Chapter 30

THIRTY

T he sun was only an orange glow behind the high-rise across the street. Julio had lost count of how many coffees he'd had, but the table was littered with mugs and paper cups. Every few minutes another cop came in from the room-to-room search they'd conducted, or an FBI agent from downstairs showed up, adding to the mass of people in the room.

Someone hung up a phone. Lieutenant Gage Deluca, the former SWAT commander, called out across the room. "Deerdan is out of surgery."

More than one person whooped. Someone said, "Let's find this guy."

The door opened, and a dark-haired Hispanic woman wearing a blue police officer uniform came in. But Julio recognized her. He tapped Romeo on the shoulder. "Isn't that your sister?"

Romeo levered himself out of the office chair high up enough to say, "Cat!" Then he slumped back down while his sister weaved through people.

Across the room, a half dozen people stared at a map on the wall, congregated around it as if that topographical map of Benson was the epicenter of the search for Samantha.

Cat squeezed his shoulder. "Simon is on his way over."

"Great," Romeo said. "Then everyone at Vanguard will be on the case."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Julio asked. "The more people we have looking for Samantha, the better. Right?"

A few feet away, some guy in a suit with a badge on his belt said, "A cop was nearly killed in our house. We don't need Vanguard's help."

Julio shut his mouth. They were all like this right now, determined to find the guy who'd tried to kill Sergeant Deerdan and had taken Samantha. Territorial. Embarrassed it had happened inside the police department. He didn't blame them, considering the fire department had been suckered into all being gone and left their house wide open to an attack that nearly killed Julio and Samantha.

They all wanted answers.

Considering Julio did as well, he wasn't arguing if they wanted to solve this themselves. They were letting the FBI help, at least.

"Here." Romeo called out to the room as a whole. "I've got him!"

Addie turned from the group by the map and shifted far enough Julio saw ears belonging to a German shepherd behind where she'd been standing. Former officer River Gaines stood by his search and rescue K-9, his wife, Tessa—nearby with her Belgian Malinois—affectionately called a Maligator. Probably his connection to the Benson PD meant he'd been allowed into this inner circle nerve center.

Addie pointed to the wall. "Send it to the screen."

Romeo hit a few keys, and the huge TV on the wall flickered to a different window. A security feed of one of the halls. "This has to be outside of what was disabled."

Julio said, "He only turned off the cameras in the motor pool."

The officer who'd been on the motor pool desk, watching that area, several others, and signing vehicles in and out, must not have realized until it was too late.

Julio had wondered more than once if he'd still have a job tomorrow. But then, who'd have expected this? He'd been doing his job—not staring at the screen, watching cars and cops. The fact this attack had been so carefully coordinated told these cops—and Julio had agreed—that this was an elaborate plan. What Julio hadn't added was that only someone with inside information could have known enough to pull it off.

Walter Barnes didn't seem like he had that level of attention to detail. He was more of a "crime of opportunity" type of guy.

"There." Addie nodded. "You're right."

Lieutenant Deluca stared at the screen and frowned. "What is he doing? Is that a shoebox?"

Addie said, "He left it on that shelf."

The video footage showed a maintenance guy walking out of the room.

"Any other images of him?" Julio asked.

Someone at a laptop down from Romeo said, "I've got a shot of his face." She sent the image to the monitor on the wall.

Julio walked closer so he could get a better look.

"Who is that?"

"Run it through facial recognition. I want it checked against the DMV database first."

"Vanguard can do it faster."

He let all the conversation wash around him, the buzz of noise almost rippling against his ears. He still had a hard time with too much noise. Julio had grown up in an almost silent house, unless he played music on his personal CD player. His parents hadn't understood his need for a stereo given they couldn't hear most of the sound coming out. His dad could hear nothing, but his mom heard a kind of droning buzz when music played—or the TV. Enough to bother her, like a nearby fan irritated her ears in an almost painful way. They just weren't the kind of people who enjoyed music.

The TV screen froze. Someone grabbed the image with a mouse, cutting the face out and dragging a copy to another screen.

Julio reached up and stuck his fingers in his ears so he could focus on what he was seeing.

After a few seconds, someone touched his elbow. Addie. "Is everything okay?"

He lowered his hands and turned to her. "It's Walter Barnes."

The room silenced almost immediately.

She frowned. "This guy has a dark curly hair and a mustache." But she wasn't arguing with him—she was stating facts. "What makes you so sure it's him?"

She wanted to know why he was so certain. How he knew.

Apart from the fact that Julio had been up close and personal with him?

He turned to Addie. "Who interviewed him after he tried to kill Samantha?"

She looked at one of the cops—McCauley, now one of the PD chiefs. Julio hadn't noticed him come in. She repeated his question.

The captain frowned. "Sergeant Deerdan, I think."

Addie shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "So she's the only other person who got up close and personal with him."

"I'll pull up his booking photo." Romeo started typing.

She turned to Julio. "You're sure it's him?"

He could only nod. "It's his face."

She squeezed his shoulder.

Julio was about to explode out of his skin. What was Walter doing to her? Where had he taken her? Addie turned to one of her agents, the one with short hair who was married to a Benson detective. Hummet sat beside her, and on his other side was Lucas Westbrook. Both of them had shown up almost immediately.

Seemed like everyone was onboard with finding Samantha.

Figuring out who had stabbed Megan Deerdan.

Bringing him to justice.

These two, Special Agent…Julio was pretty sure it was Stella Davis—or Hummet if she used her married name—and Eric Hummet, had been there the day Samantha was blown out of that house with Romeo. Two years ago. The day she lost their baby.

Julio strode to the far side of the room and looked out the window.

Everyone had shown up. They would find her.

So why did he feel so useless?

"He's right," Detective Lucas Westbrook called out. "It's Walter Barnes."

Detective Hummet said, "It's just a first glance, but it's a match. The computers at Vanguard can confirm. And when we find him holding her captive, we'll have all the evidence we need to nail this guy to the wall."

Julio turned back to the blond man, Westbrook, and caught a look of respect sent his way—because he'd noticed it first?

Over the far side of the room, a younger guy came in. Long hair, down to his shoulders and civilian clothes. Not a cop. He spotted Cat, Romeo's sister, in the crowd and headed for her.

Another guy came in behind him who looked like Cat's guy, but a little bigger in the shoulders and arms. He held himself in the way a lot of cops did. This guy headed for Lucas, and their handshake shifted into a hug.

All these interconnected people.

He'd crossed paths with most of them in his career with the fire department. All these first responders, along with private citizens who pitched in. Police. FBI. Vanguard. The fire department did work that was a whole lot simpler, but still just as valuable in saving lives.

They were the ones who would save Samantha.

Julio looked at Addie. "Where is she?"

He needed to move. He needed a target, because he was itching to run. Like last time, when he'd raced over and launched himself at Walter Barnes before he could strangle Samantha.

Would Julio get there in time today?

Addie turned to the room. "I want all property listed in his name, or the name of any relatives. A former spouse, and her relatives. Give me all possibilities. He needs a place he can control. This is a guy with a domestic violence rap sheet who isn't afraid to take a shot at getting back at people who've wronged him."

"Is he the arsonist?" Deluca said.

Julio shook his head.

Addie said, "We have more circumstantial evidence that he isn't our guy than that he is." Not so conclusive, but she probably had to be careful not to say something definitive that was only a theory she couldn't prove.

"What's with the shoe boxes?" One of the officers pointed to the screen. "He left two more at other places inside the building."

Chief McCauley stood. "Let's go find out." He headed for the door, and half a dozen officers went with him.

Julio probably should follow, given he headed up the bomb squad, but he spotted a colleague from the PD who worked with him and let them go. They'd be fine—he had to believe that. He had to trust them because there was no way he was going to leave the search for Samantha.

"I've got something!"

Addie said, "What is it, Simon?"

The long-haired guy from Vanguard, Cat's guy, said, "Cabin up in the mountains. Belonged to his wife's father. She inherited it after his death, and it was signed over into her name with her maiden name as the surname."

"Walter didn't list himself on the deed?" Romeo scoffed. "Seems like something a wife beater would do." He sat back in his chair, looking collected, but under the table he bounced his knee.

The guy wanted to get out there and find his partner.

"We need to check it out," Julio said.

The search and rescue couple shifted. River Gaines, the former officer, said, "Tessa and I can go for a walk in the woods. If he sees us coming, he'll just think we're hikers."

"Yeah," Gage Deluca said, "hikers with an armed response team as backup."

"Let's go check it out." Addie looked at Simon, and a couple of others. "I need the rest of you to hang back, see if you can find us alternates in case this thing turns out to be nothing."

Simon nodded. Cat slid into Romeo's seat.

"Come on, bro." Romeo tipped his head at the door. "Let's get you a vest."

Julio followed him to the door.

Lord, please let this be the place. Keep her safe—and alive—until we get there.

He could barely swallow past the lump in his throat, let alone voice the words aloud. God knew his heart. The Lord knew Julio wanted Samantha in his life for as long as he could have her there. That he would cherish her and protect her. If it was necessary, he would give his life to keep her safe.

It would mean they weren't together, but to him it would be worth it.

Otherwise, he would have to live without her—the guilt his only company. She would grieve him, sure. But the sense of failure plaguing him would be a thousand times worse.

How about neither of those?

Keep her safe , he repeated. Don't let her lose faith in You.