“Yes.” She pulled her keys from her jacket and called Nester. “Hi. Would you conduct a search for any real property owned by Dr. Christine Franklin and get right back to me?”

“Sure,” Nester said.

Huck nodded. “Smart. Just in case that’s part of his pattern. I’ll meet you at the Genesis Valley airport, and I’ll have the chopper pick us up there. We’ll find her, Laurel.”

Laurel nodded. “We have to.” She’d promised the woman she’d be safe. The wind picked up, scattering snow across her boots. She looked up to see dark clouds over the far mountains. “We’d better hurry.”

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty

They searched the surrounding area from the helicopter until darkness impaired their vision too much. Laurel climbed wearily into her SUV and waved to Huck before driving away. It was only seven at night, but the conditions had worsened, and they couldn’t see the ground any longer. According to the pilot, the winds were making it difficult to maneuver. The search team would meet at first light and commence the search again.

She called Nester, her body still vibrating from flying all afternoon into the evening. “Hi. I’m on the ground. What do you know?”

Nester sighed. “Not much. Walter is in a medically induced coma, and if his vitals improve, they want to perform surgery to remove the bullets. He was shot three times and there are two bullets still in his body. Kate has more of the details. I think she went home to see her kids and then is going back to the hospital.”

Snow started to dot her windshield, so Laurel flipped on the wipers. “What else?”

“I haven’t been able to locate Tommy Bearing. He skipped school today and his parents have no idea where he is right now.” Papers rustled. “I ran down to the school and talked to the principal, who was nice enough to call in some of Tommy’s friends. Nobody knew where he was. Or rather, nobody would say. I’m not certain.” The sound of typing now came over the line. “Dr. Joseph Keyes canceled his appointments today and also disappeared from the grid. He left his cell phone at his office, and his assistant wouldn’t tell me where he’d gone. We need a warrant.”

They didn’t have enough for a warrant. She’d have to think this through. There had to be something she could use. “What about Tommy’s phone?”

“It pinged outside of Genesis Valley on the eastern tower, which is not where his home or school are.”

Laurel paused. “What about where he works? Is Greenfield Architecture in that direction?”

Nester typed more. “Yes.”

Laurel slowed down and flipped a U-turn. “I’ll head out there now. Keep trying to find property somehow linked to Christine Franklin.”