Chapter 16

16

Kinsley's thoughts held her in place, and she hadn't reacted as rapidly as Dev. He shot to his feet and raced to the door, tapping his foot as he let a cold, smoke-filled breeze blow in while he watched outside. He was transmitting his nervous energy to Kinsley, and her palms began to sweat. She rubbed them down her pant legs. If she had to shake hands with these team members, she didn't want to gross them out and embarrass herself.

Colin joined his brother at the door and shook hands with a tall guy with dark hair and a close-cut and perfectly groomed beard. Colin released his hand and gestured at Reid on the porch. "Nolan Orr, meet Shadow Lake Survival owner, Reid Maddox."

"We need to swap horror stories about starting a business sometime. I'd love to learn from your mistakes." Nolan chuckled then moved inside.

"My little brother, Devan," Colin said. "We call him Dev."

Nolan gave Dev a once-over and shook hands. "Not so little."

"Thanks for coming." Dev pumped Nolan's hand for only a fraction of a minute, then stepped back to let him in while the next person entered.

"Abbs, is that you?" Dev's voice rose as a petite woman with reddish hair, a cute nose, and big eyes stopped next to him.

"In the flesh." She laughed.

"Abby Day." Dev shook his head. "I almost didn't recognize you with the short hair and color change."

She ran a hand through her cute pixie haircut with wispy bangs. "A change of hair for a change of job."

He blinked at her. "No more sheriffing, and you're on the team now?"

"Not sure sheriffing is a word, but yeah." Her smile disappeared. "I resigned from my position to work with Nolan a couple of months ago."

Dev opened his mouth as if he wanted to ask additional questions, but another dark-haired, bearded guy stepped up behind her and eased her forward.

"Come on, pipsqueak. Quit hogging all the limelight." He held out his hand. "Gabe Irving at your service. Never a big-shot sheriff but a former Oregon State Trooper."

"Then you're more in my league," Dev said. "My brother might've been a fed, but I was a Clackamas County deputy."

"Then you speak my language, bro, and we should get along just fine." Gabe clapped Dev on the back and stepped into the room, his gaze instantly taking it all in, including making brief eye contact with Kinsley. She felt the intensity of his assessment clear to her toes. This guy had very likely been an excellent state trooper.

The fourth team member, another guy with dark hair and a beard—what she was beginning to think was a prerequisite for the men who worked on this team—shook hands with Dev. "Hayden Kraus. Former Customs and Border Protection. And the last one in, so you can close the door and keep some of that smoke outside."

Colin gave a quick nod to Reid, then closed the door tightly. "We'll be meeting at the dining table. Go ahead and have a seat."

Dev crossed over to Kinsley and rested his hands on the back of her chair. "This is Kinsley Pearce. We're here not only to talk about finding Caldwell but about her protection too. Nolan, you can do the introductions."

"No need for that." Kinsley made sure to smile, even if her nerves were threatening to get the best of her. "I caught everyone's name on the way inside."

The team members looked her over, eyes burning with interest. She'd expected a bunch of buff guys, but she hadn't thought one of them would be a woman. Based on her petite stature, Kinsley wouldn't peg her as a law enforcement officer, except for the look in her eyes.

The same look the three men had in spades. All three had dark hair and close-cut beards but none of them wore wedding rings. All three had dressed in the same basic uniform as the woman—a black, long-sleeved T-shirt with the team logo on it, and black khaki cargo pants. And all three had that look about them. The look Kinsley had seen time and again when she worked with law enforcement officers, male and female, on the job.

She'd never been able to put her finger on what it was, but she did know that it indicated they were always on. Always looking at their surroundings. At the people they met. Assessing and evaluating. They had to be that alert on the job if they wanted to stay alive.

Most people didn't think about the danger law enforcement officers faced on a daily basis. They didn't realize that a routine traffic stop could go south in a minute, and their lives could be snuffed out just like that. Just from not reading the situation right. Just from being tired or getting lazy.

And in her experience, even if they left the job or took time off, they never lost that level of situational awareness the average person didn't carry. Added stress to their lives for sure. And stress for those around them. But thank goodness there were men and women like these four sitting in front of her, the Shadow Lake team as well, who were willing to risk their lives and live with that stress.

Nolan clasped long fingers together on the tabletop and glanced between Dev and Colin. "So, what do you need from us?"

Dev stood upright and provided details on Kinsley's overall situation and specifics on Spencer Caldwell. "We have no idea where he's gone, and we don't have the resources to locate him. We thought since your agency specializes in missing people, that you might be willing to locate him for us."

"Well, you're in luck." Nolan gave Dev a smile. "We have a light caseload right now and would be glad to help you. Just know, missing persons investigations are obviously not planned in advance, so if one comes up, we might have to back off to take the job."

"Understood." Dev's shoulders dropped, belying his words. "Did Colin talk to you about your rates?"

"You mean will we do it for free?" Nolan chuckled. "Yeah, we'll do it basically for free as long as you pick up any expenses. It'll be good experience and help our team gel even more."

"As long as you don't have five-star restaurant steak dinners, we got your expenses," Colin said.

Nolan laughed again. He had a good sense of humor even though he also seemed to be a detailed and an in-charge kind of guy.

"Abby would never allow that," he said. "She's vegan all the way and is doing her best to convert all of us."

She wrinkled her cute button nose, looking nothing like a former sheriff. "Well, it is the way to go."

" Go where is the big question." Gabe gave a shake of his head. "I mean, a life without meat isn't a life worth living."

"Exactly what will you do to find Caldwell?" Colin asked, bringing them back to task.

"First, I'd like to ask if you've done anything to try to locate him," Nolan said.

"No," Dev said. "All we have is his last known address, and we know he doesn't live there anymore."

"What about his date of birth?" Hayden asked.

"We don't have it, but we can get it from his DL information." Dev glanced at Colin, who gave him an almost imperceptible shake of his head.

Ah, yes. Colin was warning him to keep quiet about the details. They would get Caldwell's birth date from his driver's license information, which they could get from Russ. But they had to protect Russ. They weren't about to tell these guys where the information had come from.

Nolan sat forward in his chair. "Get it to me, and the sooner the better. We'll need it to get started on the first part of our two-pronged approach."

"Two-pronged?" Dev asked. "What's the first part?"

"Online and database tracking," Nolan replied. "As private investigators, we have access to a selection of databases that can help us find him."

Kinsley's ears perked up. "What kind of databases?"

Nolan focused his intense gaze on her. "With his name and DOB, we can get a ton of information on the guy, including his Social Security number. Cars registered to him. Relatives—their names, dates of birth, and contact info. And info on other people who know him as well."

"Wecan also run a statewide bank account search and see where he banks," Hayden added. "This is just the tip of the iceberg."

"Wow," she said. "I'm glad you know Colin and are willing to help us."

"Always willing to help a woman at risk." Gabe bowed toward the table, and a flirtatious smile captured his mouth, leaving him looking impossibly handsome. No doubt women fell for him all the time.

But not her. Not for any of these men. Her heart was taken, plain and simple, and it was time she admitted it.

Abby looked at Gabe and put her finger in her mouth to mock gagging. "Kinsley is in serious danger, dude. Leave the flirting up to Jude. He's so much better at it than you."

"Yeah, well, our charming teammate isn't here, so someone's got to do it." Gabe laughed.

Kinsley laughed with him.

Not Dev. He glared at him, then faced Nolan. "Sounds like you have that under control. What's your second prong?"

"Even if we find a current address, we'll still physically canvass the old neighborhood to see if anyone is willing to talk about him. To see what we can learn, and how he might try to evade our search or any attempt to make contact with him."

"That might be a problem," Colin said. "His last known address puts him in a pretty sketchy neighborhood, and there might not be anyone left who knew him."

"Or even if they do," Abby said, "my experience says if the neighborhood's that sketchy, they might not be willing to talk to us."

"But that doesn't mean we won't do our best." Hayden's determination deepened his tone. "Hopefully, we'll stir the pot and make some people jumpy enough to talk."

Gabe leaned forward to look at his teammate. "Exactly what you like to do. Rile everyone up to create some excitement when we might've been able to get the same information without the risk."

Hayden grinned and shrugged. "What can I say? Excitement is my middle name."

"You'll have to excuse my team." Nolan eyed them. "They haven't learned not to air their dirty laundry in front of a client yet."

"No worries." Colin waved a hand. "We're not paying clients, so feel free to say whatever you want to say." He looked at his brother. "After all, when you start working with our team, you'll hear some dirty laundry too."

"Thanks for understanding," Nolan said, his focus still pinned to his team. "Maybe they'll remember for the rest of the meeting not to make unnecessary comments."

Gabe ran a finger across his lips, zipping his mouth closed.

"I won't want to be unprofessional and mention that Gabe's the sarcastic one of the team, so you should ignore him." Abby grinned.

Kinsley laughed. Poor Nolan. He had his work cut out for him to manage this impetuous team. A challenge, but she thought it would be fun, too.

Nolan let out a long breath. "If you would get me the name and date of birth before we leave, we could get started the minute we get back to our office."

Colin stood and dug his cell phone from his pocket. "Let me make a call, and I should have it for you in a matter of minutes."

He stepped outside and closed the door firmly behind him.

"I know we're pushing our luck here," Dev said. "But with sending two of our teammates to Portland to surveil suspects, we're short-staffed here in protecting Kinsley and could use one more guy on the ground in Portland."

Nolan clasped his hands together on the table. "And you'd like us to supplement your details."

"Yes, if possible."

Hayden—Mr. Excitement—got a gleam in his eyes. "I'm down with that."

"I'd be glad to help, too," Abby said.

"If you have a workspace for us here," Nolan said, "I don't see why we can't all work here for now and help you out."

Gabe leaned forward. "I'd be happy to go to Portland if you give me an interesting suspect."

Dev cocked his head. "Ever heard of Louis Luongo?"

Gabe's eyes widened. "Who in the state of Oregon hasn't? Don't tell me he's one of your suspects."

Dev explained. "So you can see, he's loosely connected, but we can't cross him off our suspect list, and we're not quite ready to press him for an alibi and send him into hiding. So we need someone to keep eyes on him."

"I'm your man," Gabe said, his eager expression brightening his eyes. "Just give me his address, and I'm out of here."

"Not so fast." Nolan looked at his teammate. "We came in one car, and you'll need wheels."

"He'll get to Portland faster if he uses one of ours instead of driving back to your place," Dev said.

Gabe rubbed his hands together. "Then point the way."

Dev stood. "Let me ask Reid about office space for you all and for the use of a vehicle." He hurried out the door.

Nolan looked at Kinsley. "Dev referred to several suspects under surveillance. Would you mind telling us about them so we know what we're facing?"

Mind? Yeah. Kinsley would rather not talk about these men. She'd rather Dev or Colin would bring them up to date, but this was something she could do, and she had to do her part. She took a deep breath and launched into a description of why Huff and Mooney were considered suspects. She tried to be thorough and share every detail she possessed. She was just finishing when both Colin and Dev returned.

Colin ripped a piece of paper off the notepad Dev had left behind, scribbled a note, and shoved the paper across the table to Nolan. "Caldwell's details. Name, date of birth, and driver's license number. And by the way, he doesn't have any vehicles registered to him in the state."

Nolan picked up the paper to study it, then folded the yellow page, and shoved it into a large cargo pocket. "Thanks for saving me some time with the additional information."

Dev returned and dropped onto his chair. "Reid said it's okay to use an SUV for Portland and the conference room as an office. Once we get you set up, just ask for anything else you might need."

"Then Gabe will head to Portland and give the rest of us time to get back to our office to pick up our things. Also to bring the rest of the team up to speed so they can continue their current investigations, then make the drive back here." Nolan stood. "And we'll be at your disposal."

Dev sighed. "You don't know how good that sounds and how thankful I am for your help."

"Maybe save your thanks until after you've worked with us for a few days." Abby pushed to her feet. "You only got a hint of our joking. It gets much worse when you add Jude and Reece to the mix. It's probably a good thing they stayed home to hold down the fort."

"I for one think it'll make things interesting and could relieve some of the tension," Kinsley said, trying to sound positive and brighten the mood.

She got a wan smile from Dev instead. Okay, so the tension wouldn't really go away until they arrested the person who wanted her dead. And made sure the shooter was locked behind bars before any of these fine men and women got hurt or worse yet, lost their life.

Dev ignored his brother sitting next to him and kept his eyes on Kinsley from across the dining table. She'd sounded optimistic at the end of their meeting, but was she really? She'd been quiet for the rest of the afternoon and through dinner, not really participating in the conversation. Now, hours later, her slumped posture would say she wasn't handling things so well.

Maybe she was just going stir-crazy, being cooped up in this cabin all the time. He would be for sure, but even if he felt a whole lot better with Nolan and his team partnering on her protection detail, he didn't feel good enough to let down his guard.

Or good enough to let her move about the property without proper supervision. He wasn't about to let her go down by the lake. With no way to close off the area, it remained vulnerable to attack. He would allow her to join them in the conference room when they held update meetings with Nolan's team. As a bonus, she could at least get away from the cabin for a while.

His phone rang, and seeing Ryan's name, he put the phone on speaker for Kinsley. He set it in the middle of the table and leaned closer. "You're on speaker, Ryan. Kinsley and Colin are here. Please say you have an update for us."

"I do," Ryan said. "First, Russ came through with Wacker's current address. Not that he will admit it."

"Russ who?" Dev laughed.

Ryan's chuckle came over the speaker. "So I talked to Wacker. He hasn't heard from Huff and nothing out of the ordinary has happened."

"Did you warn him to be careful?" Dev asked.

"Yeah, and I also gave him a business card. He promised to call if Huff contacts him."

"And you believed him?"

"As much as one can believe anyone affiliated with a criminal, yeah, I did. He was pretty laid-back when we arrived and seemed genuinely shocked when I told him Huff was out on early release."

"So you moved on to surveilling Huff, while Gabe and Micha took on Luongo and Mooney."

"Correct," Ryan said. "Both of the other guys have been going about their everyday lives. Pretty boring actually, but I've got something on Huff."

Kinsley bit her lip. "I hope it's not bad news."

"It's not good." Ryan stopped talking, letting a dramatic pause fall over them.

Drama wasn't something Dev needed in his day. "Go on."

"He left his house to take a phone call in the front yard. I heard him talking to a private investigator. Sounded like he'd hired the guy. He was yelling at him for not finding Kinsley and Caldwell." Ryan cleared his throat. "He threatened to fire the PI if he didn't locate them by the end of the day."

Dev ran a hand across his face, wishing when he took it away that he wasn't looking at a terrified Kinsley. "Then the PI is probably motivated to hunt them down. Did Huff indicate which of the two was his top priority?"

"Sorry, no."

He didn't like that answer. One more ambiguous thing to deal with. "If I was the PI, I would go after the person I thought was the easiest to find."

Ryan didn't respond right away. "Which would be who, in your mind?"

Colin leaned into the phone. "If the PI has done his research, he knows that Kinsley still had a residence in Portland and likely hasn't fled the area on a permanent basis. If he finds out about the shooting, he can surmise that she left due to that and might not have had a chance to hide her trail, whereas Caldwell has been gone for some time and could've covered his tracks better."

"I don't know," Ryan said. "Are you reaching that conclusion because of the information you have, that he wouldn't be privy to?"

"Could be." Colin looked at Dev.

Dev met his gaze. "And he could've already located information on one of the two and just has to follow up."

"Odds aren't good he can find me here, are they?" Kinsley's words rasped out as if fear was strangling her.

Dev didn't know how to answer in a way that would comfort her. Especially if the PI could discover Dev had been at both shootings. If he coupled that with a lifelong friendship, he could guess she was hiding out at his place. Dev's address wasn't readily available, but a good PI could find it.

He gripped his knees under the table. "I guess the question is how good is the PI Huff hired? Having just come out of prison, I wouldn't think he'd have a lot of cash to spend on a top-notch investigator, so maybe the guy isn't very skilled."

"He could've gotten money from his mother," Colin said.

"I got the PI's name," Ryan said. "We can ask Nolan if he's familiar with him. See if he's legit."

"Text it to me," Colin said. "And I'll ask him right away."

"You got it," Ryan said.

"One potentially positive thing." Dev looked up from the phone to peer at Kinsley. "If Huff is still looking for you, he doesn't know where you are and couldn't be the drone operator."

"Or he really does know," Ryan said. "And he held that conversation outside because he knows or suspects he's under surveillance and is trying to throw us off track."

"Do you think you were made?" Dev asked.

"No." A one-word answer, but Ryan filled it with confidence.

"But you never know, right?" Colin asked.

"Yeah."

Eyes wide, Kinsley grabbed her water and chugged it. "If he really doesn't know where I am, but is looking to pay me back, that means I have two people who want to hurt me."

Dev gritted his teeth and didn't want to say anything in response to her comment. Not when she could be right. Two men could be after her. Not just one. Two! They hadn't worked out the identity of one guy, much less a second one. They had to figure out which of their suspects might fit the bill before something else happened and Kinsley was harmed.

"Anything else you learned from him or the other suspects?" Dev asked.

"Not at the moment, but I'll keep you updated." Ryan ended the call.

Dev's phone dinged with the text Ryan had promised. He glanced at the private investigator's name. Greg Egan.

He held his phone out to Colin. "See what you can dig up on this guy."

"On it." Colin opened his laptop and shifted in the padded dining chair as if getting comfortable for a long search.

Dev turned his attention to Kinsley. She'd hunched her shoulders and crossed her arms. He wanted to go to the conference room to talk to Nolan and ask him if he might know anything about this Greg Egan guy, but he didn't want to leave her in this kind of state. He shouldn't leave her at all. He could accomplish his same goal by having Nolan come to the cabin.

He sent Nolan a detailed text.

On my way , came his immediate reply. I have news for you too.

News? It had to be positive, didn't it? He needed something encouraging, but Kinsley needed it even more. It would take Nolan a few minutes to get to the cabin. Dev had time to talk to her about how she was feeling about the most recent developments and maybe restore her earlier optimism.

He smiled, but she didn't respond. Not a good sign as he'd pretty much always been guaranteed one of his smiles would elicit a positive response from her. "How are you handling Ryan's news about Huff?"

"I guess hearing that he's actually looking for me has given me something real to fear from him." She shivered and looked down. "He's a terrible man, and if he finds me, I don't know what might happen."

Dev settled on the chair next to her and took her hands. Her skin felt like she'd just climbed out of an ice bath. He held her hands between his to try to warm them up and also to convey his sincerity. "To find you, he'll have to find me first, and I'll neutralize any threat before it reaches you." He bent lower to make sure she looked at him. "I promise not to leave you until our suspect is in custody."

"That makes me feel better." She bit her lower lip. "I have confidence in you, but I have to admit I'm still afraid. Not just for myself, but for you too. Whoever's coming after me only has to fire one bullet and it could take you out."

"You're right, that could happen, but we're doing our best to make sure it doesn't." He tried to look confident, but her comments left him wondering if he was up to the task of keeping her alive.

He couldn't do it on his own. He needed his team. But more importantly, he needed God. That would mean trusting Him to protect them all. Was Dev there yet, or was he still letting Hailey's betrayal at the altar impact his actions?

He would have to figure that out, but right now his job was to try to encourage Kinsley.

"You'll just have to trust me on that." He almost snorted as he said the words, expecting her to trust him when he was the king of distrust.

She didn't pick up on his internal conflict and gave a firm nod. "I do trust you. All of the team. I'll also pray about it."

He forced a smile, hoping she thought he believed God would be there when they needed Him. Too bad he still wasn't certain.

Kinsley couldn't take her eyes off Nolan as he raced past Dev at the door and into the room. He approached Colin at his computer across from her.

Nolan stopped at the end of the table and turned to look at Dev, who was closing the door. "I know you need to see me, but you won't believe what we found."

Dev came to sit by Colin, but enthusiasm about the potential news she expected Dev to have was nowhere in his expression. "You struck out on Caldwell this soon?"

Nolan gave a throaty laugh and bounced on his toes. "Not hardly. We found the guy."

"You did?" Kinsley resisted shooting to her feet in excitement. "Where? How?"

"Believe it or not, he's big into poetry." Nolan's face beamed, but he stopped bouncing. "Gabe talked to Caldwell's former neighbors before going to Luongo's residence. An older lady remembered the poetry connection."

"Poetry?" Dev shook his head. "I would never have guessed that."

"Odd for sure," Nolan said. "But something unique enough to help us locate him pretty quickly."

"How can it help?" Kinsley asked. "Other than looking for something he might've published."

A confident, almost cocky smile crossed his face. "We joined a poetry association—be prepared for the bill—and their directory contains their members' names and cities where they live. His name was listed in their directory. Lives in Eugene. Didn't take much after that to find his address and also discover that he would be reading at an open mic night where we can intercept him if needed."

Colin looked over his computer. "If he's listing his city in the directory, he must not be trying very hard to hide out."

"Could be," Nolan said. "Or he's kept his poetry a secret and doesn't figure Huff can find him based on that."

"I could see that happening," Kinsley said. "Especially since he was in the construction trade. I wouldn't be surprised at all if he hid it from everyone."

"Ryan told us Huff hired a PI to find Caldwell and Kinsley," Colin said. "If you found Caldwell so quickly, then another good PI can find him too."

"That's why I called you up here," Dev said. "I wanted to see how much of a threat we had with this PI potentially finding Kinsley, and I wanted to know if you'd heard of him. His name is Greg Egan."

Nolan rested his hands on the table. "I'm not familiar with the guy, but I can ask the team and see if anyone else recognizes his name."

"Is there a PI directory that you can check to see if he's even official?" Kinsley asked.

"I can do that right now." He got out his phone and tapped the screen.

She shifted her attention to Dev. "Odd turn of events for sure, but at least it led to his whereabouts."

He nodded. "Let's hope Egan doesn't figure this out."

Nolan looked up from his screen. "Egan's licensed. He's been licensed for nine years. The database contains his address and phone number. Lives in Portland. The records were updated earlier this month, so his information should be current, and we can pay him a visit to ask about an alibi for the shootings."

"But first," Dev said, "we need to warn Caldwell that Huff could be coming for him."

Nolan frowned. "If we're not already too late. Do you want us to approach him?"

"Yes," Dev said. "And the sooner the better. I don't want someone's death on my conscience."

Kinsley couldn't imagine living the rest of her life feeling responsible for someone's death. If only she could do something to stop Huff, and yet, all she could do was pray that Egan hadn't located Caldwell or didn't find the man before Nolan had a chance to warn him.