Page 51

Seeing the restaurant sign glowing in the distance had him focusing on getting off the highway prior to reaching the destination. Would the gunmen expect them to go to a restaurant? Possibly. Especially if the person in charge had tracked Rex’s credit card as he drove down to Lexington from Chicago.

Determined not to stay too long, he got off the highway and used side streets to reach the restaurant. When he pulled into the parking lot, he noticed Rex’s SUV was already sitting in a parking spot along the back of the building.

Rex was still seated behind the wheel, either waiting for him or having the same concern about sticking around. He turned and backed into the spot next to Rex and rolled down his driver’s side window so they could talk.

“Hey.” Rex didn’t smile in greeting. “I haven’t gotten gas with my card since I was an hour outside of Lexington, but that still may be too close for comfort. Do you have any thoughts on where to go from here?”

“Somewhere remote so we can get some shut-eye while we wait for dawn.”

“Then what?” Rex asked. “You still want to head to the Murphy farm?”

“The only other thought we had was to check along the riverfront to see if Fiona can remember how she ended up in the river.” He shrugged, glanced at Fiona, then added, “Or we go to a motel and set a trap.”

Rex hiked a brow. “That’s an interesting idea. The only problem is that most of the hotels are booked. At least from what I saw on my way through Lexington.”

“I know. The races have brought tons of visitors to the area.” Doc realized they’d need at least two connecting rooms to set a trap. And even that was risky. Besides, the likelihood of finding two connecting motel rooms available at this hour was slim to none. “We can try another rental property, but we’ll have to wait until morning to do that too.”

“Yeah, as much as I like the idea of setting a trap, it sounds like sleeping in the car for a few hours is our best option for now. We can revisit that plan later if we’re not able to make a breakthrough on the case very soon.” Rex jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “Fiona can stretch out on the back seat. You and I will sleep in the front seats reclined back as far as possible without crushing Fiona.”

“That works for me.” He shifted into park and killed the engine. “Let’s roll.”

“Hold on.” Fiona grabbed his arm. “If we’re going to find someplace remote, we may as well head toward the river, maybe somewhere between that and the outskirts of my father’s farm. At least that way we’ll be closer when we have enough light to see.”

He nodded thoughtfully and turned back to Rex. “What do you think?”

“It’s a good idea.” Rex gestured to the restaurant. “I’ll borrow their free internet to bring up a map of the area around the Murphy farm and compare that to the path of the river.”

“Hold on.” Doc turned and reached for their laptop. “Let me do that on the computer. We’ll be able to see more of the landscape with a bigger screen.”

“Go for it.” Rex leaned forward to see past him to Fiona. “It’s nice to meet you, although I’m sorry it’s under these circumstances.”

“Yes, well, thank you for everything you and Doc have done.” Fiona’s smile didn’t reach her eyes. “I’m sorry to have dragged you into this with me.”

“We’ve been in tighter spots than this,” Rex said. “We’ll figure it out.”

Doc connected to the free internet, then brought up the website of Murphy’s Estates. From there, he reviewed the directions to the farm. Eyeing the town of Winchester, he traced a road that went from there down toward the bend in the Kentucky River.

A bend that was only a few miles from his cabin.

“Here.” He turned the computer to show Fiona. “I think we should head along this road, see if anything looks familiar to you.”

“Okay, but it’s pretty dark.” Her brow furrowed as she stared at the map. “It’s a good place to pull over to rest until there’s enough light to see.”

He nodded, then handed the computer through the open window toward Rex. “What do you think? It’s roughly eight miles from the Murphy farm. And its proximity to the river makes me think that may be the area that Fiona went into the water.”

“I like it.” Rex stared at the screen for a long moment as if committing the map to memory. “I’m ready to go when you are.”

Doc was more than willing to leave the restaurant. He debated leaving their belongings in the car, then decided against it. For one thing, if the gunmen found it, he didn’t want anything personal left behind. For another, he wanted Rex to arrange for the rental car to be picked up as soon as they opened.

Bad enough that they’d have to pay to repair the damage to the garage door they’d ripped off the rental property. Along with any damage from the gunfire. And this was their second rental car that needed to be repaired.

Problems for another day, he thought as he closed the driver’s side window. He pushed open his door, then leaned around the seat for their bags of stuff.

A few minutes later, they were settled in Rex’s SUV. Fiona was in the back seat with their bags of clothing stashed on the floor behind Rex. Doc had tucked the computer away too.

From here on out, they were going no tech.

As if reading his mind, Rex handed over his phone. “Power it down, just in case.”