Chapter 23

Jo squinted her eyes. "What is it?"

"A fitness tracker." Raylene held up what looked like a pink wristwatch. "Is this yours?"

"Nope." Carrie shook her head. "I've never seen it before in my life."

Nash glanced behind him. "This is the spot where whoever I was chasing stopped. Maybe they lost it."

"I doubt a pink fitness tracker belongs to one of the construction workers. Regardless, we need to make sure it doesn't. Let me send a picture to Barney to see if he recognizes it." Carrie hesitated. "What about leaving prints on it?"

Raylene flipped it over. "Based on the condition and how dirty the band is, I'm going to say there's no chance of lifting prints." She crumpled up the paper towel. "You can take it."

Carrie held it at arm's length and hurried off.

Jo waited until she was gone. "You said the person ran into the storage bin. Maybe while they were trying to get away, the fitness tracker broke and fell off."

"That's what I'm thinking," Nash said. "We'll find out soon enough."

While they waited, Raylene, Nash and Jo continued searching the surrounding area.

Finally, Carrie returned. "Barney forwarded a photo to the construction crew. I can one hundred percent confirm this fitness tracker doesn't belong to any of the construction guys."

"The person I chased after had a small build. If they're the one who lost this, we can start working on a profile," Nash said.

"This individual is some sort of techie," Jo said. "High-tech tracking devices, fitness trackers."

"It's starting to look like the vandal / stalker is a woman," Raylene said. "Do you mind if I take another look at the device?"

"Be my guest." Carrie handed it to her.

Raylene turned it over, running her thumb across the broken strap. "Going with the assumption it's a woman, she must've collided with the bin, somehow got the fitness tracker caught on something. It broke and then fell off during her escape."

"How does this thing work?" Jo asked.

"Depending on the brand, they offer different features. This appears to be a more expensive model." Raylene held it up close. "Guys, you're not going to believe this."

"What?" Jo craned her neck.

"This is a Trekki Fit."

Jo's heart skipped a beat. "The tracking devices we found on Carrie's van were also Trekki brand…Trekki Trackers."

"Trekki Tracker and Trekki Fit," Carrie said. "Both are the same manufacturer."

"I ran across these types of devices pretty regularly in the bounty hunting business," Raylene said. "Most people don't realize there's a way to access the records even if you don't have the pin number."

"Meaning you might be able to pull the records from this device, but not the other tracking devices?" Carrie asked.

"Remember, both had been altered by someone who wanted to make sure he or she couldn't be traced. As far as this device, I know how to access the records and find out where this person has been." Raylene went into a lengthy explanation about how the fitness devices offered geographic and location features.

"This uses GPS or Global Positioning System technology to track and record movement." Nash rubbed his chin. "To help users monitor their exercise."

"Absolutely," Raylene said. "It can be used for running, biking, hiking, swimming, kayaking. You name it."

"What you're saying is this fitness tracker can tell us exactly where the user has been?" Jo asked.

"Correct. Although I'll need a computer to download the data."

"We can use my laptop."

The group returned inside and gathered at Carrie's kitchen table, growing quiet while Raylene pulled up Trekki Fit's website.

Jo held her breath, praying they could finally figure out who was harassing Carrie and vandalizing her property. Not only Carrie's property, but Jo's investment.

"I'm almost there." Raylene let out a low whistle. "Whoever this belongs to spent a nice chunk of change on it. This has it all—heart rate, a step counter, sleep tracking, not to mention the most important one…an activity tracker. I can download and print the whole enchilada."

"Send a copy to Jo and me." Carrie rattled off her email address.

Raylene reached for the mouse. "This is an absolute goldmine."

"The tracker is now being tracked," Jo quipped. "I bet whoever it is, is freaking out about losing it."

Nash shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe not. The person probably thinks there's no way for us to access the records."

"And we wouldn't have without Raylene on the case," Carrie said.

"I'm done." Raylene hopped out of the chair. "It's all yours."

Carrie took the empty seat, logged into her email, and clicked on the message. "How many pages is this?"

"Four. I only accessed the last seven days of records," Raylene said. "Which covers the timeframe of when you found the original tracking device."

"Right. We'll be able to map out exactly where this person has gone to see if there's a pattern and…"

"Track the tracker," Nash finished Carrie's sentence. "No wonder I couldn't catch her. This person is obviously in excellent physical condition based on the amount of exercise recorded here."

"We need to turn this over to Sheriff Franklin and let him know what we found," Jo said.

"Hang on." Raylene held up a hand. "You can't tell him I hacked into this thing."

"Why not?" Carrie asked.

"Because one of the special conditions of Raylene's probation is that she isn't allowed to engage in any activity involving tracking a person or persons," Jo said. "As soon as her probation ends, the condition will be removed, but for now, she's right. We can't let Franklin know."

"He'll eventually be able to access the records," Nash said. "Although it's going to take some time for the manufacturer to release the information."

"Meanwhile, we have it right here at our fingertips." Carrie tapped the keys. The printer behind her whirred and started spitting out sheets of paper. "It doesn't mean we can't start hunting this person down."

"Agreed." Jo made a zipping motion across her lips. "Mum's the word on how we got this information."

"You know it." Nash patted Raylene on the back. "Thank you for helping us, knowing this could get you in trouble."

"Especially considering Raylene will soon be a free woman once her probation is terminated."

"I'm this close." Raylene pinched her finger and thumb together. "If the state found out what I did, they could pull the offer so fast it would make our heads spin."

"And none of us want that to happen," Jo said.

Carrie snatched the papers off the printer. "Check it out. It lists all the activities, the time, date, you name it."

"The amount of information available on these things is pretty amazing," Raylene said. "We found them useful in bounty hunting. If you had this kind of information, it made finding the criminals a whole lot easier."

"Whoever owns the fitness tracker is a creature of habit." Carrie laid the papers out on the table.

Within moments, it was clear to see the owner's routine was consistent. At least it had been for the last seven days.

Nash studied the second sheet. "There's something missing."

"Where this person starts their day," Raylene said. "The fitness tracker starts recording late morning."

"We don't have the actual coordinates, which means what we're seeing are coded locations." Jo's heart plummeted. "We're going to have to crack the codes they used to figure out the geographic location."

Carrie grabbed a yellow pad. "I'll take notes to see if we can pinpoint a pattern."

"Good idea." Nash handed a page to the others. "I'll start. I have day one."

Carrie jotted "Day One" at the top of her notepad. "Fire away."

It didn't take long for them to assemble a list, a pattern of precise times and locations. Now, all they needed to do was to find the location of the coded entries.

Jo drummed her fingers on the table, staring at the sheet of paper in front of her. "If only we had the map of the exact location."

"This is as good as it gets without us having their app and being able to log into their account through the front door," Raylene said. "Backdoor access has its limitations."

"We'll figure it out," Nash said. "Smith County isn't that big."

Raylene grew quiet, her brows furrowing. "CRT. This keeps popping up every day at almost exactly noon."

Jo slipped her reading glasses on and scanned the list. "I have it on my sheet as well."

"Ditto for here," Nash said.

"CRT," Carrie repeated. "CRT."

Jo slipped out of her chair and wandered to the window. "What landmarks and locations start with a C and end with a T?"

"Landmarks where someone could do some serious exercise," Raylene added.

"Which means the fitness device's owner would have to have some room to roam," Nash said.

"A park, a hiking trail, a public spot," Carrie rattled off.

Jo snapped her fingers. "The name is staring us in the face. CRT. Central Rail and Trail. About a year ago, I read the county was tearing out the old railroad tracks and turning it into a hiking and biking trail. It runs all the way across Smith County."

"You're right," Nash said. "Let's see if it's up and running."

"Already on it." Carrie opened a new search screen and typed in Central Rail and Trail. "This is it. The hiking and biking trail is less than five miles from here."

"How long is it? The trail I mean?" Jo asked.

"It goes on for miles," Carrie said. "According to this map, you can pick it up almost anywhere. There are two public parking areas."

"Let me guess…one is nearby," Raylene said.

"On the other side of Four Corners."

"Which is a hop, skip and a jump from here," Jo said. "You know what this means?"

"We have the location. We have the exact time the fitness tracker's owner visited, at least during the past week," Raylene said.

"It also means it's time for a stakeout," Jo said. "Clear your calendar for noon tomorrow."