Chapter 39

THIRTY-NINE

Back at the office, Beth stared out of the window. With the chaos erupting around her, the mountains and river offered her peace. The beauty of the pine forests and majestic snowcapped peaks surrounded her and washed away all her fears and doubts. Ahead, she faced a confronting time, decisions needed to be made on the fly. She needed the chance to take down the doctor and destroy his ring of destruction. With three FBI agents working the case alongside her, opportunity would be in short supply. Failing or being discovered as the Tarot Killer wasn't an option. Victims needed her to find them justice. The eye-for-an-eye, life-for-a-life idea worked for her just fine. She recalled researching that ideal, just to see if her internal justice system was flawed, and discovered, apart from being in the Bible, it went right back to the Mesopotamian Empire in the eighteenth century BC. The idea that it wasn't part of a deluded psychopathic mind, rather a compromise to control her urges, calmed her. Her father's face flashed across her mind, and she thrust it back into the darkness. I'll never be like you.

"Beth." Carter walked toward her, a concerned look on his face. "Everything okay?"

Blinking away images, Beth nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine, just taking a few minutes looking at the view to center myself. What do you need?"

"We have an appointment this afternoon at four with the adoption agency. I need you to transfer funds." He held out a piece of paper. "These are the account details."

Concerned, Beth took the note and stared at him. "You made the appointments from here? They'll be able to trace the call."

"No way." Carter smiled around his toothpick. "Kalo did something to our phones, ours and everyone at Black Rock Falls, so they can't be traced. It's all good. Do you want me to get the same protection for you and Styles? He can do an update remotely."

Beth stared at him. "You mean, not even he can trace the caller ID?"

"Nope, he designed the update himself. He's great at things like that and it's passed every type of scrutiny and hackers to date. He keeps it updated as well." Carter shrugged. "He's just a call away."

If no one could trace her calls, she would have no need to use a burner ever again. Wanting to know more, she moved closer. "The FBI can trace our phones for our protection, I mean, using the GPS in the phone, right? If they can, so can a hacker. They might not know your name, but when it comes up you're in the FBI field office in Rattlesnake Creek, it's going to send up a red flag, especially as they've tried twice to kill us in the last two days."

"Ah, yeah." Carter grinned again. "He thought of that, so we can just turn it off and on. It's like an app. Look, I'll switch it off and call you." He pulled out his phone and changed the settings.

Beth answered the call and his caller ID popped up on her screen. She traced his whereabouts, and it gave his location on a map as a red throbbing spot. "Okay, disconnect and activate the app." She waited for him to make the changes and on her screen his call came up as a private number. She frowned and held up a finger. "One second." She tried to find him on the phone and nothing came up, so she went to her computer. "Don't disconnect. I'll see if I can find you." She tried everything she knew but his phone was completely secure. She stood and went back to him. "This is perfect. You sure Kalo will share it with us?"

"I'm sure." Carter disconnected and deactivated the app. "Try and run my number on your computer again. You'll find me now. It works. The kid is a genius." He shrugged. "Just remember to activate the app when you're not undercover. The director would have kittens if he knew we were masking our phones."

The idea intrigued Beth. It was like an incredible gift. No more worrying about being traced or anyone knowing her whereabouts or who she called. No suspicious burners hanging around for her to worry about. She smiled at him. "Call him. I want this app yesterday."

"Yeah, me too." Styles leaned against a filing cabinet, grinning at her. "When I go fishing, I don't want to be disturbed, and Beth likes to disappear so much she leaves her phone behind on her downtime. This way is much safer. Beth, if you get into trouble, deactivate the app and I can come and find you."

"I'll call Kalo and then we need to get organized." Carter looked at Beth. "We'll fly into Helena. We'll leave the choppers at the airport and there's a bird we can use waiting for us."

Beth frowned. "Won't someone notice two FBI choppers arriving? I figure it's too dangerous."

"So did I, but they come and go into Helena all the time." Carter frowned. "I've arranged an unmarked chopper for us to travel to the ranch. No one will see us when we arrive, even if they knew about it being an FBI safe house, which they won't. It's in a remote area and very secure."

"I have a meeting with the adoption agency as well, but ours is tomorrow morning at ten." Jo smiled. "It seems the older kids, as in ten to twelve, are not in such high demand as babies right now. When I explained our mission in life as wanting to educate and find the best placings for our children, she seemed to understand my meaning. The woman transferred me to another person, and she wanted referrals. Those names you gave me worked like a charm. They dropped the legitimate-business act and got straight down to work. I must admit being given a Sunday appointment was unusual, but they seemed very keen to see us." She smiled. "Then she asked for a ten-thousand-dollar deposit just for a meeting to discuss our options." She looked at Beth. "Now where are we getting the ten grand?"

Beth smiled. "Leave that and the clothes to me. I'll need to raid a few closets to get the clothes we'll need for you and Styles. Jo, feel free to take what you need from my closets. I still have a ton of things from when I lived in DC and we're the same size. I'll go and see TJ and Matt. Between them, we should get the look we need."

"Thanks, I appreciate it." Jo smiled. "I just packed the necessities for a week here."

"I'm good." Styles gave her a smile. "I have Sunday go-to meeting clothes in my closet. I'll dress slick and I have a selection of dress boots as well if Carter needs them."

"Great, well, do that first. It will save time if you have clothes for Carter as well." She glanced at her watch. "When will we need to leave, Carter? I assume we're all traveling to the ranch together?"

"Yeah, be ready by noon. We'll fly to the airport in Helena. We'll need both choppers just in case we get split up and anything unexpected happens." Carter indicated toward Styles. "I'll go with Styles and sort the clothing and then we'll do the preflight checks. Can you arrange supplies, Jo? I don't know how long we'll be away. Two or three days maybe?"

"Sure." Jo nodded. "How do you plan on tracking the doctor if you get to meet him?"

"I have a number of tracking devices we can use." Styles folded his arms across his chest. "Tiny, we could drop one into his coat pocket, into his bag if he has one with him, and I figure most doctors carry bags of one description or another."

Being able to pick pockets went both ways and Beth could place the tracker. She smiled at Styles. "I can do that. I'm very good at sleight of hand." She shrugged. "Just get me in the same room as him, and I'll get the job done."

Leave me alone long enough with him, and I'll cut his throat. Beth looked away as her dark side fought its way to the surface. She had seen what the doctor was capable of doing, delved into his darkest secrets. He was a monster and if it meant she risked her own freedom, she'd take him down once and for all. It would be worth it.

"You okay, Beth?" Styles cleared his throat. "I know it will be difficult coming face-to-face with an animal like him."

Trying to act nonchalant, when her heart was hammering in her chest, Beth lifted her gaze, hoping she appeared normal and not like some crazed lunatic. She nodded. "I'm fine. He's just another monster we need to take down. We've faced much worse. This time he's dealing with adults, not defenseless kids."

"Okay." Styles straightened. "Let's get to work."