Chapter 4

Being in the bathtub with her bulky bag protecting her head was extremely uncomfortable. Listening intently, Eve thought she heard Grayson talking. Then there was the sharp report of gunfire.

Gunfire that was once again intended for her.

She silently prayed for God's shield of strength and for Grayson and the other officers who were likely on the way to be safe from harm.

First bombs, now guns.

Why? Even an animal rights activist wouldn't go this far, would they?

For long seconds, there was nothing but silence. The muscles in her arms trembled with exertion from holding up her shoulder bag filled with her work notes and computer.

Just when she thought she couldn't stand it there for another minute, she heard a knock at the door. "Eve? You can come out now."

"Thank You, Lord Jesus," she silently whispered, lowering the bag to the bottom of the tub and shaking out her arms.

"Eve?" Grayson's tone sounded urgent. "Are you okay? I'm coming in."

"I'm fine." She wasn't but understood he was talking about her physical condition, not her emotional state. She levered herself upright as Grayson opened the door and peered inside.

He rushed over to give her a hand. She did her best to appear calm but knew her hands were shaking.

She wasn't cut out for this sort of thing. Watching explosions, searching for bombs, running from danger. This wasn't normal for her.

For anyone, really. Except Grayson and his fellow teammates.

"Hey, you look pale." Grayson's dark eyes searched hers. "You're safe, Eve. The gunman is gone."

"They didn't catch him?" she asked, trying not to feel deflated.

"Not yet." His gaze was sympathetic. "Trust me, we want him as badly as you do."

"I know." She swallowed her disappointment. None of this was his fault. In fact, Grayson had saved her life.

Again.

"Stay close." He reached for her oversized bag and slung it over his shoulder as if it were filled with cotton balls. "Cassidy and Flynn are going to help us get out of here."

Sticking close wouldn't be a problem. If anything, she wished she could absorb even a fraction of his strength and determination.

Grayson took her bag and led the way through the motel room, toward the door. He urged her to stay up against the wall as he opened the door and looked outside. After a few seconds, he stepped through the opening. "It's clear."

She followed him down the stairs to the main level where a squad was waiting near Grayson's black SUV. Two officers, male and female, stood there in full gear. They were scanning the area intently as she and Grayson joined them.

"Your SUV may be compromised," Cassidy said. "Rhy wants us to take you to the precinct to get another vehicle."

"I'm fairly certain the perp tracked us here by Eve's computer access, but I agree we should swap vehicles just to be safe," Grayson said.

"My computer?" She stared at him. "You really think so?"

"Yeah, it's the only thing that makes sense." Grayson shrugged. "I know we weren't followed, and it took some time for the bad guys to find us."

Tracking her computer via the internet was not something she'd anticipated. And the thought filled her with dread. "That means I can't work on my research while we're hiding out."

"I'm afraid not." Grayson rested his hand in the hollow of her back. "I'm sorry, Eve. But we need to keep you safe and secure, which entails staying off-grid."

Off-grid. It was depressing how isolating that sounded. Yet how could she argue? Especially after this most recent incident?

"Everyone okay?" Gary asked as he emerged from the lobby.

"Yes, but your window is broken. Again," Grayson said apologetically.

"You promised not to bring danger," Gary groused. He glanced up at the window and sighed. "I'll need to get that repaired before the weekend."

"I'll take care of the cost," Grayson offered.

"Yeah, yeah." Gary waved a hand. "I know you guys are good about that. I just don't want to lose the weekend business."

Eve felt terrible at the thought of Gary losing his business. "I can help pay too. I feel responsible."

"It's not your fault," Grayson assured her. "I should have anticipated the computer connection being tracked."

"Grayson?" Flynn gestured to the squad. "Time to get Dr. Shaw out of here."

"Coming." He urged her toward the squad, then paused and tossed a key fob to Cassidy. "Be careful driving it back."

"I'll be fine." Cassidy grinned. "I'll take a detour and try to pick up a tail. Maybe we'll get this guy yet."

"We can only hope," Grayson muttered as he stored her bag in the back seat. "Meet you at the precinct."

Eve knew they were mostly joking, but it was just more proof of how they didn't hesitate to put their lives on the line to protect the public.

To protect her.

Being unable to work on her research was depressing, but she didn't want to cause anyone harm either.

She stared blindly out the window as Flynn navigated the streets of Brookland to head back to the precinct. She was lost in thought, but then a familiar home caught her eye. "That's where my boss lives."

"Your boss?" Grayson swiveled in the front passenger seat to look at her curiously. "You haven't mentioned him."

"Why would I?" She frowned. "He gets some credit for having me on his team."

"And you don't think he might be jealous of your work?" Grayson asked.

"He pays me to do my work, why would he be envious of it?" She pressed her fingertips into her temple in a vain effort to ward off another nagging headache. "Fine, you want to investigate him too? His name is Dr. Roger C. Cannon. Maybe he has unpaid parking tickets from fifteen years ago."

She caught the surprise in Flynn's gaze as he glanced at her in the rearview mirror. She forced herself to swallow her anger. Maybe it was a cop's job to look at all the people around her as potential suspects, no matter how absurd it might be.

But she didn't have to like it.

"Unpaid parking tickets don't show up in the criminal database," Grayson responded evenly. "And I know you're having trouble with seeing your colleagues in a bad light, but we still need to check them out. Including your boss. And anyone else you can think of who might be involved in this."

"That's just it," she said wearily. "I don't think any of them are involved in this. Why would they be? As I said before, they use the same research lab I do. A lab full of very expensive equipment. And we don't even know if any of them were injured in the blast, remember?"

"I know. I'm hoping to get some additional information on that soon. And you should know that people are not always logical," Grayson said. "Emotions can run amok and cause people to act out impulsively."

"Fine. Have it your way." She hated knowing he was right. She didn't say anything more, still grappling with how she'd gotten to this point. Her life was boring. Routine. Uneventful.

Earlier today her biggest concern was being rear-ended by a harried mother of three.

Now she'd been targeted by two bombs and gunfire.

The scenery outside her window passed in a blur. She had no idea where they would go next. Or how long this would take.

She silently prayed that Grayson and the others would find and arrest the person responsible so she could return to her dull, boring, and routine life.

* * *

Grayson exchanged knowinglooks with Flynn. Eve was taking this recent attempt against her extremely hard, and honestly, he couldn't blame her.

She didn't deserve this. No one did. But he didn't care how much she admired the people she worked with, he firmly believed one of them was responsible.

These attacks were personal. Targeting both her and her research. He wondered what would happen to her field of study if she was unable to keep working on it.

Would it fizzle out? Or would someone else step in to pick up where she had left off?

Maybe that was another angle to consider. At this point, he'd take any and all theories under advisement. Because the sad truth was that other than jealousy as a motivation, they were running out of leads.

Oh, he'd check out her boss, but the brief work he'd done on her colleagues hadn't yielded anything useful. Two possible suspects, but even that was a stretch.

Flynn pulled up to the side entrance of the building. "You want to go inside? Or wait here for me to grab a key? I think the Jeep is available now that it's been fixed."

"We'll go inside for a few minutes. I need to brief Rhy and Joe on the American Lodge incident." He also wanted to check on Gabe Melrose's progress on the facial recognition of the animal rights group.

Flynn shrugged and killed the engine. "Okay, let's go."

Grayson pushed out of the passenger seat and opened the back door for Eve. She slid out from the squad without meeting his gaze. Then turned to grab her bag. He wasn't sure why she was upset with him for doing his job, but he did his best to shrug it off.

He led the way inside, with Flynn following behind Eve. They took up protective positions by instinct and force of habit. Eve went over to sit at the same desk she had before.

"I won't be long," he said.

She nodded wordlessly. He hesitated, wondering if there was something more he should say, then decided to leave it alone.

Eve had lost her office, some of her research, access to her lab and to her home. She was entitled to be a little cranky.

"Grayson? What happened?" Rhy asked with concern.

He filled his boss in on the gunman who'd staked out the American Lodge. "I take full responsibility," he added. "It never occurred to me that they'd track Eve's computer."

"I understand; at least no one was hurt. Besides, it is a very different MO for this guy to come after her with a gun after planting two bombs," Rhy mused.

"Exactly." Grayson shook his head. "I was leaning toward one of the animal rights people going rogue, but now I think we need to remain focused on her colleagues. I'm sure she logged into the computer system within the Milwaukee College of Medical Research, and who would know that better than someone she works with?"

"Agreed." Rhy searched his gaze. "We got word that two assistant professors were in the elevator when the bomb went off. They were both rescued and are relatively unharmed. It's interesting that no one died from the blast. Almost as if it was an inside job."

No kidding. "Which professors?" he asked.

"Hang on." Rhy checked his notes. "Allan Ballard and Larry Kimmel."

He nodded, thinking that the fact that they were in the building when the bomb went off indicated they were probably not involved. "Thanks."

"You okay to stay with Dr. Shaw?" Rhy asked. "Or do you want to swap with one of the others?"

"I'll stay with Eve," he answered quickly. It didn't make sense, but he couldn't bring himself to leave her with anyone else. "Like you said, we have a rapport."

"Fine with me." Rhy glanced at his watch. "Sorry, I have a meeting with Michaels shortly. Take Eve to another hotel, and this time stay off the radar. Don't leave an electronic trail."

"Roger that. Thanks." Grayson left his boss, poking his head into Melrose's office. "Hey, did you find anything yet?"

"I told you I wouldn't have results in an hour," Gabe shot back. "I'm working on it, okay? Be satisfied with the arrest reports."

He'd been so busy he hadn't checked his email. Lifting his phone, he thumbed the screen until he found Gabe's email. "I see them. Thanks. Call me when you have something to share."

Melrose sighed loudly and went back to work. Over Gabe's shoulder he could see that he was fine-tuning one of the faces in the group photo. He wondered if this was the first photograph Gabe had started working on but wisely decided not to ask.

He returned to the main area where he found Flynn perched on the corner of the desk chatting with Eve. Out of nowhere, a flash of jealousy hit hard.

It was an unfamiliar emotion. He'd always been on the receiving end of a woman's attention, not the other way around. The last time he'd been rebuffed by someone was nearly ten years ago, when Eve had seemed oblivious to his interest.

He shook off the unwelcome thought. They weren't in high school anymore. And he had no claim on Eve or anyone else. He needed to stay focused on the issue at hand, not on his wayward hormones.

"Did Rhy have any words of wisdom?" Flynn asked as he approached.

"Just that we should find another place to stay." He was relieved he sounded normal. "I was thinking about using the City Central Hotel downtown."

"Good choice." Flynn stood. "I grabbed the Jeep keys; it's running like a charm after being repaired from the damage it sustained last month. Do you want me to ride shotgun?"

"No need." The refusal came out a little too fast. "We'll be fine with a clean ride."

"Okay." Thankfully, Flynn didn't take offense. A few months ago, Flynn had almost resigned from the tactical team for unwittingly playing a role in placing Steele in danger. Rhy had assured Flynn he wasn't at fault, and it seemed as if Flynn finally agreed. "Here you go." Flynn held out the Jeep key fob. "It's parked at the end of the lot."

"I saw it." He glanced at Eve who didn't seem as upset as earlier. "Do you mind hitting the road?"

"I'm ready." She rose to her feet, then placed a hand on his arm. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't take my frustration out on you."

"I can take it." He grinned, feeling 100 percent lighter at her apology. "I'm here for you no matter what."

"I know." She surprised him by going up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. "Thanks for saving my life. Again."

"Ah, sure. Of course." He was flustered by her sweet caress. He glanced at Flynn who was watching their interaction with a slightly amused and knowing look. As if he'd said something to smooth things over with Eve.

And if so, he owed the guy a big fat thank-you.

"This way." He gestured to the door they'd used on the way in.

"I was just getting used to the air-conditioning." She lifted her bag and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I guess you can tell I don't spend a lot of time outside."

He glanced at her. "You do important work, Eve. I have the opposite kind of job, one that cannot be done from a desk." And that was exactly why he loved being a cop. Most of the time. Their tactical team found themselves in dicey situations, which were never boring. He valued his life and those of his teammates, but at the same time, he'd never survive in one of those nine-to-five office jobs.

Not for any amount of money.

"By the way, no one was injured in the blast," he said. "Two of your colleagues, Allan Ballard and Larry Kimmel, were in the elevator at the time your office exploded. They were not hurt."

"I'm very thankful for that." She looked relieved by the news. He led the way outside to the Jeep, which was also black. "Don't you drive anything with color?" she asked as he opened the passenger door for him.

"No. Black blends in with the night. And there are a lot of black vehicles out there that provide anonymity."

Her eyes widened. "I guess I hadn't thought of that."

He nodded. "That's not the world you live in, Eve. But it is mine. Your bright-blue SUV made me cringe."

"I thought maybe you had something against blue," she said thoughtfully, setting her bag on the floor between her feet.

"Not at all." He left her door open to round the back of the vehicle. He started the engine, and once again, they waited a moment for the heat to disperse before closing the doors and hitting the road.

Grayson took several turns, went around the block, and headed north before turning to go east toward the lakefront. He knew they hadn't been followed to the American Lodge but decided to take extra precautions anyway.

"Is that Lake Michigan?" Eve craned her neck to see better. "It's so pretty."

He frowned. "You've never been to the lakefront?"

"I flew over it a few times heading to conferences, but I haven't actually been down there myself, no." She spoke absently, as if there were plenty of people in Milwaukee who had never gone to the lakefront.

"I'll take you down on a Saturday afternoon when this is over." He would love nothing more than to take her now, but that wasn't an option. Besides, he wanted to spend time with her when he didn't have to constantly be on the lookout for danger. "You'll love it."

"I—uh, okay." She flushed a little as she settled back in her seat. "You must think I'm lame."

"Never said that." He did think she was overly sheltered while growing up, and maybe a bit too focused on her work now that she was an adult. He understood being driven to succeed, but she had to relax sometime. "It wouldn't hurt to do something for fun occasionally. There are all kinds of things to do down there. Rent a paddleboat, ride bikes, play beach volleyball. Or simply hang out on the beach in the sun."

She nodded but didn't say anything more, giving him the distinct impression she'd never done any of those things. It occurred to him that once this nightmare was over, he would love to show Eve the parts of the city she'd never experienced. For now, he let the subject drop as he navigated the side streets toward the Milwaukee County Courthouse and the City Central Hotel.

The two-story hotel was not overly impressive, but its location near the courthouse made it useful for the DA's office to have witnesses stay there during long trials. And it was one of the usual places, like the American Lodge, that Rhy, Joe, and the rest of the team used to stay off-grid.

It didn't take long to obtain one of their first-floor suites. He put the room in his name and on his credit card. After lugging Eve's bag and his computer case inside, he closed and double locked the door.

"We forgot our sub sandwiches," Eve said with a frown. "I hate wasting food."

"That's okay; there's a small room service menu available. I'll call Gary and let him know he and his staff can eat the subs." He set her bag on the couch, then stepped over to the small table to set up his computer. Now that they were situated and safe, he was anxious to review the arrest reports Gabe had sent.

"Sure, you get to work on your computer, but I don't." Eve sighed, then waved a hand. "Sorry, ignore my whining. It's fine. I'll just review my notes."

He knew she wasn't mad at him but at the situation. "Maybe reviewing your notes will bring back some of the ideas you had jotted down on your sticky notes in your office."

"I hope so." She sat on the sofa and dug in her bag. "Although I think better when I have multiple screens open on my laptop at the same time."

She did? Hard to imagine, he could barely handle working on one screen at a time. Leaving her to it, he logged into his email and read through the DUI report from associate professor Geoff Abbott. The guy was driving with a leaky muffler, which was how he got pulled over, then blew a one point zero on the breathalyzer test. He was given a citation mostly because he was underage and driving.

He moved on to the next report on the assault and battery charges against Nick Strong. It wasn't a bar fight, but rather a domestic situation where he apparently slugged his former girlfriend's new boyfriend in the face.

Jealousy and anger, a dangerous mix. But enough to have the guy planting bombs in Eve's workplace and home office? Hard to say. But he would absolutely leave Nick Strong on the suspect list for now, especially since he seemed to be the jealous type.

He glanced over to where Eve was sitting on the sofa staring into space with at least five pads of sticky notes in her lap. After a long moment, she picked up her pencil and made a notation on a yellow sticky note, then set that one aside. Smiling to himself, he realized she didn't need a computer screen as long as she had all those brightly colored sticky notes.

Turning back to his computer, he searched for another email from Gabe Melrose but didn't find one. He was tempted to call the tech specialist to tell him to send the names as soon as he had them. Then he decided patience was a virtue and went back to the unsatisfactory task of searching social media sites.

It was painfully slow work, and by the time he got through searching on Eve's boss, Roger C. Cannon, he wanted to claw his eyes out of his head.

Roger C. Cannon had a second wife who was young, pretty, and wore slinky gowns at various charity events. He had no idea what being the director of the research institute paid, but it was obviously far more than he made as a cop.

Finding nothing of interest there, he picked up his phone. As if Gabe had sensed his impatience, his name flashed on the screen. "Okay, I have five names for you so far. Are you ready?"

He searched for paper and a pencil, but of course, he didn't find one. He pulled up a blank document on the computer screen. "Yup, go ahead."

"Robert Kevin Anderson, he's the first guy on the left in the back row. Then we have Sean Joseph O'Malley, he's the next guy over. The third is a guy by the name of Terrance Anthony Motors. The fourth is Kenneth James Kratz. And the last guy is Michael Harold Jones."

He typed furiously as Gabe talked. "What about dates of birth on these guys? I'll need that to dig into their criminal backgrounds."

"Oh yeah, hang on. I'll send you those with the names in an email." Gabe's fingers tapped on the keyboard. "One thing you should know is that Sean Joseph O'Malley has dual citizenship with the USA and Ireland."

"You think he learned how to set bombs in Ireland?" he asked dubiously.

"What? No, just that he likely has friends across the pond that he could go to if he got in trouble." Gabe chuckled. "He's far too young to be part of the Ireland Republic Army."

"I see. Okay, thanks. This is great work, Gabe. I'm grateful to have these names to work on."

"I'll keep going on the others," Gabe said. "Rhy approved some overtime for me on this."

Rhy was good that way and would likely smooth the extra time over with their assistant chief, Michaels. One good thing about their tactical team was that they had exceptional results, closing some big cases. "Great, thanks again." He ended the call and quickly looked at his email again.

"What did you find out?" Eve hovered near his right shoulder.

Glancing up at her, he found her peering at his screen. "I have five names from that animal rights group photo."

She pulled up a chair to sit beside him. "Can I watch?"

He wanted to tell her to go back to the sofa but nodded. She had an orange sticky note stuck to her shirt. She blushed when he peeled it off and set it aside. "Sure, if you like." He decided to start inputting the names in order. No surprise to find both criminal backgrounds on Robert K. Anderson and Sean J. O'Malley were clean. He put in the third name, and then the fourth. Still nothing.

To his surprise the fifth name, Michael Harold Jones, popped up with several criminal violations. Leaning forward, he clicked on the case file of the most recent citation.

Breaking and entering along with destruction of private property. Charges that were filed about a year ago. He turned to look at Eve. "I think we may have found another possible suspect."

"Setting off a bomb is a far crime from breaking and entering and property damage," she protested.

"These are the crimes they were able to prove," he said slowly. "He could have done other things too." He checked the guy's address and found he lived in Milwaukee.

He reached for his phone to call Joe. The guy's criminal past may not be enough for a search warrant, but at the very least, they could bring Michael Harold Jones in for a police interview.

They needed something to go on very soon. And this guy was their most likely candidate.