Chapter 15

15

Kinsley held her phone to her ear as she watched the Shadow Lake Survival team enter the cabin. She wanted to know what they had to report, but she wouldn't end her call with Detective Stewart.

Stewart cleared his throat. "I got a hold of the detective who investigated the disappearance of Luongo's wife."

"And?" she asked, keeping an eye on the team as they moved into the dining room.

"And he hasn't had any communication with Luongo in relationship to you or anyone else." Stewart cleared his throat. "He hasn't recently talked to anyone about it. Nor has he heard that Luongo was sniffing around for info either."

"So could be a dead end."

"Could be, but you can never rule this guy out." His tone was filled with grit and determination. "I'd say keep your eyes open and your protection team nearby."

She thanked him for checking into it and ended the call. She joined her protection team as they gathered around the dining table in the small cabin. Dev had called them, and they'd come immediately. All except Russ, who was on duty, and Ryan and Micha had delayed their trip to Portland after the drone incident so they could participate in this strategy meeting before they departed.

The guys got settled, and their larger-than-life presence filled the space with masculinity that was somewhat daunting. Thankfully, she'd had a chance to work with or interact with each member of the team so far and knew, despite their intimidating outward appearance, they were all caring men with hearts of gold who would do anything to help her. Anything at all.

And here they were, gathered together to figure out what they could do before their shooter and likely drone operator succeeded in making his way onto the property to injure her.

"Let's get this party started so we can all do what we need to do." Ryan leaned back in his chair and clasped his hands behind his head.

"Before we get started," Kinsley said, "I should mention that was Detective Stewart on the phone." She shared the conversation.

Dev's eyes narrowed. "He's right. We don't rule Luongo out. We'll keep our eyes open."

"What did you learn from Sierra?" Ryan asked.

Dev planted his feet wide. "They're nearly done with the scene, plus she took DNA samples from Bandit and his crate and will take those back to their lab at the end of the day for Emory to run."

"Bandit?" Ryan popped his chair forward. "What's he got to do with this?"

Dev explained Sierra's experimental approach to collect DNA from animals.

Ryan shook his head. "Just when I think the geeks at Veritas can't surprise me anymore, there's something new. Good thing they're on the side of good and not evil."

"You got that right," Reid said.

"She'll take the drone back to their lab to run it for prints and DNA, then give it to Nick to pull the video card." Dev frowned. "Fingerprint results could be back sometime tomorrow, but she won't be able to give us names without the help from law enforcement."

Reid took over, explaining why Sierra couldn't access any official databases. "We'll ask Russ to help, but, knowing our brother, he's going to be a real stickler about it. We better be on our best behavior when he gets here so we can talk him into it."

"He might be a tough guy on the outside, but he's a sucker for a damsel in distress." Ryan made eye contact with Kinsley. "You should turn on the waterworks if you can and add anything that you think might convince him to give Veritas his blessing to move forward."

They were expecting her to help here, and that wasn't an unreasonable request. Until this moment, she really hadn't done much to help herself out, but she wasn't sure she could pull off fake tears. "I'm afraid I'm not much of an actress. I'm a what you see is what you get kind of person. I'll do everything I can, but it'll have to come from the heart."

"Just do your best," Dev said. "That's all we can expect."

Colin pressed his hands against the table. "While we wait for Russ, let's go back to the beginning and try to figure out the identity of our most likely suspect."

"And how do you suggest we do that?" Dev asked.

Colin locked gazes with Kinsley. "You honestly can't think of anyone who might want to hurt you other than the men who've cast ambiguous threats at you?"

"Ambiguous?" Dev shot to his feet. "How can you say that? Just because these guys haven't acted on them before now, doesn't mean there isn't fire behind the threats."

"Relax." Reid held out his hands and directed Dev to lower his voice. "Your brother isn't downplaying the threat, he's just trying to figure out if someone has a stronger motive to hurt her than the threats issued by these men."

Dev didn't relax. If anything his shoulders tensed more. "But we've been over this. She doesn't know of anyone."

She didn't like being discussed like this when she could speak for herself and had to step in. "Dev's right. I live a very simple life. Mostly working, and there's no one in my personal life who would want to hurt me."

Dev gave her a long, piercing look. "No jilted boyfriends who might want to get back at you?"

She tried not to wilt under his intensity. "I've had a few relationships that ended, but nothing in the way you're describing. I'd like to think I'm friends with my exes."

"Any of them into guns?" Colin asked.

She shook her head. "At least not when I dated them."

"Still wouldn't be a bad idea to check them out," Reid said. "In any case, get an alibi for the times you were shot at and also last night with the drone."

"Are you sure that's necessary?" She looked around the table and tried to lighten her tone. "I can't imagine you would like it if I tried to contact all your past girlfriends."

"Oh man, the stories they could tell." Ryan laughed.

The others, except Dev, joined him.

The door opened and every one shot a look in that direction, but Dev's hand also flew to his weapon.

Russ strode through the door. He wore his uniform of khaki pants and a black polo shirt, a badge clipped on his waist. He glanced around the room. "You're all acting like you're going to meet a girl's parents for the first time. Relax. It's just me."

Dev released his weapon and let his hand fall to the table. "Glad you could make it."

Russ jerked out a chair to straddle it, then leaned his arms on the back. "What did I miss?"

Dev brought him up to date, but didn't ask him about his official role as related to the DNA and fingerprints. "What about you? Did you learn anything about any of our suspects?"

Russ sat back and clasped the back of the chair. "I got the same Portland address for Huff as your buddy shared. Lives with his mother. He's checked in with his parole officer and is in good standing. The officer didn't think he was up to anything illegal, but then he added, ‘there's no one better than an ex-con to try to pull the wool over your eyes.' He said he'd keep me in the loop if Huff's status changed or if there was any reason to believe he was out to hurt anyone."

"Did he mention Huff's wife?" Kinsley asked.

"No, but I asked about her. She does live out of state with the kids like you thought. Idaho. He hasn't asked to go visit them. He has to check in every week, but Idaho is close enough for an unauthorized trip between check-ins."

"Then we should call the wife," Dev said. "Make sure she at least knows he's out."

"She should be notified by the corrections system if she asked to receive a notification," Russ said. "But I've seen them screw up and miss telling people."

"I want to call her." Expecting an argument, Kinsley looked at each man. "She should identify with me more than with any of you, and I think I could get information from her that she might not share with you guys."

"Agreed," Dev said but looked at Russ. "What about Huff's sidekick?"

Russ sat up straighter. "Now Caldwell's an interesting story. No sheet, but he's known to PPB. At least he was, for burglary and fraud, but he's in the wind now. He no longer lives at the Portland address in DMV. Been gone since shortly after the trial and left no forwarding address with the complex management. Finding him might take some good old-fashioned legwork, like checking in with neighbors to see if anyone knows where he went. Trouble is, he lived in a sketchy area and the neighbors are most likely transient."

"Still, it's something we need to do." Dev grabbed a notepad. "I need the address, and I'll put it on the list so when we send someone to Portland, they can check it out."

Russ rattled off an address in the northeast part of the city, which could be sketchy, as he'd said.

"There's another option," Colin said. "Do you guys remember my friend, Nolan Orr?"

"The former Secret Service Agent?" Ryan asked. "The one who resigned from the presidential detail to start an investigations agency in Lost Lake?"

Colin nodded. "He's the one. So anyway, he's hired a team of five other investigators and has focused his agency on finding missing people and things."

Russ scoffed. "There can't possibly be enough work for an agency with one investigator, much less six of them, in a town the size of Lost Lake. And especially one dedicated solely to finding missing things and people. The town is smaller than Shadow Lake, and we don't even have one investigator here."

"They're not focused only on local investigations," Colin said. "They take cases all over the country."

"You think Nolan would be willing to try to locate Caldwell for us?" Dev asked.

Colin rubbed his hands together. "I'm sure he would."

"Then ask him to come see us as soon as possible." Dev shifted his attention back to Russ. "Any word on Peter Mooney or Louis Luongo?"

Russ cocked his head. "You mean besides that they're both a piece of work?"

"Yeah." Dev rolled his eyes at the lawman, surprising Kinsley that he would risk irritating the guy she was coming to see as sort of grouchy when they needed his help. "Besides that."

"I've really only had time to pull their sheets, but neither one has been in trouble with the law since they were investigated for the suspected murders. Well, sort of. Luongo has been picked up on questionable charges, likely officers trying to pay him back for getting away with killing his wife." Russ's shoulders slumped. "I also put a call in to the respective detectives, but haven't heard anything yet."

Dev tapped his finger on the table as if releasing nervous energy. "You'll keep after them and keep us up to date on what you find, right?"

Russ nodded.

"And you'll forward me their sheets?" Dev asked.

Russ lifted his chin, his expression stony. "Only if you promise not to share them with anyone."

Dev nodded his vigorous agreement. "You got it."

"No way I'll send them electronically," Russ said. "Don't want them traceable back to me. Give me your printer login, and I'll print out a copy for you."

"Thanks, man."

"Just be sure nobody finds out about it." Russ looked around the room. "And that goes for the rest of you. Keep your traps shut, and if somehow someone figures out you have them, you make sure you never tell them who gave them to you. You know I won't be a happy camper if you do."

The guys muttered something under their breath, but she couldn't make out what they were saying.

"Moving on," Colin said and eyed Dev.

Dev dropped onto his chair. "I'd hoped we could've eliminated at least one of them tonight, but Huff, Mooney, Luongo, and Caldwell all remain on our list."

"I'm doing my best," Russ said.

Dev waved a hand. "I know you are. I'm just letting my frustrations get the best of me."

Russ squeezed the back of the chair. "Normally I'd be the first to say we need to get in front of each of them to obtain an alibi for the time of the shootings, but I still think we should lay low and just get eyes on them. Where do we stand on that?"

Ryan snapped his chair forward. "Micha and I are departing right after this meeting ends. After we locate Luongo, one of us can tail him and the other one can try to find the inspector Luongo had in his pocket to see if Luongo has made contact with him. Then we can surveil Huff."

"You'll have to find Wacker before you can talk to him," Russ said. "He could be fearing payback from Luongo for testifying against him and is long gone."

"Then I need you to look up Wacker's DMV record to find his address and give me a good place to start." Ryan set his jaw and stared at his brother.

"No need to blow a gasket," Russ said. "Stop by the office on the way out of town, and we'll see what we can see."

"Well good, then." Ryan relaxed back in his chair. "That should save me some time, and I can get to Huff's place sooner."

"I'll call Huff's wife," Kinsley said. "Hopefully she has the same phone number as the one I have in my file."

"You have a good possibility of that," Russ said. "With most people only using mobile phones these days, they don't change numbers like they used to. Makes it easier to track people down when you need to talk to them."

"Then we should finish up here so you can do that and the guys can go to Portland," Dev said.

Kinsley looked at Russ. "You're already doing so much for us, but I need to ask if you can do one more thing."

He raised an eyebrow. "And that is?"

She explained about the DNA and fingerprints. "So you see, only law enforcement is privy to this information, and if we want to learn about the drone operator, you'll have to open an official investigation to authorize them to access the databases."

"As well it should be." Russ crossed his arms.

Was he going to say no?

"I'm glad to see Veritas is following the law," Russ continued. "You should first understand the law as it relates to drones before we talk investigations. You can fly a drone over someone else's property in Oregon one time as long as the drone operator has notified the property owner of their intent and the owner agrees."

"Which didn't happen here," Reid said.

"Correct," Russ said. "And even if you had agreed, Oregon statutes forbid someone from flying multiple times over the property when the drone has flown over it once."

"So our suspect definitely broke the law." Dev's statement came out emphatically.

"He did," Russ said, his expression tightening. "And if Reid or Ryan, as property owners, filed a complaint, I could open an investigation and give the Veritas team the go-ahead. Assuming you all are covering the costs."

"I am." Kinsley smiled at him. "Thank you so much, Russ. You don't know how much your help means to me."

"My thanks, too," Dev said.

Russ waved a hand. "All in a day's work."

"So if no one has anything to add," Dev said. "The final thing that I want to talk about is security and Kinsley's safety."

Dev glanced around the room, pausing his gaze on each person, but no one spoke. "I have to admit the drone has freaked me out a bit. We'll be two men down with Ryan and Micha in Portland and another man down with Russ needing to be on the job so often."

"Let me see if I can do the math." Ryan laughed. "That leaves the three of you. And it'll take at least two people to staff the cabin's front door for twenty-four seven coverage, never mind needing someone to handle our guests' training."

"Not really a laughing matter," Reid said. "We've got to keep this place running or all but Russ could be out of a job."

"Then we need some help," Colin said. "I know it's not in Nolan's job description as an investigator to provide protection, but his team members are all former law enforcement officers. We could ask them to help on our protection detail."

"You think they'll do that?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah," Colin said. "If they're not fully booked."

"Then if he agrees to meet with us, we can ask." Dev peered at the group again. "We'll table the security discussion until we find out the availability of his team."

"I'll call him right away," Colin said.

"I've got a class to teach right now, but then I can take door duty," Reid said.

"Hey man, thanks for being there for us when you already have a full plate." Dev fist bumped with Reid.

"No worries. It's what teammates are for."

Teammates . Not something Kinsley was. Ever. She worked alone. She lived alone. She had a lonely life, and she was now just realizing it. She wished she had something to offer the team, other than making that phone call to Huff's wife. But besides that, her only priority was to remain in this cabin and not go outside where she might put one of these men who were giving so much to help her in danger.

Kinsley sat across the dining room table from Dev after a long lunch with Colin, Jada, and Sandy in what should've been a relaxing meal, but tension permeated the air. The women had insisted on being brought up to speed on the investigation, and neither liked the ongoing danger. Kinsley felt bad about ruining lunch for two people she cared about.

Thankfully, Jada picked up on her mother's distress and opted to take her into the den to read, which had always been one of Sandy's favorite things to do. It was also where Kinsley had learned her love of reading. Sandy made sure to take Kinsley to the library so she had books to take home with her to fill the hours when her parents were gone. To this day, she spent her free time devouring all manner of fiction books, living vicariously through the characters. Maybe trying to erase the loneliness she'd just discovered she lived with when she'd thought she'd left all of that in her past.

Dev looked up from reviewing Huff's rap sheet. "If you want to talk to Marianne Huff before the other team arrives, you'll need to make the call now."

Colin had gotten a hold of Nolan and impressed upon him their sense of urgency. He agreed to come right away to discuss looking for Caldwell. He was bringing part of his team too. They worked all investigations as a team, and he wanted them to hear the situation firsthand.

"I'll call her right now." Kinsley tapped in the number and pressed her phone against her ear. She half expected to get a message that the number was out of service, but it was ringing. On the third ring, a woman answered with a questioning hello.

"Mrs. Huff?" Kinsley asked, opting for formality instead of calling the woman by her first name.

"Who is this?" Her suspicious tone didn't bode well for the conversation.

"My name is Kinsley Pearce. I was the investigator who discovered your husband's illegal business dealings."

"You!" Kinsley felt the force behind her word even on the other end of the call. "If it hadn't been for your interference, I wouldn't be slumming it here in Idaho with my parents. I have nothing to say to you."

"Wait, don't hang up. This is important. Life and death important. Did you know that your husband was released from prison?"

"Yeah, sure I did. But he's not my husband anymore. I divorced him."

"Has he tried to contact you since he was released?"

"I haven't heard from him, and I don't expect to. I made it perfectly clear when we signed the divorce paperwork that he was out of my life and my children's lives forever."

"And how did he take that?" Kinsley held her breath as her personal questions could cause Marianne to hang up.

"Not that it's any of your business," she said and let silence linger. "He lost it, just like he lost it so many times at his trial. That shouldn't surprise you, right?"

No, it didn't surprise her in the least. "Did he threaten you?"

"Kind of, but I really don't think he'd ever hurt the mother of his children. Despite being a felon and his crazy temper, he loves his kids and wouldn't want to see them hurt by losing their mom." She fell silent again and Kinsley waited it out. "Why are you asking all these questions all of a sudden? It's not like you ever cared about our family. If you did, you would've never given the DA evidence so he could bring charges."

"I was just doing my job, ma'am."

"Don't ma'am me. You and your job ruined my life. I should be the one threatening you."

Kinsley pulled back from the force behind the threat. She'd never thought to suspect Marianne as the shooter, and she really didn't, but she would be a fool not to try to get an alibi for the shooting times. "You wouldn't have happened to come to Portland in the past few days, would you?"

"How in the world could I afford that?" she screeched. "My crappy waitress job doesn't give me enough money to even support my kids, much less pay for a trip out of state. If we didn't live with my parents, we'd be homeless."

"And they can verify that you were in Idaho this past week?"

She didn't answer right away. "That's sounding a lot like you want an alibi for something."

"It's just that your former husband might be mixed up in something illegal again, and we want to make sure that you weren't involved in it, too."

"Of all the nerve. You don't deserve to talk to my mom, but I'll get her so you don't go accusing me of something and putting me behind bars."

"Hey Mom!" she yelled. "Come here and tell this lady where I was last week. She thinks I was helping Nico with something illegal."

Kinsley felt bad about having to involve both Marianne and her mother, but she had to do her part to rule her out and find out if her ex had been threatening her. So she held the line and had a brief discussion with the mother, who confirmed Marianne's alibi.

"Would you please call me if you do hear from him?" Kinsley asked when Marianne came back on the line.

"I wouldn't hold my breath."

The call disconnected.

"That didn't go so well." Kinsley told Dev about her conversation. "But hopefully if Huff does contact her, she'll let us know."

He rested his hands on the pages Russ had printed. "That's all we can do then."

"It just seems like there should be something more." She shook her head. "I know all of you are doing everything you can, and everyone is stretched thin, but I wish there was something else that could be done."

He leaned back and studied her. "Sounds like you're eager to leave here."

"Leave? No, I would just like to spend my week at the Bluebird with Jada without all the worry. And all of you could go back to your lives, too, and not put yourselves in danger."

He tilted his head. "And here I was thinking that you were trying to get away from me."

"Why would I want to do that?"

He shrugged. "I just got the feeling since we reconnected that you'd rather be with anyone else but me."

"No, that's not it." She paused while she tried to think of how to explain what she was feeling. But then, she really couldn't tell him, could she? Not unless she wanted to tell him about her promise to Jada and go against her best friend's wishes. Which she would never do. Ever.

Jada had been with her through thick and thin. Through the rough times with her parents. The way they ignored her, and she'd wondered at times why she'd ever been born. Then, when she escaped her family and went off to college, she thought things would be easier, but after the first semester, her mother didn't approve of the field of study Kinsley had gone into and cut off all money for her education.

Jada was there for her. Working late into the night helping Kinsley fill out scholarship applications. Helping her apply to different colleges that offered her major and could perhaps provide funding for her. Hours and hours they'd spent in front of a computer until finally she received a full-ride scholarship.

So she not only owed Jada for years of solid friendship, she owed Jada her career.

She opened her mouth to explain to Dev, but Reid poked his head in the front door, taking the attention.

"They're here," he said.

Perfect interruption. No need to explain her feelings to Dev. But now? Now she would meet with another team of men who could end up putting their lives on the line for her. She was glad for any help they were willing to provide, of course she was, but her heart sank.

Going against her friend's wishes would be a heavy weight to carry. But potential death of these fine men? She wasn't sure if that wasn't the very weight that would crush her.