mentally ill. I could interrogate him, but using Olivia might be quicker and more effective."
She hesitated. "OK, but we have to be smart. Involving Olivia is risky. Make damn sure nobody follows you or is tracking Kelly. Meet us at the farm in Pescadero."
"Yes, ma'am. Bye." Hanley put away his phone and returned to Kelly. "Come with us. You're going for a ride."
"I am?" Kelly raised his eyebrows.
"Yeah. Somebody wants to buy all your little angels for five thousand bucks."
His eyes widened.
They quickly walked to the car. Hanley and Katie had come in a blue sedan with a few artfully placed dings and scratches. It looked cheap, but there was a big engine under the hood and Kevlar inserts in the doors.
Hanley opened the hood and searched through the gray duffle bags full of supplies. He eventually found a scanner designed to detect radio transmitters.
"Hold still," he said to Kelly.
Hanley waved a wand up and down Kelly's body.
"What are you doing?"
"Checking your aura for defects," Hanley said. "This thing fixes them."
"Oh. Thanks."
"No problem."
The scanner found nothing, so Hanley put it away. He gave Kelly a pat down for good measure even though touching his filthy clothes was revolting. Hanley only found a knife in Kelly's pocket.
"What's this for?"
"Carving," Kelly said. "You're acting very paranoid."
"The buyer is a wealthy man. He's careful about who he meets."
Everybody got in the car. Katie sat in back with Kelly and kept a close eye on him.
Hanley drove around in circles several times until he was sure nobody was tailing him. He used tricks such as making unexpected turns and reversing direction in blind locations. Finally, he headed towards Pescadero.
* * *
Marina drove up Pescadero Creek Road and turned left at an intersection that didn't have a stop sign in either direction. She continued along a side road barely wide enough for two cars to pass. Pescadero was a village on the west side of the Santa Cruz Mountains. It was close enough to the Pacific Ocean that salt spray made the ground highly saline. Nonetheless, a few small farms managed to survive, but she didn't envy the life of those farmers.
Marina drove towards one farm in particular. She had purchased it a couple of months ago, and it was isolated even by the standards of Pescadero. It only had rolling hills and fields of grass for neighbors. The Santa Cruz Mountains were dark masses in the distance. Clumps of stunted trees broke up the otherwise open landscape.
She turned into a private driveway, and her car thudded over bumps in the dirt. The weeds were getting out of control. She really needed to pay somebody to spruce up the farm a little. She wanted the place to look decrepit but not completely abandoned.
Marina parked in front of a small farmhouse made of hand-cut wooden planks. Real cedar shingles covered the roof. It looked nice even if it was a fire hazard. She got out of the car and took a deep breath of fresh air scented with pine.
Olivia climbed out of the back with a cute smile on her face. The girl was wearing a fuzzy pink outfit and plastic sandals with butterflies on her toes. A straw hat protected her pale skin from the sun. Colorful rubber bands held back her blonde hair.
"What is this place?"
" El Toro and his gang used to own this farm," Marina said. "It was where they kept traitors and enemies. I'll show you."
She led Olivia into the farmhouse. There was a little furniture inside, but it was old and in poor condition, not even worth stealing.
Olivia tried a light switch, but it didn't work. "Is there electricity?"
"Yes," Marina said, "but the cables are buried, and only certain rooms have power. It's supposed to look like nobody lives here."
They went into an empty bedroom. Her footsteps kicked up dust which made her nose itch. She felt around until she found the handle of a concealed trap door, and she pulled it up. She and Olivia climbed down a ladder to reach the room below.
It was a surveillance
She hesitated. "OK, but we have to be smart. Involving Olivia is risky. Make damn sure nobody follows you or is tracking Kelly. Meet us at the farm in Pescadero."
"Yes, ma'am. Bye." Hanley put away his phone and returned to Kelly. "Come with us. You're going for a ride."
"I am?" Kelly raised his eyebrows.
"Yeah. Somebody wants to buy all your little angels for five thousand bucks."
His eyes widened.
They quickly walked to the car. Hanley and Katie had come in a blue sedan with a few artfully placed dings and scratches. It looked cheap, but there was a big engine under the hood and Kevlar inserts in the doors.
Hanley opened the hood and searched through the gray duffle bags full of supplies. He eventually found a scanner designed to detect radio transmitters.
"Hold still," he said to Kelly.
Hanley waved a wand up and down Kelly's body.
"What are you doing?"
"Checking your aura for defects," Hanley said. "This thing fixes them."
"Oh. Thanks."
"No problem."
The scanner found nothing, so Hanley put it away. He gave Kelly a pat down for good measure even though touching his filthy clothes was revolting. Hanley only found a knife in Kelly's pocket.
"What's this for?"
"Carving," Kelly said. "You're acting very paranoid."
"The buyer is a wealthy man. He's careful about who he meets."
Everybody got in the car. Katie sat in back with Kelly and kept a close eye on him.
Hanley drove around in circles several times until he was sure nobody was tailing him. He used tricks such as making unexpected turns and reversing direction in blind locations. Finally, he headed towards Pescadero.
* * *
Marina drove up Pescadero Creek Road and turned left at an intersection that didn't have a stop sign in either direction. She continued along a side road barely wide enough for two cars to pass. Pescadero was a village on the west side of the Santa Cruz Mountains. It was close enough to the Pacific Ocean that salt spray made the ground highly saline. Nonetheless, a few small farms managed to survive, but she didn't envy the life of those farmers.
Marina drove towards one farm in particular. She had purchased it a couple of months ago, and it was isolated even by the standards of Pescadero. It only had rolling hills and fields of grass for neighbors. The Santa Cruz Mountains were dark masses in the distance. Clumps of stunted trees broke up the otherwise open landscape.
She turned into a private driveway, and her car thudded over bumps in the dirt. The weeds were getting out of control. She really needed to pay somebody to spruce up the farm a little. She wanted the place to look decrepit but not completely abandoned.
Marina parked in front of a small farmhouse made of hand-cut wooden planks. Real cedar shingles covered the roof. It looked nice even if it was a fire hazard. She got out of the car and took a deep breath of fresh air scented with pine.
Olivia climbed out of the back with a cute smile on her face. The girl was wearing a fuzzy pink outfit and plastic sandals with butterflies on her toes. A straw hat protected her pale skin from the sun. Colorful rubber bands held back her blonde hair.
"What is this place?"
" El Toro and his gang used to own this farm," Marina said. "It was where they kept traitors and enemies. I'll show you."
She led Olivia into the farmhouse. There was a little furniture inside, but it was old and in poor condition, not even worth stealing.
Olivia tried a light switch, but it didn't work. "Is there electricity?"
"Yes," Marina said, "but the cables are buried, and only certain rooms have power. It's supposed to look like nobody lives here."
They went into an empty bedroom. Her footsteps kicked up dust which made her nose itch. She felt around until she found the handle of a concealed trap door, and she pulled it up. She and Olivia climbed down a ladder to reach the room below.
It was a surveillance
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