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Abandoned on a dirt road.

Driver’s door open.

Blood on the back seat.

Hayley’s blood?

I force myself not to assume.

“Where?”

“Three miles south of Silver Crown.”

“They changed vehicles.”

“That’s our assumption.”

Taylor joins us.

“Tracks?”

“Several. SUV and van.”

Arthur comes around the truck.

“They’re moving people.”

Vega nods.

“My deputy also heard aircraft.”

I look at her.

“What kind?”

“Small plane.”

Cold spreads through me.

Hayley’s message.

Greg is taking the girls to the Silver Crown Mine.

If Silver Crown is only a holding point⁠—

“They’re flying them out,” I say.

Vega’s expression hardens.

“That’s what I think.”

“How far is the nearest airstrip?”

“There isn’t one.”

Taylor looks toward the mountains.

“Doesn’t need to be official.”