Eye of the Falcon (Psychic Visions #12)(94)

He shook his head. “No.” Then he froze, as if stricken with horror.

Eagle tried to get him to answer the question. But he wasn’t talking. Eagle realized Angus was caught in a never-ending nightmare, wondering what had gone so wrong that night. Who he’d covered up for all these years. And what that keepsake box might reveal.

“We turned the jewels over to the police,” Issa said, her voice gaining strength again. “Maybe we can find the girls too.”

Eagle squeezed her fingers and gave her a gentle glance. “I doubt it. That was a lot of years ago.”

“Or at least stop this trafficking ring.” She looked at him for a long moment, then turned her attention back to Angus. “Did my mother know about the jewels, the girls?”

“I hadn’t thought so. But if you got the jewels …” And he fell silent once again. Suddenly he stood. “I’d like to return to my cell.” And that was all he would say.

*

Back outside the prison, Eagle opened his arms, and Issa stepped into them, grateful for his warmth and the steadfast nature of this man who refused to let anyone cower him, no matter what the consequences.

“Hawk, we need to track down who else might’ve been there that day,” he said over her head.

“None of this makes any sense in terms of why I was kidnapped,” she whispered. “Unless they were after the jewels?”

“Maybe. Maybe the jewels and the money wasn’t enough. Maybe it was more about revenge, looking to find whoever betrayed them. One man was taken away. Injured, but he survived. His name was never brought up. Seems to me we need to track him down.”

“Then we need Angus to tell us who else was there,” Hawk said.

She glanced at the front of the prison and said, “I don’t think he will talk to us anymore. His memories have just been shattered all to hell.”

“I gave him my phone number,” Eagle said. “I told him that I would be in town for the rest of the evening, and, if there was ever a time for him to come clean, it was now. While you still have some respect for him.”

Hawk nodded. “It’s still early. Where do you want to go?” But it wasn’t that early; it was past lunch.

“I think I need food,” she said, fatigue evident in her voice.

Eagle agreed. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “Let’s go find a restaurant. And then we’ll call the detective. He probably has no idea this is so much more than what it started out to be.”

“Is it wrong of me to feel grateful that my dad stood up? That he died, although doing something illegal, but he died for the right reason, to help protect those girls?”

“Not at all. It should help. Your father did everything he could. Once the situation turned ugly, he tried to step up.”

Hawk’s exclamation beside them caught their attention.

“Got it,” Hawk said. “Charlie just texted me the list of names of who was on the cove that day that he got from his brother.”

Eagle turned to look at him. “And?”

“One of Angus’s known associates from way back when, the one never brought up in court cases, is the one who was picked up by his family members and whisked away up north. That was a Danny McNeil. There weren’t any details about the family, but they had been part of the same smuggling clan for a long time.”

“And do we know if he is alive or dead?”

“Not to mention how badly injured was he that night?”

Eagle glanced at Issa. “Would you recognize him if he’d been one of your kidnappers?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know if I would. The head kidnapper, who they called ‘the boss,’ had lots of henchmen. He was always giving them instructions on what to do and how to do it. But I never actually saw him. And I didn’t recognize his voice, other than the Irish accent.” She frowned and shook her head. “I was blindfolded when I was originally taken there. When they took it off after several days, I saw the same gatekeepers. I never saw any sign of the boss man.”

Hawk whistled. “Now that would’ve been good to know.”

*

Stefan woke to the ring of the phone. He reached out his hand groggily, hit the button, and said, “Yes?”

An exhausted female voice filled the room. “Stefan, it’s Tabitha. I did something I hadn’t quite expected. But I think it worked.”

“What did you do?”

“I connected with”—she took a deep breath—“a coyote. He allowed the birds on his back, and he’s taking them several miles in the right direction. I’m not sure how far away they are from the actual property line. But I think they’re pretty damn close.”

Stefan bolted upright. “Humbug and Roash rode on the back of a coyote?”

“Yes. Now they are sitting on top of a fence post, resting, but they need cover. They still have a ways to go.”

“It wasn’t restful enough getting a ride?” He shook his head in disbelief. “Tabitha, even for you, that’s pretty bizarre and miraculous.”

She chuckled. “At the moment I’m just so exhausted from the effort of subduing the coyote’s basic instincts. At the same time, I had to subdue both of the birds so they would actually be friendly enough to do this. But I have to admit, from now on, they need your help. At least until I rest.”