighters worked to bring the submerged vehicle up from the lake bottom. The process seemed to take forever, with chains and winches and careful coordination to avoid damaging any potential evidence that might be inside the car.
When the rental truck finally emerged from the water, dripping and muddy but intact, Dean held his breath as emergency personnel approached to check the interior.
"There's no one inside," one of the rangers called out after checking both the cab and the truck bed.
Dean felt a mixture of relief and renewed terror. Lacey wasn't trapped underwater, but that meant she was somewhere else, possibly injured, possibly in the hands of whoever had been stalking her.
"We need search dogs," Holt said immediately, already pulling out his phone. "If she was forced out of the car, she could be anywhere in these woods."
"Already on it," came a familiar voice from behind them. Rad had arrived with a K-9 unit from a neighboring town, the German Shepherd straining at its leash as if it could sense the urgency of the situation.
"What about her fitness tracker?" June asked. "Can we use that to narrow down the search area?"
"That's a good idea," Holt said. "Let me contact my tech support and see if we can access..."
"We found her phone and watch," Rad announced, holding up two evidence bags. "They were both in the truck, on the driver's seat."
The words hit Dean like a physical blow. If Lacey's phone and fitness tracker were in the truck, then someone had deliberately removed them before forcing her out of the vehicle. Someone who understood that those devices could be used to track her location.
Dean looked around at the vast expanse of forest surrounding Ember Lake. Hundreds of acres of woods, swampland, and camping areas where someone could hide a person or worse.
"How long has she been missing?" Carmen asked, appearing beside them with medical equipment.
"Since around three this afternoon," Dean replied, his voice hollow. "It's almost ten o'clock now."
"Seven hours," Carmen said grimly. "If she's injured, especially if she has a head injury, time is critical."
