want to spook him.
Madison glanced at her watch. The train was due to arrive soon, but an announcement revealed that it would be ten minutes late. She sighed. There had been no sign of Barrick at any of the other stops. Unless he’d somehow slipped past the officers that were in place.
She’d been here once before, the resort city nestled in the Rocky Mountains and surrounded by the White River National Forest. Mountains hovered behind the brick station with the red tile roof, and a handful of people stood ready to get on the train with their luggage. She could hear the Colorado River running below them and the sound of cars passing behind the station.
“Ever ridden a train?” she asked, moving next to Jonas.
“When I was seven, we took a train trip to see my cousins. I just have a few vague memories of miles and miles of cornfields and fighting with my brother.”
Madison laughed. “We never went on a train but took plenty of long car trips. I’m not sure how my sister and I made it without killing each other.”
Small talk passed the time, until finally the train pulled into the station. Adrenaline pulsed through her. She was ready to get this over with.
They boarded the train separately, leaving two plainclothes officers on the platform in case Barrick slipped out. No one paid attention as she stepped onto the train. To the rest of the passengers, she was just another stranger, heading in the same direction. She’d opted to dress down from what she normally wore. To blend in with the other passengers, she’d come up with a pair of jeans, a T-shirt with a jean jacket, a knit cap, and no makeup. A quick glance in the mirror on the plane to Colorado had confirmed that unless Barrick looked closely, he wouldn’t recognize her.
There were five other undercover officers who’d memorized Barrick’s photo and were now moving through the train that was made up of sections, including three sleepers, three coaches, and a diner and lounge. She’d been assigned to the glass-framed lounge, trying to look like another passenger who’d just gotten on and was looking for a place to sit. A couple was reading in front of the large picture windows lining the car. A family was busy trying to get their children settled in for the ride, and a couple backpackers had already marked their spots.
She tugged on the strap of the backpack she was carrying. Everything seemed normal. And there was no sign of Barrick.
A voice came over her earpiece. “Diner’s cleared.”
“So are the engines.”
Madison kept walking. Her gut told her that Barrick was going to hide out in the open. A sleeper car would leave him trapped. He would want a way out if he needed to run.
She finished searching her section as the rest of the team continued to clear the train. Jonas came toward her after clearing his section. Every officer had radioed in, and no one had spotted Barrick.
“We missed him, Madison.”
Her brain spun with the implications. “What if we didn’t.”
“What do you mean?”
“Who are we looking for?”
“Again, what do you mean?”
“White male, early thirties, glasses and baggy clothes, possible baseball cap, traveling alone,” she said. “He’s not going to make it easy on us. He’s probably changed again, just in case he was spotted on camera. He’s probably dressed like everyone around him. What if he’s not on the train alone? What if he changed his appearance? What if he’s with someone?”
He nodded. “You and I need to sweep the train again. Head toward the front and I’ll take the back. We’ll have the officers on standby on the platform. We just can’t spook him.”
She started at the back of the compartment, heading down the narrow passageway, thankful they’d studied the schematics of the train. She was careful to make sure they didn’t miss anything.
“Jonas, do you have anything?”
“Not yet.”
She walked down the aisle, then stopped and turned around. Barrick was sitting next to a woman. At first glance, they appeared as a couple, making him easy to overlook, especially with the slight alterations he’d managed to make with his appearance. He’d dumped the baggy clothes and was now wearing a button-down shirt with a jean jacket and a red ball cap, and he had added a goatee.
Madison turned around and kept walking, certain she hadn’t been made yet. “I’ve got him. Red ball cap. Left-side aisle. But he’s sitting with a woman.”
“A hostage?”
“I don’t think so. More