I didn't waste a second. I turned and walked straight into the back hallway, tapping three times on the manager's office door.
"It's Marcus," I said. "It's clear."
The lock clicked open, and Sarah pushed the door back. Maya was sitting on an office chair, wrapped in a fleece blanket Sarah had grabbed from the staff closet.
I walked over to the desk, pulled my phone from my pocket, and dialed a number I knew by heart.
"Elko County Sheriff's Office, Deputy Vance," a tired voice answered on the second ring.
"Sam," I said, keeping my tone crisp. "It's Marcus Vance. I'm at the Dusty Saddle on Highway 95. I need you to bring a full tactical unit to my location right now, and I need a state APB put out on Karl Kraven."
There was a brief pause on the line, followed by the sound of boots hitting a desk. "Marcus? What the hell is going on out there?"
"I've got a seven-year-old missing girl in my office," I said, looking over at Maya. "She was dropped off here twenty minutes ago wrapped in industrial plastic with raw diamonds strapped to her torso. The shipping tag on her back has Kraven's name on it, and his enforcers just threatened to kill her mother if the cargo isn't delivered to his salvage yard."
"Jesus Christ," Vance breathed. "Are you serious?"
"I've got the cargo, I've got the tag, and I've got the child," I replied. "Kraven's men just pulled out heading south toward the rail yard. Get your deputies rolling."
"I'm hitting the lights right now," Vance said grimly. "Ten minutes."
I hung up and knelt back down beside Maya. She was watching me with round, fearful eyes, clutching the pink backpack in her lap.
"Maya," I said gently. "Is there anything inside your bag that your mother gave you before those men took her?"
Maya unzipped the small front pocket of the pink backpack. Her tiny fingers reached deep inside, pulling out a small, tarnished silver heart locket attached to a broken chain.
"Mommy put this in my shoe before the bad man pushed me into the car," Maya whispered, holding it out to me. "She said if I found a safe person, to show them the picture."