“Scott, as far as I can tell, is untouchable for the simple fact that I’m not sure who all he’s hired around here—around him,” she defended. “As far as I can tell right now, you, the detective, Mitchell and that kid I beat up last night are the only ones who seem to want Scott and the rest of us behind bars. But since this new guy just appeared on the board, the only piece I could grab without getting myself tangled up was you. Everyone else is either missing or with him.”
“You mean Winnie and Price Collins.”
Lana nodded.
“Before this scar guy tried to kill me, he fished for some info, and I fished right on back,” she said. “He took the girl, and the dad followed, and now they’re somewhere in town as leverage for the detective. The detective is supposed to be leverage for you, and thenyouare supposed to be the leverage for Mitchell. Who, by the way, has really gone to ground. I don’t even think Scott knows where his brother is.”
Relief went through Eve at that. At least she knew Mitchell was most likely safe with Deputy Gavin. She hoped he could stay that way until everything was said and done.
Said and done with everyone she loved safe.
“But you knew I was with Darius,” Eve said instead. “And this new guy didn’t.”
Lana laughed again.
“I noticed a pattern with the two of you,” she said. “Wherever one of you is, the other is too. Something else these guys hadn’t picked up on.”
The relief Eve felt because of Mitchell turned to a clamp around her heart.
“We could call the sheriff,” Eve tried. “Darius trusts him, and I trust Darius.”
Lana didn’t say no, but her skepticism was loud.
“What if Scott has someone in the sheriff’s department? Or, what if there are more people like me out there, following law enforcement and reporting back?” She shook her head. “I don’t know where your detective is, but I can guarantee that if Scott thinks his plan isn’t working, he’ll let that new boy of his kill Detective Williams quick.”
Eve didn’t like that.
Not one bit.
Still, she didn’t understand what Lana was thinking.
“What are we supposed to do, then?” Eve asked. “Find Darius and then—what?—storm in, guns blazing? You might be good with a gun, but I’ve only ever shot at you.”
Lana finally motioned to the laptop open next to her.
“The guy who got me out of the deputy’s cruiser had this in his truck. Before I realized he was going to try and off me, I grabbed it and came here. When I saw the files pulled up on the screen, that’s when I realized this must have been what had Scott and Sanderson all up in arms.” She handed the laptop over to Eve. “So you tell me. How do we use five flight-plan records to push a king like Scott Keys off his throne?”
“Flight plans? There are copies on here?”
Eve was so curious she sat down next to the woman who had been her biggest enemy the night before.
“They look like they came straight from some private airfield’s cataloging system, but past that I don’t know what it is that’s so special about them.”
Lana was right.
Eve took a moment to look through the first one.
“This is actual physical evidence that has Toby flying out to areas near the towns I think Scott destroyed before saving them… It’s not just someone on the phone or a blurry security picture that puts him en route.”
“And this could help incriminate someone as powerful as Scott?”
Eve shook her head to the obvious surprise of Lana.
“Not just this, but we believethisis the start of the investigation that would uncover the truth. And seeing as how everything happened after we realized therewereflight plans, I’m assuming we’re right about it.”
Lana said she didn’t need any more information. Instead, she started rattling off ways they could use the information to make a deal or trap or frame Scott orsomething. Eve’s attention had strayed to a detail she hadn’t processed before.
“Five flight records,” she said, interrupting Lana.
