By the time I make my way back over to Agatha, they’ve got Indigo loaded up on a gurney, ready to transport.
“Can I go with her?” I hear Agatha ask Barrett.
“Yeah, I’m good with that. Mason?”
“Me too. I can get her witness statement another time.” Before Agatha can climb into the ambulance though, a question pops into my head. “Er, Agatha, have you let Lucky or Knight know what’s happened?”
She frowns at me. “They’re out of town – left last night.”
“Ah. Of course, yes.” I nod. “Well, best get going. I’ll catch up with you soon.”
I know I have no right to be disappointed or sad that Bear didn’t tell me, but it hurts all the same. I guess he’s more pissed at me than I thought. Looking around me, I push my thoughts to the back of my mind. I have a job to do. I’ll deal with them on my own time.
Pulling my phone from my pocket, I speed dial Captain Rivera. “Mason.”
“Hey Cap. Hunter and I took a call – accident down on Camphill. Vehicle hit two pedestrians before plowing into a streetlight.”
“Yeah, heard about it. What do you need?”
“One of the victims ID’d the driver as one Izabella Perez. Apparently, she was the mastermind behind that hostage situation down in South America recently.”
“You confirm ID?”
“No, Cap, not yet. She’s unconscious, so we can’t question her. We’re waiting for an all-clear to search the vehicle, but we don’t think we’ll find anything. But what if it is her?”
“I’ll organize a watch on her while she’s being treated and you’re working to confirm her identity. Don’t want her slipping through our fingers – you know, just in case.”
“Not sure she’ll be going anywhere in a hurry, but yeah, that would be bad.”
“Let me know where they’re taking her, and I’ll get someone on her.”
“Will do. Thanks, Cap – oh, hold on. Hunter’s calling to me. Maybe he knows where they’re headed.”
Hunter signals me over to where he’s talking to one of the paramedics working on the woman. “They’re taking her to Riverton General. We should be able to search the car in the next five minutes or so.”
Nodding my thanks, I convey the information to Captain Rivera. “Thanks, Mason. I’ll get Foster and James on her; they’ll meet you there. Stay on her. Don’t let her out of your sight for a second. Ride on the bus with her; Hunter can search the vehicle and meet you at Riverton Gen.”
“Yes, Cap.”
“We’re ready to transport the patient,” the EMT says as I finish my call.
“I’ll be riding along,” I reply. “Rivera says to do the search and then join me at the hospital. Foster and James are on babysitting duty until the alphabets can get to her.”
Hunter gives me a snappy salute as I hop into the ambulance. I’ll worry about Bear later. At least my job needs me right now.
23
BEAR
The brush that rings the clearing is dense, offering good cover. Colorful mud huts on the opposite side stand, cheerful and bright, in stark contrast to the macabre happenings in the middle of the open area.
A man hangs suspended from a wooden structure; his torso stripped bare. The skin of his back has been flayed to ribbons. His head hangs low, and I’m not sure he’s even conscious at this point. A woman kneels at his feet, her keening heartbreaking to hear. Clinging to her side, a small boy.
Tension thick enough to cut with a knife hangs like a cloud in the air around us, and we hold our positions. Knight and Scooter are searching for the American Peace Corps member recently snatched from the nearby town. Intel provided indicates he’s being held hostage in this tiny village, along with the inhabitants.
“The huts are all clear. There’s no sign of anyone inside. Where the fuck are they holding him? We’re out of buildings to search.” Knight’s frustration is easy to hear in his quiet voice.
I catch movement to the left of the clearing, directly beneath the tree Lucky’s situated in. “Movement to the east of our holding position,” I murmur tonelessly into my mic.
