Page 66 of Night Watch
Kennedy chuckled. “Sorry, no can say.” Kennedy ruffled Pong’s ears again. “You’re precious, aren’t you, boy?”
He yelped his agreement.
“See. He knows who he is.” Kennedy gave Erik an impish grin, then chuckled and headed into the condo.
Erik wanted to tug her into his arms and tickle her like he’d often done, tickle her until she surrendered and their tussling turned into kisses. But even if Clay wasn’t waiting for them, Erik wouldn’t touch her again. Not now. Not when he didn’t know who he was anymore since he’d reconnected with her. Maybe he should take lessons from his dog, who was confident enough to let her call him precious.
Erik sure wouldn’t like that, but honestly, Kennedy once could have called him anything, and he wouldn’t have balked. The thought had him smiling as he followed her into his home, his dog on his heels.
Clay was sitting at the dining table, laptop open in front of him. He looked up, excitement burning in his eyes. “We may have found our shooter.”
Erik wasn’t as excited. Sure, finding the person who wore the bracelet was a good lead, but he couldn’t see the shooter ripping off the bracelet and leaving it behind as evidence. Not under any circumstances. Still, they needed to follow the lead.
“The team call themselves the Redhawks, which makes sense with the wristband and the fact that they’re former Oregon Air National Guard 142ndFighter Wing.” Clay narrowed his eyes, looking so much like their dad that Erik felt like Clay planned to scold him for doing something wrong. “Have a look. There are a few guys on the team who fit your intruder’s build, but one in particular that I’m really liking for this.”
Erik would’ve expected Kennedy to race over to Clay, but she dragged her feet as if they were encased in wet cement. He got it. She was nervous about seeing the man who’d likely chased her with a gun and fired a hail storm of bullets at their vehicle.
Erik followed her, and they both stood behind Clay to look at the big picture on the computer screen. Erik eased closer to Kennedy, and their fingers touched. She glanced at him and offered a soft smile. He should let go as he’d just sworn off touching her, but her smile encouraged him to lace his fingers with hers.
She clung tightly and leaned over Clay as Pong came to lie on Erik’s feet and look up at Kennedy, his expression worried. Erik had known he was falling for her again, but he hadn’t expected his dog to fall in love with her too.
The picture showed nine men and three women wearing camouflage T-shirts and black shorts standing in front of a fighter jet and holding a banner that readRedhawks Fly Through the Hood to Coast Race.
Clay tapped the screen on one of the men. “This guy seems to fit the build of your intruder best. He our guy?”
She squinted. “Could be, but why did you choose him over the guy behind him? They’re about the same size and build.”
“Guy in the front is missing his wristband.”
Kennedy sucked in a breath. “He is, isn’t he? He would’ve had to leave the race, set up the shot and get back in time for this picture.”
“It’s a stretch, but it could happen and he could be our shooter or at least know something about it,” Erik said. “And it wouldn’t be any stretch to think a guy with the skills former military might have could shoot at us. Far more likely than the wife of a scammer, a college professor, or a student.”
“Agreed,” Clay said. “And the suspect at Wanda’s place was wearing military boots and camo. Could be another point in this guy’s favor.”
Erik nodded. “You have any names to go with the picture?”
Clay shook his head. “You’re the internet guru. Figured that would be your job.”
Clay leaned back, forcing Kennedy and Erik to separate and step back.
“I’ll get started on it right after I look through Wanda’s college records,” Erik said.
“But you just said this was more promising.” Clay closed his laptop.
“I think it is in regards to the shooting, but Kennedy and I were discussing who would have access to anthrax or another Select Agent, and it could be someone in the science department at OHSU where Wanda taught. So I’ll start there as I assume Kennedy will want to look through the boxes, and if I search for the name first, she’ll have to wait on me to review the boxes.” Erik looked at her. “Do you?”
“Want to look through them? No.” She bit her lip. “Will I do it? Yes.”
“You guys want help?” Clay asked.
“It’s only a few boxes,” Erik said. “And it’s getting late. I figure you might need to check in with Toni to go over wedding plans.”
“That would be good.” Clay smiled widely. “Fourteen days and counting. There must be some crisis or other that needs my help. Or maybe she just needs moral support. Especially if Mom’s been trying to be too helpful.”
“I don’t mean to be thankful for Toni’s distress,” Erik said. “But the wedding sure has distracted Mom from bugging me in person about the anthrax scare. Not that she hasn’t texted a million times a day. Guess weddings trump anthrax.” Erik laughed.
Clay snorted. “I think weddings trump everything in Mom’s life. At least until she has us all safely married. Then she’ll probably start on our spouses’ siblings. Malone ought to watch out. Or maybe she’ll change her focus to increasing the number of grandchildren.”
