The Relic Runner Origin Story Box Set Ernest Dempsey (top 10 books of all time txt) 📖

Dak waited for a second, then pressed his friend. "You going to tell me or do I have to coax it out of you?"

"There isn't a clear answer, Dak. It's really strange. I've found a few resources that suggest there are around sixteen hundred missing persons in the United States who disappeared in a national park."

"Sounds like a lot." Dak struggled to fathom how that number could be so high.

"It is. And it's probably much higher. Then there are the total number of disappearances. Did you know that there are between eighty and ninety thousand active missing persons filed at any given time?"

The staggering number echoed in Dak's mind. "Ninety thousand people?"

"Yeah. Crazy, right? How do that many people just vanish? And why isn't there more news about that? I know I don't live in the States anymore, but I don't recall ever seeing anything about those numbers. It's called America's silent disaster. I pulled up some other areas where suspicious disappearances like this have been happening. I stuck to Kentucky, though, since that's where your boy Luis said this guy was hiding."

Since the double murder in Cuchara, Colorado, Dak hadn't been certain whether Nate really was in Kentucky—for the time being, at least. The more he thought about it, though, the more Dak believed someone else must have taken out Billy and the sheriff.

As the days waned on, he reinforced that belief with logic and reason. Nate had no reason to take out Billy or the sheriff. Those two must have ticked off a local, possibly someone who'd been in the military before. The execution, though, stunk of something dirtier. Dak found himself wondering what Billy had gotten into, how deep he'd burrowed into a seedy underworld.

Then again, Cuchara was a small place. How much corruption could there be?

The question returned his focus to the circle on the map. "This has to be the place," Dak said, referring to the monitor. "The rest of the disappearances in Kentucky are one offs. Not more than two occur in the same place. We have eight here, though, in Browns Ferry." He realized he'd gotten off track earlier and redirected the conversation. "Sorry, Will. You said you got in touch with the locals?"

"Yeah," Will said. "Like I was saying, tough nut to crack, but I finally got one of the real estate agents to give me what I wanted. They looked it up in the records and found that a guy came into town sometime last year and bought a huge patch of land on the edge of the national forest."

"What's this guy's name?"

"The purchase was made by a Vernon Stratford."

"I don't suppose you were able to dig up where Mr. Vernon Stratford is from, were you? Maybe some additional info?"

"Not from the real estate agent. That information, unfortunately, wasn't available to him. I was, however, able to learn that Stratford has a pretty interesting background."

"Background? I thought you said you couldn't get anything."

"I said the real estate agent isn't privy to that kind of stuff. Pay attention, Dak. After all, who do you think you're talking to?" Will pretended to be hurt, then chuckled.

"You're right. Sorry. Go on."

"Vernon Stratford has a sketchy record. I was able to dig up a birth certificate, but it was from Panama. Let's just say that some of the record keeping in certain places down there isn't accurate. The certificate claims he was born to ex-pats from Texas, Gene and Sarah Stratford. Those people are real, as far as I can tell. And they did move to Panama more than thirty years ago."

"Wonder why they did that?"

"Some places in that country are pretty nice. And they make some real good coffee. A lot of Americans move down there near the canal. Some start their own little businesses. Most probably go just to enjoy a tropical climate and do some fishing."

"I've been to Panama," Dak confessed. "Wasn't bad, except for the humidity. That was brutal."

"So I've heard."

"I'm guessing Gene and Sarah didn't have any kids."

"You'd guess right," Will confirmed. "No children, which makes the appearance of their son in Kentucky all the more suspicious."

"Sounds like whoever this guy is, he did some serious work to get his papers in line."

"Full American citizenship and all. The guy even pays his taxes and doesn't try to max out his deductions for a refund."

Everything lined up. The circle of missing persons, the file on this Vernon Stratford, all of it pointed to Dak's next target: Nate.

A chill shot across his skin at the thought, and he recalled the things Nate had said after he'd massacred all those people. He had to shake the thoughts away. The visions were too graphic, and the idea that Nate could be abducting young boys and torturing them was too much.

He had to find out more about this Vernon Stratford. The sooner the better. A mounting pressure swelled in Dak's chest and he felt a blanket of anxiety wrap around him.

Eight missing people in the last few months. Could he save any of them? Or was he already too late?

"Thanks, Will. I appreciate all the information. I'll let you know what I find."

"Do that. And Dak?"

"Yeah?"

"Be careful. I still haven't been able to find anything on Bo Taylor, which is concerning. He's still out there and if he thinks you might be a threat, it's possible he could come after you."

"He knows I'm a threat," Dak growled. "If I was in his shoes, I'd come after me, too. The last thing I'd do is sit around and wait in some bunker waiting for Armageddon to come to me."

"Yeah, I don't think I would do it that way either. Good luck. And I'll keep looking."

Dak ended the call and stared at the computer monitor. "Browns Ferry," he said. He diverted his gaze to the window and looked toward the east.

What was meant to be a payback mission had turned into a potential rescue.

Three

Brown’s Ferry

Jamie sat on the cold, hard floor with his back against the wall.