Grant whirled his chair around to face Greg. “I just received word that Nora has not been seen in any of the towns within a fifty-mile radius.”
“It’s like she’s vanished.” Greg rubbed his chin in thought. He stood in front of a map of the area. “Where could she have gone?”
“Greg, it’s ten o’clock. We’ve done our job. Now let’s let the local authorities do theirs. Besides, her brother is here now.”
Greg turned on Grant. “What can he do? He doesn’t have the resources at his fingertips that we have. I’m not leaving a helpless girl in the Mexican wilderness to some horrible fate! She needs us.”
“Fine.” Grant gazed at the floor then back up at his partner. “Let’s get a chopper up to look for her. We should at least be able to find the car. Once we get that, then we will have a place to start looking for her on the ground.”
“Let’s hope we can find that much.”
Greg’s phone started ringing and he answered, “It’s Nelson.”
“Hi Greg, it’s Anne.”
“Anne, what can I do for you?” He furrowed his brow in confusion. Why would she be calling at this time of night?
“I was going over the security camera videos again to make sure I hadn’t missed anything. Did you know the male hostage had a cell phone in there with him?” “No,” he replied quizzically.
“Well, he did. Before the girl left, he slipped it to her,” she told him. “She’s still missing, right?”
“Yeah, but we aren’t giving up.”
“I thought if she still has it, you can triangulate her position by the phone’s GPS.”
“Good thinking. Thanks for the heads up,” Greg said.
“What’s up?” Grant inquired, as Greg ended the call.
“We’ve got a GPS signal to find.”
Greg went to find Rita. She was sitting at her desk, holding a cup of coffee. “Rita, I need you to do something for me.”
Her dark eyes met his silvery blue ones with a question. “Anything, Señor.”
“Run a trace on a cell phone belonging to an Anthony Goldburg of San Diego, California, U.S.A. I want the GPS location.”
“I’ll do that now.”
“Thanks, Rita.”
The door to the bullpen was pushed open, and Greg looked to see who had entered. “Rita. Tell me you have good news.”
She flashed a smile. “If what you are wanting is a GPS location, then yes, I have good news.” Rita handed Greg a paper with the information written down. “The signal is coming from out in the middle of the desert.”
“That’s what I was expecting,” he replied. Studying the paper, Greg said, “He was right.” He reached for the radio to contact the men in the chopper.
After talking with the pilot, Greg called Gage. “You were right; she went in the direction you said. We found out Anthony had given a cell phone to Nora before she was released. We were able to pick up a GPS signal from it. She’s forty miles out on Highway Veinte. The chopper is headed in that direction now. It’s about fifteen minutes out.”
“I’m about five miles away,” Gage informed him. His foot hit the accelerator. “I’ll let you know if I see anything.”
“Did they find her?” Anthony asked, hopefully.
“She’s about fifteen minutes away, but we’re going to make it in ten.” Gage’s jaw was tense as he checked the odometer. His eyes flicked over to the dial to the left. The orange needle climbed higher as his foot pressed harder on the accelerator. “Greg found her by the GPS on your phone.”
Anthony let out a sigh of relief. “At this moment, I am thankful for advanced technology.”
“As am I.” His hands shook in anticipation of finding his little sister. Sure, Nora was a grown woman, but in his mind, she was still his kid sister. “What puzzles me is that Nelson said this area has already been searched. If that’s the case, why didn’t they find her?” A bad feeling began to gnaw at his stomach. “Something must be wrong.”
Gage slowed the truck to a stop at the bend in a curve. The road was straight from that point on for a couple of miles. There wasn’t a car in sight.
“She’s not here.” Tears could be heard in Gage’s voice.
Anthony opened the door and hopped out. Gage did likewise. He hurried to the other side of the truck.
“Start looking for the phone.” Gage once again was searching the ground for clues.
“Gage, over here!” Anthony’s tone was one of alarm.
“What is it?” He hurried over.
“There are tire tracks that go straight down this hill.” Anthony pointed.
“Here comes the chopper.” Gage heard the blades slicing through the air and saw the spotlight coming towards them as it swept the ground.
The metal bird hovered, lighting up a gray car at the bottom of the ravine.
“That’s it!” Anthony wanted to run down the hill, but his injuries held him in check. He felt elation for finally finding the girl who had consumed his thoughts for the last several days. His chest was about to burst from the joy and thankfulness he was feeling.
Anthony, seeing Nora in the back seat, wished he could push past Gage and yank the door open.
It was Gage who reached the vehicle first.
Nora’s brother felt the sting of tears when he saw her curled up in a fetal position. He braced a knee on the seat as he reached out to her. His hands shook as he patted her shoulder, trying to wake her. “Nora.”
She didn’t stir but continued trembling in her sleep.
Gage shook her a little harder. “Nora, wake up!”
Ever so slowly, his sister opened her eyes and drew her brows together. “Gage?” She sounded hopeful, wishful even, but scared.
“Nora. Shh, I’m here. You’re safe now.” Gage pulled her up into a sitting position and wrapped his arms around her, never wanting to release her. She clung to him as if her life depended on it.
“Oh, Gage, I thought you’d never find me!” He felt her warm tears through his shirt. “I was so s-scared!”
“Shh…quiet.” Gage rubbed her back, attempting to warm her chilled body. “I’m here now. You’re safe.” “I wanted you to come so badly,” she sobbed.
“I’m here.” Feelings of relief washed over her as his dear voice reached her ears.
Nora rubbed her face against his chest. “I prayed you’d come.”
