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  “Meltzer found out Cashion talked,” Sarah suggested.

  “They’re in cleanup mode.” Tom had recognized the pattern as soon as the fourth child went missing. The same maneuver had been attempted in Paradise. Meltzer understood he was caught. If Tom didn’t watch him closely he would disappear and set up someplace else under a new identity.

  Three evil brothers had walked away from those Nazi concentration camps all those years ago. They assumed new identities and eventually settled in the United States. Two of the brothers were long dead, their sadistic heirs either deceased or in prison. Only one brother remained unaccounted for. If Tom was right, since Meltzer was too young to be the missing brother, he was the son. According to the research Sarah had done, Meltzer’s father was dead, which meant the last of the three devils who’d migrated here after the war was in hell where he belonged.

  All Tom had to do now was stop his son.

  Whatever the cost, Tom had to catch Meltzer before he disappeared. Those children had to be rescued… and any others out there they didn’t know about yet. He didn’t have the element of surprise on his side this time as he had in Paradise. Meltzer knew Tom was close.

  “So, what do we do to stop him and to find those kids?”

  “First,” Tom looked deep into those worried brown eyes, prayed he could do this without causing her further pain, “we don’t get caught.”

  “And after that?”

  “We don’t give up.”

  Chapter 19

  Tuesday, October 24, 2:30 a.m.

  “Sarah.”

  Sarah jerked awake. “What?” She hadn’t meant to fall asleep.

  “We have to go. Meltzer’s on the move.”

  She grabbed her bag as she shoved her feet into her shoes. “I’m ready.” On second thought, she reached for the bag with the snacks. “Let’s go.”

  If Meltzer left the house, Tom wanted to follow him. Sarah ignored the voice of uncertainty. Agent Swinwood had to be wrong about Tom. If a man as strong as Tom could fall apart there was no hope for anyone else.

  Once they were loaded into his SUV he turned on one of his gadgets and handed it to her. “You keep an eye on that and I’ll keep mine on the road.”

  Sarah stared at the electronic device for a moment. It looked like a typical GPS you might use for getting from point A to point B, but this wasn’t giving them directions—the screen was tracking the movements of Meltzer’s car.

  “When did you have the opportunity to put a tracking device on his vehicle?”

  “The less you know about what I did while you were gone today the better. Just be glad I was able to do it. We can’t afford to get too close. If he realizes we’re following him we won’t be finding those children.”

  The cold that seeped into Sarah’s bones held her silent for a long while. There was no way to see this as anything other than what it was. Tom had broken the law—more than once she feared. Yes, the circumstances warranted decisive action. She would be the first person to admit as much. Still, Tom had to know this kind of move could get any evidence they discovered thrown out. Unless he had a warrant in his pocket what they were doing was as illegal as hell. The certainty she’d felt last night had waned a bit.

  “It’s a risk,” he confessed, as if he’d heard her thoughts.

  Sarah studied his profile in the dim glow from the dash lights. She wished she could see his eyes—the eyes she didn’t like looking at. “A big one.”

  “This is our only option, Sarah. You surely see the dilemma we’re facing. If there’s any chance of saving those kids, we have to act fast. This is the only way.”

  “That’s usually my line.” Chief Larson had lectured her plenty of times about skirting the fringes of the law. She just hadn’t expected to ever need to give that lecture to Tom.

  “If he gets away the likelihood of finding him is negligible at best.”

  “We can’t let that happen,” she agreed.

  “However this plays out,” he glanced at her through the darkness, “I’m in charge. I gave the orders. You’re operating under the impression that I have the necessary paper to back up my actions.”

  “Except Agent Swinwood has already warned me that’s not the case.”

  She shouldn’t have had to remind him of that point. He really was off his game. For one thing, he needed sleep. Was that all he needed? Tom had never so much as taken an aspirin when he had a headache. He was the last person on earth who would abuse drugs, even prescription ones. Had he started drinking? She hadn’t picked up on any signs of alcohol abuse. She’d never seen him drink more than a beer or two, not even after it became clear they wouldn’t be finding their daughter. However angry she remained at him for what he’d done eighteen months ago, on this case she was with him one hundred percent. Finding those children was all that mattered.

  “You’ve got me there. I guess we’ll just have to cross that bridge when we come to it—after Meltzer is in custody.”

  “While we’re on the subject,” she checked the tracking device, “why don’t you tell me a little more about that bridge?”

  “There’s nothing to tell. I was set up. The goal was to get me off this investigation. Someone doesn’t want me to finish this. I’m this close.” He held his forefinger and thumb barely a half-inch apart. “I’m not walking away now.”

  “You said your investigation started in Tennessee with Paul Phillips.” It was difficult for Sarah to talk about the man without thinking of his inability to help her find Sophie. She’d been desperate enough to ask for his help. She gave her head a little shake. That level of desperation does things to a person. “That was more than a year ago, did the investigation go cold or was it shut down?”

  Tom didn’t answer for a long moment and she knew she’d guessed correctly.

  “At first I had the full backing of the Bureau. They wanted to find the third brother and to stop him as well as undo as much of the harm he’d created as humanly possible.” He laughed. The sound held no humor. “I think maybe undo was always the wrong goal. Stopping him, if by chance he’s still alive, and his son, as well as any other followers is the goal I have now. You can’t undo the kinds of things these bastards do, but maybe we can stop this from happening again.”

  She’d suspected his objective was different from hers. “Finding the children alive would be nothing more than a perk to you. Meltzer is the primary objective.”

  He didn’t speak for a moment and his silence was answer enough.

  “They shut down the investigation, Sarah. They shut it down and declared the work a waste of resources. You know what that means as well as I do—Meltzer has someone in his pocket high enough up the food chain to make that kind of decision. This man—this madman—has to be stopped. If I don’t finish this, no one will.”

  He paused for a moment, his tension palpable. “Yes, I want to find those children alive, but I won’t lie to you by saying my top priority is anything other than catching Meltzer. He could have dozens of doctors out there playing God. There could be hundreds of cloned and designer children like the ones you’re looking for that we don’t know about.”

  “If Meltzer is the one.”

  “He’s the one.”

  “You’re willing to stake your career—fifteen-years of distinguished service—on that?”

  “Whatever it takes,” he reminded her. “I saw what they did to Paul and the people in Paradise. The genetic tampering you’ve read or heard about is nothing compared to the damage these people have done. Someone has to be willing to take the necessary risks to stop it.”

  “So we just keep following him?” Sarah studied the GPS as Meltzer’s vehicle closed in on Highway 50.

  “That’s the plan.”

  “What if we’re wrong?” Worry gnawed at her. “What if we’re chasing a dead end?”

  “Larson took you off the case,” he reminded her. “Without a lead you were at a dead end anyway. This is the only lead we have.”

  She didn�
�t like his reasoning, but she couldn’t argue the accuracy of it. There were no leads, no evidence, and with her officially off the investigation, she wouldn’t be privy to anything new the Task Force learned. Her gaze sought Tom in the near darkness. At the moment his theory was the only option she had.

  Tom was one of the smartest men she knew. He was damned good at his work and he loved being a federal agent. If he was willing to risk his career, that meant this case was as important to him as it was to Sarah, perhaps for different reasons, but the determination to see it through was there. She had nothing to lose by sticking with him and his potential lead.

  Why not see where it led?

  7:30 a.m.

  Sarah felt the car slow and she opened her eyes. She peered out at the passing landscape. Nothing but trees. The fall colors were a somber reminder that Christmas was only two months away. Another holiday without Sophie.

  Blinking away the thought Sarah glanced at the time on the dash. They’d been on the road for almost five hours. “Where are we?”

  “We passed through Williamsport about fifteen minutes ago.”

  “Pennsylvania?”

  “That’s the one.” He glanced at the GPS. “Looks like he’s slowing for a turn. I’m hoping that means he’s nearing his destination.”

  Another three or four minutes passed before the red dot that represented Meltzer’s vehicle stopped moving. Sarah’s pulse reacted to a surge of adrenaline. “He could be refueling.”

  “He stopped for gas an hour ago.”

  “This could be it.”

  “Let’s hope so.”

  Sarah studied his profile. His beard-shadowed jaw made her think of all those mornings she’d awakened next to him. The feel of his hands on her skin and his lips against her ear ricocheted through her heart. Every morning of their life together he had whispered the same greeting in her ear, “good morning, you are my favorite part of waking up.”

  The memories made her sad. Sarah turned away from him and stared out the window. That life was over. Even as the words formed in her mind, her heart dared to believe otherwise. Don’t go there.

  Shifting her attention to the road the wooded landscape gave way to a hole-in-the-wall town called Willow Creek. Shops, most vacant, dotted the main street. Sarah noted a market, gas station, post office, and small City Hall, all practically next door to each other. As they left the four blocks that represented the downtown area behind, modest homes took the place of the shops on either side of the street.

  Tom made the right turn Meltzer had taken minutes ago. The paved road cut through the woods. There was an old house or two, then nothing except trees. Occasionally Sarah glimpsed a boarded up house or chimney standing alone deep amid the trees.

  Easing to the side of the road, Tom shifted into park. “Let’s have a look at what’s up ahead.”

  Sarah passed the GPS monitor to him. With a few taps of the screen Tom had opened Google Earth and was scanning a bird’s eye view of the area. From the shops back in town to the ramshackle structures hidden in the woods their location appeared on the screen as if they’d just flown a drone over the area.

  A long, low whistle blew past Tom’s lips. He zoomed in on the spot where Meltzer’s vehicle had ended its journey. “Looks like a compound of some sort.”

  Sarah did a little googling on her smart phone. “It’s an old tuberculosis sanatorium. It’s been abandoned for half a century.”

  “We need a closer look.”

  Tom turned his SUV around, which took some doing considering how narrow the road was.

  “We passed a couple of abandoned houses.” He scanned the trees on either side of the road. “Let’s find the closest one.”

  Sarah leaned forward. “There. On the right.” She pointed to a gravel drive—or what had once been a gravel drive—that was grown over with weeds for the most part. “Maybe this one will be in better shape than the others between here and town.”

  Tom pointed the nose of his SUV into the tangle of low hanging limbs and waist high grass. The scrub of wood against metal made Sarah grimace. “You may need a new paint job after this.”

  “As long as the engine keeps running and the tires don’t go flat, we’re good.”

  Sarah hadn’t thought of the potential for running over something that would puncture one or more tires. Getting stuck out here with no transportation would be a nightmare. Not to mention it would put the brakes on their unofficial investigation. And maybe their lives.

  The realization that they were in dicey territory and she hadn’t felt the first trickle of panic startled her. She hadn’t taken a pill since… night before last and she’d slept like the dead last night. As a matter of fact, she hadn’t even thought about a panic attack much less worried about having one until just this moment. She glanced at Tom again. She doubted it had anything to do with him. His presence—the mere sound of his voice when he called—usually had the opposite effect.

  Stop the overanalyzing and just be grateful.

  The house they discovered beyond the trees was still standing. From the road the chimney on each end and part of the roof were all she’d been able to see. Part of the metal that had once covered the roof was long gone. The old board and batten siding had more than a few holes. The local wildlife had likely claimed the place ages ago.

  Tom shut off the engine. “You ready for a walk in the woods?”

  Sarah surveyed the thick underbrush. “Let’s just hope the snakes have gone into hibernation.” It was definitely cold enough. She shivered. When she’d tugged on her coat she joined Tom at the front of his SUV. He passed her a pair of the binoculars.

  “Stay behind me,” he ordered as he headed into the trees.

  “Gladly.” She had no desire to be the first to forge through this jungle-like terrain.

  The underbrush tore at her clothes. Sarah didn’t want to think what might be hidden in those bushes. She hadn’t spent much time in the country, much less the woods, as a kid. This was a first.

  Rather than fret about what might rush out of the bushes to attack her at any moment, she fixated on Tom’s broad shoulders. She doubted he’d had any sleep before they hit the road. She could use some coffee about now. She wondered if Tom had eaten. She hadn’t eaten, but that wasn’t unusual. Food held no appeal for her anymore. She forced herself to eat out of necessity.

  She wondered if Tom kept any secrets. He said there was no one else. She wasn’t sure she believed him. He was a handsome man. She couldn’t imagine he hadn’t received plenty of offers. They hadn’t shared a bed in more than a year. What man as young, fit, and handsome as Tom ignored his physical needs for that long?

  Or, maybe he was like Sarah and had no needs. She hadn’t yearned for anything other than work in what felt like forever. It was true that sometimes she dreamed of seeing Sophie and making love with Tom. The dreams were always memories from before…

  Tom stopped abruptly. She bumped into his back.

  She would have apologized, but he looked back at her, a finger to his lips.

  Maybe fifteen yards ahead of their position was an iron fence. Tom dropped into a crouch. Sarah did the same. She lifted her binoculars and surveyed the array of buildings beyond the fence. The old three-story stone structure that had once been a sanatorium had undergone a fairly recent facelift. New windows and state of the art doors ensured tight security. Another, newer building had been added on the west end of the main building. Uniformed guards patrolled the perimeter of both buildings.

  No vehicles were visible, which suggested there was a parking area or garage somewhere on the other side of the buildings. The fence was twelve or so feet high and appeared to encompass the property, separating it from the forest. Many of the trees had lost their leaves already, but most sported deep hues of orange and russet, a vivid contrast to the somber gray limestone of the old sanatorium and the steel gray of the new structure.

  It was so quiet.

  Sarah lowered her binoculars. The occasional call
of a bird and the whisper of the wind were the only sounds.

  Tom touched her arm. She leaned closer to him.

  “Check the second window from the east end on the third floor.”

  Sarah lifted her binoculars once more and zoomed in on the window. “What? I don’t see anything.”

  He leaned close again. “It was a little blond girl. Maybe the Adams child.”

  Heart pounding now, Sarah looked again. She checked every window and found nothing. “Are you sure?”

  “This is the place, Sarah. I can feel it. Those kids are in there.”

  Chapter 20

  2:00 p.m.

  They’d watched the compound for hours before settling on a game plan. Sarah’s legs ached from crouching for so long. She hadn’t seen the little blond girl or any other child.

  He lost his little girl and then he lost you. Maybe he lost a lot more that we don’t know about.

  What if Chief Larson was right? She glanced at the man behind the wheel as he parked in front of what appeared to be an old-fashioned general store. He looked the same other than the glimpses of desolation she saw in his eyes. Sophie’s eyes.

  He was a little leaner, yes, and time and pain had carved a few more lines, otherwise he had scarcely changed. He sounded the same. Smelled the same. The idea of whether he tasted the same came as a surprise. She closed her eyes and shook her head. That path would only lead to trouble she didn’t need.

  “You okay?”

  Sarah started at the question. “Yes. I’m… fine. I was just thinking.”

  “You’re worried that I’m delusional or, worse, that I’m lying to you to keep you cooperative. I know what I saw, Sarah. There was a child. Female. Blond.”

  His tone was openly defensive. It was one she used far too often. “I believe you, Tom. Why don’t we call Larson or Captain Andrews, the Task Force commander? If Katie Adams is at that compound the other children may be as well. We could find out now, today, rather than waiting around to see what happens next.”