While Petrie sulked and cried, Jack and Harry were busy sending texts. Their ETA was sunup.

Mission accomplished.

It was raining the proverbial cats and dogs when Dennis West parked his car in the Home Builders Depot parking lot to wait for Jason Woods. He really wanted to be with Maggie, Ted, and Espinosa at the airport to greet Jack, Harry, and their guest. He’d spent a sleepless night worrying about Jason and Stacey. He had to put their minds at ease and warn them once again to be careful. Their peace of mind won out, and here he was. He didn’t even know if Jason or Stacey knew that the two women were gone. The only way they could know, he thought, was if Stacey stopped by the house before work. He seriously doubted that had happened because mornings were hectic, traffic was a bear, and she knew when she left last evening that the women were safe and secure. Possibly she might take a run by on her lunch hour to check on them, but he didn’t really see that happening either.

Dennis looked down at his watch; it was twenty-five minutes past seven. Both employees should be arriving right about now. He looked up and saw Jason Woods climbing out of a pickup truck he didn’t recognize. Dennis was out of the car in a flash, not caring if he got soaked or not. Jason himself was wearing a Home Builders Depot slicker.

“Jason, hold up. Please, this is important. I need to talk to you. It’s about Rosalee.”

Jason stopped in midstride and whirled around. “Mister, I am getting sick and tired of your harassing me. I’ve had enough. Beat it.”

“I wish it were that simple. I thought you might like to know that after your friend Stacey secured the two women, they left. I just wanted to tell you they are as safe as if they were in their mothers’ wombs. I wish I could tell you more, but right now, I can’t. If you will just be patient for a little while longer and not go off half-cocked, Rosalee will be back in your life. Do you understand what I just said?”

“Yeah, yeah, I heard you. Just who the hell are you anyway, mister, aside from being a pain in my ass?”

“In time, I’ll be happy to answer any and all questions, but this is not the time. In the meantime, I need to give you some money to pay for all the camping equipment you bought for the women. We left five hundred dollars on the kitchen counter to repair the back door. I’m sorry to say I had to kick it in. The element of surprise, you know. You might want to get on that as soon as possible. I did stack up the table and chairs, so the door wouldn’t blow open.”