Page 65 of Avenging Angel

“You wouldn’t have brought it up if you didn’t think it was true,” I tell him. “We all agree; the similarities are enough to warrant further investigation.”

Daisy asks him to bring up a family photo of the Lees. When he does, her eyebrows knit. “They look happy. Nothing in her posture or demeanor would indicate she’s under duress.”

Roger leans against the wall, sipping his much-needed coffee after Owen shared what he found with us this morning. “Show Daisy the others.”

Next, there’s a picture of Christina Gallo at 15 years old. Then there’s a picture of Giana Greco. Owen tells her, “It’s a 74% match. She’s married to Lorenzo Greco, who started his political career in the early 2000s as an elected representative in the Italian Chamber of Deputies. Since then, he’s become a major political player in their Senate. He’s made a few enemies in his rise to power, but mostly, he’s kept his nose clean.”

Before Daisy can ask, Owen pulls up a family photo. Once again, the couple looks happy.

“Are you noticing a pattern?” Vinny asks Daisy.

“All the girls are living a dream life,” she says. “Rags to riches and kismet love. I don’t buy it. Smiles can be faked.”

I gently touch Daisy’s elbow when she gets a look that shows her mind is going somewhere other than here; to a place where she doesn’t need to dwell. “Stay with me, Daisy. There’s more.”

Roger says, “Once we knew what to look for, the hits kept coming. For the past few hours, we’ve found a pattern that the girls are connected either by marriage, romantic relationships, or working closely with major political and military figures across the globe. If it’s human trafficking, it’s not the kind where the women are subjugated. Honestly, I don’t think it’s trafficking at all.”

Vinny grunts. “We expanded our search to include the other girls that Bennett showed us who weren’t abducted from the national parks. Pull up the last one, Owen.”

When he does, every molecule in my body moves at hyper-speed as betrayal sets in. This morning, while waiting for Daisy to arrive, it was more shock than anything.

Staring back at us are two pictures: one of a 14-year-old girl taken the same year as Daisy from a religious cult in Wyoming, and the other one Vinny and I know well enough. Abigail Calvert, who is now Chelsea Ludlow; the wife of our current CIA Director.

Once Daisy is made aware, she asks no one in particular, “How could he do such a thing?”

Vinny answers. “I don’t think he knows, Daisy. I was at the same convention where they met. Chelsea was an officer in the CIA until Ludlow assumed the role of Director. Then she resigned. I assure you, Director Ludlow did not mail-order his bride, and she’s very supportive of his career.”

“Then… what… how… I don’t understand.”

“Neither do we,” Roger says. “Director Finnegan is taking several agents with him to speak to Ludlow directly. Dominion may be taking these girls and grooming them, introducing them to young men who are primed to be in positions of power later in life. What better way to get intel or blackmail than to have someone trusted on the inside?”

Daisy squares her shoulders and looks at the clock on the wall. It’s a little before noon, and check-in at the campground is at 2:00 p.m.

“Well, I’m not going to let another girl be taken so that Dominion can rule the world from the shadows. Enough is enough.”

Chapter twenty-six

Daisy

“Overwatch to Command, comms check,” I say, testing out the communication device while peering through my scope on the west side of the campground. I’m across the two-lane highway, lying prone on a hillside, wearing a ghillie suit, and looking at six dozen girls trying to figure out how to pitch their tents. Northwyck Academy for Girls isn’t some rinky-dink school that survives on donations. It’s a boarding school that comes with a six-figure price tag to attend.

Roger replies, “Command has you five by five.”

The rest of the team checks in, even though we ensured our equipment was operational before dispersing to our various vantage points. Scott is perched between two boulders on the south side of the campground, 500 yards away from the last tent site, while Owen is a quarter mile east of my position and dressed like me.

Then there’s Angel, positioned to the north, 1,500 yards away on top of a hill and hidden under some brush. Between the four of us, we have visual on roughly 80% of the campground. The other 20% is obscured by tall pine trees intermittently scattered throughout. That’s where Jeremy, Jack, Faith, and Jaxon come in as they patrol the area.

As for Vinny, he’s in the back office of Dottie’s diner, where she’s let him set up his equipment to operate the drone. He could have done it from the cabin, but this puts him ten minutes closer to us in the event something goes down.

“No sign of Eva or Kenneth,” Faith says as she and Jaxon hold hands while strolling along the paved driving path.

I was surprised when Angel told me how Eva and Kenneth were working together, about Uri’s appearance and protective stance, and then Roger’s call to bring the team home without capturing the two suspects for questioning. If only Roger hadn’t done so, we could know more about where she’s been for the past 15 years. Did she murder Andrus Saarenõlv? Does she know the location of Dominion?

There are other questions burning in the back of my mind, such as: Does Eva know who the man behind the abductions is? Was she sold to Andrus, or did she choose the life she’s now leading? And Kenneth, how did he figure out where the next kidnapping would take place? How long have he and Eva been partnered up? None of it makes sense. Bennett promised that once he’s out of the hospital, he’ll give me answers.

I’m not sure why Bennett had a change of heart regarding giving us information, but the only conclusion I can come to is that my team was right. By opening up to him and sharing the reason why this case is so important to me, his resolve softened. Granted, telling him I lost someone close to me was as close to the truth as I could get without lying because a part of me did die that day in the cave. I lost my youth and what was left of my childhood. Instead of living the carefree life children deserve, I harbored vengeance in the depths of my soul and even fear; fear that my new life could be snatched away in an instant.

Jack’s voice pulls me from my thoughts. “Jordan and Benjamin still have eyes on Brad Callahan. He’s currently camped near the Rogue River in Grants Pass, but was last seen entering a sporting goods store less than an hour ago. Are you sure he isn’t our guy? Seth followed him inside and said that it looks like Brad plans on disappearing for a while.”