Page 120 of Rangers Unexpected Return

Wolf’s voice came through Mace’s phone.

“There might be a bug in the tavern.”

“We’re searching now.”

“Shut off the music, televisions, fans—anything making noise. Listen before you touch anything.”

“We’ll find it,” Saint answered in the background.

I looked at the black truck.

The Keeper had placed the package inside the tavern.

He had watched Rylie for thirty-six minutes without being noticed.

He had reached the second-floor window.

Now he knew about a key Rylie hadn’t remembered for years.

He wasn’t only watching them.

He was listening.

Mace and I followed the boot prints toward the river while Sheriff Tate remained with the truck.

The tracks cut through the trees and ended at a narrow embankment.

Below us, dark water rushed between large rocks.

I heard the same sound that had come through the phone.

“He made the call from here,” I said.

“Maybe.”

Mace shone his light across the ground.

The boot prints continued down the muddy slope. A broken branch hung over the water. Something dark had caught on the bark.

Mace crouched.

“Fabric.”

“Don’t touch it.”

“I know.”

“Everyone keeps saying that right before they touch something.”

He aimed the flashlight toward the river.

“He could have crossed.”

“Not without getting swept downstream.”

“Maybe he wanted us to believe that.”

The prints disappeared at the water’s edge.