“Not a clue. He arranged for the mortuary employee to drop Howard off outside Wolf Gap, but he had no idea where he planned to go.”
I muttered a curse. “What about August Ernst’s bank records?”
“Nothing that points us to where they might be holed up.”
I wanted to hit something. We had to catch a break. Somewhere. Something.
Hayes ran a hand through his hair, tugging on the ends of the strands. “We’ve got officers searching the area around Ian’s ranch, another group searching around the cabin where August was staying, and more questioning every single person who has a tie to Howard, August, and Ian. Everyone who works for the department is out looking. Someone knows something. We just have to find them.”
God, I hoped he was right. It was nearly impossible to disappear without a trace these days. Not with cell phones, security cameras, and social media. Too many people were watching. But we lived on the edge of civilization. Someonecould vanish into the woods if they knew where they were going and had help. We had to find a trail to follow.
Hayes’ phone rang, and he pulled it out of his pocket, answering it instantly. “Easton.”
The volume was high enough that I could faintly hear the other side of the call.
“Hey, Sheriff. A weird call came through dispatch.”
“What do you mean weird?”
“It’s like someone dialed in but isn’t talking. We can just hear the conversation happening around it.”
Hayes’ brows pulled together. “Does it sound like someone’s in trouble?”
The woman was quiet for a moment. “I thought I heard Shiloh’s name.”
The air around us electrified. In a flash, Hayes had his phone on speaker. “Trace the call and patch me through to the caller but keep our end on mute.”
“Yes, sir.”
An instant later, the line crackled, and faraway voices came over the speaker.
“Dad, let’s leave her for now. I want some time with you. I thought you were dead, for fuck’s sake.”
I instantly recognized Ian’s voice but couldn’t tell if he was the caller.
“You’re trying to manipulate me. I thought you said you trusted my vision for your life.”
The second voice had to be Howard’s, but he sounded farther away.
“I do trust you. But I’m also worried about you. This cabin is only five miles from Ramsey Bishop’s ranch. Anyone could figure out where you’re staying.”
I immediately pulled out my phone, tapping on my map app to search a five-mile radius around my place.
“You think I don’t know what I’m doing, boy?” Howard demanded, his voice louder now.
“Of course, you know what you’re doing. I just want you to be safe. Hayes has a hard-on for you, and he’ll have every cop in a thousand-mile radius out looking for you.”
Things were quiet for a moment, and then we heard a grunt and sounds of a struggle.
“Who the hell did you call?!” Howard screamed. “Traitor! My own damn son.”
Another voice filled the speaker. “It’s fuckin’ 9-1-1.”
“You’re dead,” Howard growled. “I’ll kill you, and Shiloh will be mine. You never deserved her—”
The line went silent, and the call dropped. And we still had no idea where they were.
45