“Do you have any connections down in Panama?”Ryan asked, pausing in the middle of the room.
Wyatt was instantly alert.“No.Why?Is something wrong?”
“I don’t know,” Ryan admitted.He explained Avery’s email from earlier and her distrust of the doctor she worked with.“I haven’t heard back from her yet, and it’s weird she didn’t update me as soon as she could after a message like that.It’s not like her.She took the time out of her day to tell me her plans and then never let me know what happened.She’s not responding to my messages.”
Wyatt let out a low whistle.“I don’t think I know anyone in Panama, but we could try to get ahold of the Doctors Without Borders staff.They must have a general number to call.I’m sure we could ask for an update.”
“Yeah.Maybe.I’m not sure if Av gave it to me, but I can look it up.”
“Let’s start there,” Wyatt said.“Maybe she’s just had a busy day and didn’t have a chance to email you again.”
“Bull shit.She never emails me in the middle of the workday.Never.She must’ve gone looking for whatever was in those damn boxes and not returned.”
“All right, let’s take it one step at a time,” Wyatt said calmly.“Contact her employer and see if they can locate her.The U.S.has an embassy just outside Panama City.They might be able to assist if she’s truly gone missing and the Doctors Without Borders team is unable to find her.I’ll speak with the CO and see if he has any contacts in Panama that I’m unaware of.He might have some additional ways we can attempt to locate her tonight.”
“I appreciate it.”
“What do we know about this doctor she doesn’t like?”Wyatt asked.“Avery’s pretty laidback, so if she’s got a problem with someone, I’m willing to bet there’s a good reason.”
Ryan’s stomach churned.He’d had the same thought and knew Wyatt’s assessment was spot on.“I don’t know much about him, but I do have a name.”
“Send it over.Let’s hope she just got tied up, figuratively speaking, and sends you an email soon.If this guy is causing problems, though, we’ll look into him.Even if this turns out to be nothing, maybe we can avoid some future trouble.And we’ll use any means necessary to find Avery tonight.You know your girl.If she’s not responding, well, maybe there’s a reason.”
“Agreed,” Ryan said.
“I’m going to bring the others into the loop.We’re at Coconuts now and can head in to base if needed.”
“Aaron’s going to be pissed,” Ryan muttered.
“Yep,” Wyatt agreed.“But he’ll also want to find his sister just as much as you do.”
***
TWO HOURS LATER, RYAN’Sfrustration grew.No one knew where Avery was, despite Ryan’s calls to Doctors Without Borders.She hadn’t shown up for her afternoon shift at the medical tents, and no one had seen her since before lunch.He’d barely been able to get them to share even that information.He wasn’t her husband.He wasn’t a relative.Aaron was the person listed as her emergency contact, which stung a bit.Of course, Avery had put her brother down when she’d applied for the job all those months ago.He only wished she’d thought to update it before she actually left for South America.
Someone on staff had gone to her bedroom while searching for her, and neither Avery nor Luciana was there.He felt a small sense of relief knowing they were together, but in his gut, he knew something was terribly wrong.
He paced his living room, itching to do something.Wyatt had gone into base, but Ryan had felt compelled to stay here, monitoring his phone and email.He’d reached out to anyone he could think of and even emailed Avery’s roommate in case she returned to their room or somehow accessed her email another way.
Ryan’s phone buzzed, and he lifted it to his ear.“Renegade here.”
“It’s Aaron.”
“What number are you calling from?”Ryan asked in confusion.
“I headed into base with Wyatt earlier.He wanted to research Dr.Brandon Walters, and I couldn’t stay home.Em has access to various databases with DEA, so she headed back to her office as well.The guy’s probably not on their radar, but she told me she’d look through what she has access to, just in case.”
“You think Walters is involved in Avery’s disappearance.”
“He has to be,” Aaron said.“Avery is a pretty good judge of character.If he was making her uneasy, well, sometimes the simplest explanation is the right one.He’s squeaky clean.Almost too much so.We couldn’t even find a traffic ticket, so we’re digging deeper.”
“Shit.That’s what I’m afraid of.Having no record makes it harder to pin anything on him.But Avery suspected he was hiding something.Walters must’ve gotten wind of it and taken her.”
“What about the roommate?”
“They’re both missing.Neither has been seen since before lunch.Av sent me an email that they were going to be searching through boxes.I pressed the staff I spoke with to search the supply room, but I don’t know if they did.”
“Shit.”
