Chapter 4

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The sun broke the horizon an hour before the Oregon State Police showed up to assist the St. John's Police Department. Wayne stood on the bank of the Willamette River, twenty feet from where he'd found the purple and white tennis shoe. For the last ten days, he'd held out hope that Annie Morgan would beat the odds and be found alive.

"It's only a shoe, man," said Thad. "It's not a body."

"Right." Wayne shoved his hands in his vest pockets and hid his fists.

Thad kept everyone's morale from dipping in defeat. His strength came from experience. When his sister, Thalia, had disappeared and later was found murdered, he'd never once given up hope. That kind of strength weighed heavily on him, creating a diehard spirit, determination, and love.

Wayne leaned toward facts and grounded himself on statistics.

The AirChinook chopper headed back toward the site, only a half mile from the bridge and a mile from the docks. If a little girl fell into the river, the swift undercurrent could take her miles.

"Have the police called in the divers?" asked Wayne.

"Glen is with the parents." Thad stepped away from the water slapping at the rocks. "They got the go ahead to search the water fifteen minutes ago. It'll probably take a couple of hours to get the dive team searching."

With the sky search covered, the water search yet to begin, that only left the land. The authorities were searching for a body. He was searching for a child. That was the only reason he'd found the shoe. A shoe that wasn't wet. A shoe that could've come off Annie in a struggle.

"How deep do you think the drop off is here?" He stared down into the dark water.

Thad sighed. "Couldn't say. Nobody swims in this area. It's always been deemed unsafe. Don't know if that's because of what's under the water or the sewage draining into the water from Portland."

Wayne lifted his gaze. His body snapped to attention despite the logistics of the situation.

"What are you thinking?" asked Thad.

"The shoe. It wasn't wet. Either Annie stayed out of the water, or someone picked her up." Wayne looked up and down the river. "A boat could pull up close enough. A raft. A motorboat. Fuck, even a cruiser. Close enough if someone lifted Annie, she'd kick and struggle, afraid of the water."

"Her parents said she was afraid to swim. They had her in lessons, and she cried every time she had to go to the pool. They finally let her drop out of class." Thad raised his brows. "At seven years old, the river wouldn't attract her."

"Dammit." Wayne pulled his hands out of his pockets. "In less than four hours, someone could travel by boat from here to the Pacific Ocean and be waiting for a cargo ship heading to Mexico."

"Or, a different location. A trail the dogs couldn't follow—"

"The dogs weren't brought in because the police believe someone picked her up at school. The on-duty parking guard doesn't remember Annie getting on the bus. The bus driver verified that Annie never got on after school. Yet, her teacher said she was there all day and walked out of the classroom with the other students when the final bell rang." Wayne looked at Thad. "They need to bring in the dogs."

"We know she was here. The dogs can't track through the water. The diving team would do more." Thad stepped closer.

Wayne shook his head. "No, we're going in the wrong direction."

"How do you know?"

"My gut." Wayne took out his phone. "I’m calling the others. We're riding out."

"When?"

Wayne put the cell to his ear. "Five minutes ago."

Leaving the cops to do their job, Wayne headed to his motorcycle. It'd take a fucking miracle for his hunch to pay off. There were things law enforcement couldn’t do without a search warrant, and they'd need probable cause. Wearing the Notus MC patch, and not taking no for an answer, opened doors. If being a biker failed to intimidate, they'd kick the door in.

Two and a half hours later —

The sand migrated into Wayne's boots. He ignored the irritating distraction and walked up the stairs off the Astoria beach onto the pier. The shipping docks a half mile away, he chose to approach on foot as if four Notus MC members were checking out the sights before hitting the road again.

Up ahead, there were three ships lined up at the dock. One from Alaska, carrying crab. Another ship hauling tuna. It was the third vessel that caught his interest. A cargo ship stacked three high with storage containers.

"What's the plan?" Glen removed his skullcap from his pocket and slipped it over his hair.

The wind whipped Glen's voice behind them. Wayne glanced over his shoulder. They were the only ones on the walkway.

"We wait until the pier is clear of anyone else and go aboard." Wayne slipped on his gloves. "We'll see if the dock workers get their balls in a twist having us around and tell me my gut is right and Annie is somewhere hidden on the ship."

"No telling where they'd have her hidden." Chuck removed the chain from his vest, opening up access to the pistol he had in a shoulder holster.

Each one of them came armed. He wasn't alone in pushing forward, even if it meant getting killed. If a confrontation saved a young girl's life, nothing would stop him.

Without missing a step, Wayne turned and walked down the pier onto the dock. He pointed to the fishing vessel. If someone was watching, he wanted them to believe he was curious. Just a visitor to the area, checking out the sights.

"Chuck, you look for any type of security, and we'll pretend to be interested in buying some fucking seafood." Wayne half turned and pretended to cast out an invisible fishing pole.

Glen whistled softly, a tune that set the mood. Thad laughed. To anyone looking, they appeared to be having a good time touring the port. Just four guys egging each other on, making up shit, being no threat to anyone.

"There's activity. I can count four men moving around. Closer to the back of the ship than by the ramp." Chuck stopped, bent to his knee, and fiddled with the laces of his boot.

Wayne turned, and while Chuck provided cover, he looked at what they were dealing with. "We're not all going to be able to get on deck. Thad, you can go with me. Chuck and Glen, you distract the men onboard."

Chuck straightened. "We'll stay on the dock."

"No." Wayne turned his back to the ships. "You'll want to get on the ship carrying halibut. Do whatever you have to...ask for a tour, fight your way on, do whatever you need to do to get on deck. You'll want to get as close as you can up on top to make sure the men on the other ship can see you. I can guarantee, they're more interested in what is happening within view than a couple guys standing on a dock. Go fast. We'll give you a couple minute's head-start."

"Use your phone if you need help," said Glen.

Alone with Thad, Wayne went over the plan to get on board the ship without anyone noticing. He slipped his hand under his vest and unsnapped the holster holding a nine-millimeter pistol.

"Ready?" Wayne let his hands drop to his sides, watched Chuck and Glen board the vessel.

"Let's go." Thad walked toward the cargo ship.

Wayne strode beside him, evening out the rocking of the dock with his weight. At the foot of the ramp, his phone vibrated. Without missing a step, he pulled the cell out of his pocket and glanced at the screen.

AirChinook.

"Hold on," he said to Thad and answered the phone. "Yeah?"

"Annie Morgan was found, Wayne," said Frank. "The police are notifying her family now."

He blinked hard. "Where?"

"The vacant field off Lombard Street that runs along the railroad track."

Wayne looked at Thad and shook his head, and then watched him turn away at the news. "Do me a favor and fax the details to my house."

"We're waiting on more information ourselves, and will send it on through," said Frank. "If you need more, let me know."

"Thanks, Frank." He disconnected the call and walked off the ramp and joined Thad on the dock while texting Chuck and Glen to get off the ship.

"Was she in the water?" asked Thad, his voice low.

Wayne shook his head. "The field between Lombard and the railroad track."

"No..." Thad shook his head and frowned. "All four of us searched that property twice. She wasn't there."

"She wasn't there on the third day or the sixth day. There are four days afterward that she could've shown up." Wayne's chest tightened. "Which means there's a killer out there that could do it again."

They both walked farther up the dock. Realistically, it'd been too long to hope for a successful recovery. Their last-ditch effort brought them to Astoria, hoping against the odds that the child was exploited and still alive.

Chuck and Glen jogged down the ramp and joined them on the dock. "What's up?" asked Glen.

"Case is closed." Wayne lifted his chin for them to walk, and filled them in on the little info he'd received.

Nobody responded, lost in their own thoughts. Wayne led them down the road now that there was no reason to stick to the beach.

"I've got a bad fucking feeling about how things ended." Thad cut across the parking lot of a kite store.

"We'll find out more when we get the details." Wayne took the key to his motorcycle out of his pocket.

All he wanted to do was get on the road and go over where they'd gone wrong. They couldn't afford to make mistakes. Could they have saved the girl if they'd found her sooner? Had she been dead the whole time? Who took her? Was the killer planning on taking another life?

He started the engine and led the Notus Motorcycle Club to the highway. Annie's parents couldn't heal when there were still questions. They needed answers, and he was no closer to telling them what happened today than he was last week.