exposed (Twisted Cedar Mysteries Book 3) by CJ Carmichael Read Free Book Online Page B

Dougal dug his fingers into his hair, pulling tightly on the roots. Was he serious?
    After a moment’s consideration Dougal typed: “As soon as Chester is home safe and sound, I’ll meet you in the chat room.”
    A minute went by. No answer. Dougal sipped the coffee which dripped into his gut like acid.
    Five minutes. Then ten.
    Dougal was trying to figure out his next move, when a response finally pinged into the account.
    “You are not setting the terms here.”
    Damn! “I need to know Chester is all right.”
    This time the reply was speedy. “You now have twenty minutes to meet me in that chat room.”
     

chapter five
    Dougal waited while Wade read the string of email messages between himself and Librarian Momma. Toe tapping with pent up anxiety, he raised his gaze to the bookshelves behind the sheriff’s desk. This wasn’t his first time in Wade’s office, but it was his first opportunity to take in the details.
    Back when they were in high school, he and Wade had played football together. Fast and rugged, Wade had made a great middle linebacker. With Kyle Quinpool as their quarterback they’d had a lot of success.
    But Dougal was relieved to see Wade hadn’t put any of those old trophies on display here.
    Instead his shelves actually contained books—all related in one way or another to his job. There was a photo of Wade with his father—who had been sheriff himself during the seventies and eighties—with a string of big steelhead trout as evidence of a successful fishing expedition.
    The photo was the only personal touch in the entire office. Unless you counted the baseball sized thunder egg on the corner of his desk. Dougal picked up the rock. It had been sliced in half, exposing the volcanic ash layers within.
    “A gift from my mother.”
    The words sounded random, until Dougal realized Wade was talking about the rock. He gently replaced it.
    “Finished?”
    Wade nodded, handing him back the laptop. “What makes you so sure your father has Chester? He didn’t make any such claim here.”
    That was a sticking point, all right. “Because I know how that crazy son-of-a-bitch thinks.”
    Wade’s eyes rolled. Dougal couldn’t blame him for being exasperated.
    “I suppose I could send your laptop to a computer expert. See if we can trace those emails.”
    “In theory that’s a great idea. In practice, it won’t work.”
    “Why?”
    “Back when I started getting these emails about the librarians murdered in the seventies, I asked a guy I know, a real expert in online security. He gave it a try, but had to give up. He gave me an explanation, I didn’t understand all of it, but somehow Ed has managed to run his messages through a spider web of networks, hijacking other peoples’ computers and passing through multiple countries until they finally get lost in what this expert friend of mine calls the Dark Web. You heard of that?”
    “I haven’t a clue. Hopefully our experts have, though. If there’s a chance Ed Lachlan has Chester, we’ve got to try.”
    “Fine.” Dougal had already taken the precaution of backing up his laptop, so he relinquished it without further argument. “But I’m going to need something to work on.”
    Wade stared at him as if he could read the interior workings of Dougal’s mind through his eyes. And maybe he could.
    “You’re going to do what he wants. Write the book.”
    “As long as there’s a chance he has Chester, how can I not? Only trouble is, the Librarian Cottage doesn’t have Wi-Fi. And I can’t see talking to the old man at the library or in front of Charlotte.”
    Wade pondered the situation for a moment. “I’ll find you some space here. I can get you a laptop, as well. It’ll be good to have you close at hand. If you get a lead on Chester’s whereabouts we’ll want to move quickly.”
    Dougal hated the idea of working under Wade’s thumb. But it made sense. He glanced at his watch. “He’s expecting me in the chat room in two minutes.