Chapter 24

TWENTY-FOUR

Information gathering at this time was paramount, and Beth searched online maps for Bison Ridge. After studying the small communities in the area, she turned in her seat to look at Styles. "Bison Ridge is a small mining town between Black Rock Falls and here. It's ten miles from Louan, so we can assume Shoebridge is heading in our direction."

"He'd easily have driven here by now, but why come to a town with an FBI field office? That's flying too close to the fire." Styles stood and walked over to her desk to peer over her shoulder at the maps. "I figure if he's heading this way, he'll be at one of the outlying mining towns. There are a ton of them all over this part of the state." He ran his finger over the screen. "At least three, including our town, have the requirements he would need. See here, where the mining areas are surrounded by forests? He'd have seclusion if he had a cabin there and a job just across the river where the mines are operating in all of these places. They'd be far enough away from Louan that it's unlikely anyone would know him." He glanced at her. "If he decides on security work, the smaller towns are screaming out for workers of all trades. He'd walk right into a job, but it will be difficult to find him if he's changed his name."

Agreeing with his suggestions, Beth stared at the map. "I figure that's a given. Look here. These are places we've visited: Serenity, Rainbow, and Spring Grove. He wouldn't be stupid enough to come here."

"But does he know we're still alive?" Styles stood and refilled his coffee cup. He returned to his desk. "He'd have been on the road when we were attacked. We have no idea what the communications are like between him, the doctor, and the organization."

Turning her head, Beth shrugged. "Likely they do. I'd imagine they'd have burner phones. If they arranged for Shoebridge to abduct Shiloh along the way, it proves they're in constant communication." She frowned at the screen. "I'm coming around to believing Shoebridge and the doctor are a team."

"If so, do you figure the doctor would set up a practice in the same town this time?" Styles leaned back in his chair and rested his boots on his desk.

The possibility had entered Beth's mind. "Hmm, I was concerned about how he'd do that… move around the state or go interstate using a new name, but he'd only need to go through the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact to be licensed between states, but that's the legal way to obtain a license. They'd need to hack the database and insert new credentials under the assumed name. I've been attempting to unravel their activity on the dark web, and if you're questioning if they could create phony IDs and credentials to fool anyone checking them, yes, they can. This is a sophisticated organization. They're using cyber techniques to insert people into a life that didn't exist five minutes ago. I'm assuming they are using AI technology to do it so fast."

"So they can also cover their tracks in a few seconds?" Styles dropped his boots to the floor and straightened. "How are we going to find them?"

Beth smiled at him. "Anything they can do I can do better."

Having a fortune in Bitcoin and offshore bank accounts, Beth didn't need to rely on the income from the FBI. As the Tarot Killer, she had amassed a fortune by taking down all types of schemes and the men running them. The life insurance on her mother and the sale of the family home meant by the time she turned twenty-one, she had more than enough to start a new life. Having a fortune behind her also meant she purchased the best computer hardware and software available. Through other means, she had obtained as-yet-unreleased AI software and could use it to track down criminals.

"You do know that when they discover we're alive and well, they'll likely send more goons?" Styles rubbed his chin. "You can't track their communications, can you? It would be nice to know when they're coming."

Shaking her head, Beth looked at him. "If I could, I'd pinpoint where they are right now and we could haul them in." She met his gaze. "Maybe we should do what we discussed before? I could leave a few crumbs for them to follow and set up a trap?"

"They didn't need a few crumbs last time, did they? The moment we pulled the files on missing kids they were on us. They have a watchdog online or something in place that triggers when anyone gets close." Styles' eyes flashed with anger. "I figure we head out first thing and do a recon of the towns on our list. Poke around some and see what we can find. Maybe stay over and see if anyone crawls out of the woodwork to murder us in our sleep." He gave her a long look. "I figure we need to find this little girl before she's moved into the system and lost forever. We need to stop these men from doing any more damage to people's lives."

Seeing a flash of controlled rage move across Styles' features, Beth needed to probe deeper into his emotions. What was he really thinking? She leaned forward in her chair. "Can I trust you to bring in Shoebridge alive? We need to find out what happened to all his victims."

"I'm aware, but I have a score to settle with Shoebridge." He dropped his gaze and lifted it back to hers. "My daddy wasn't a serial killer, so I have no excuse to feel this way, but for what he did to my sister and those other kids, I want to tear him apart with my bare hands."