Page 54 of Shadow of Hope
“I guess the bottom line is it doesn’t matter what we like. It’s a matter of what’s right for us right now, and only God knows that. Doesn’t mean we’ll stay in the same place. We can even work with God to change it. But accept that it’s the right place for right now.”
Oh, wow, she needed to listen to her own words. She’d just complained about waiting when she should be thanking God for directing her steps and embrace whatever He had in mind for her.
Colin marched into the room, and Ava had to admit to being glad he interrupted their conversation as she felt like a real hypocrite at the moment. She hadn’t even noticed how much she’d been questioning her current situation when her questions should be reserved for figuring out who killed Holly.
Colin set his laptop on the coffee table and gestured for Micha to join him on the far side of the space. A private conversation. They talked in hushed whispers, but Ava caught the gist of what they were discussing. They mentioned the type of weapons Micha had seen at Buck’s place and their calibers. High-powered weapons, he said. Far more deadly from a distance.
She swallowed. Swallowed again. Her fear returning, and that exact moment she’d just talked with Micha about when she wanted to question God coming into play. She meant what she’d said. She would never forget seeing that giant stockpile of weapons. Not only because of the quantity, but she could imagine them turned on her. On others. One or more of them.
So maybe discovering the weapons was the reason God put her in this situation. So that someone found the cache and perhaps stopped a mass shooting. If she ended up going to prison so they could stop such a horrific event, she would have to accept that.
The right place for right now.She would keep that in the forefront of her thoughts.
Colin’s computer beeped. He hurried across the room. “Most likely one of my background check alerts.”
He dropped down next to Ava and tapped his trackpad. His mouth fell open, and he stared at his screen. “Well, lookie here.”
He turned the laptop to face her, and Micha came to stand behind them.
Ava looked at a photo displaying a LARPing group. Layne was in the front row, and he was dressed in medieval attire. “Looks like Layne’s into LARPing too.”
“Look closer,” Colin said. “You’re missing the key thing.”
She bent forward to study the group. She counted eight individuals all in similar medieval role-playing costumes. She ran her gaze over each person. Stopped in the back row. Flashed a look at Colin. “Is that Jamal?”
Micha leaned over her shoulder. “Yeah, it’s him all right. Wonder why this didn’t come up on your earlier searches, bro.”
“His social media presence is almost nonexistent,” Colin said. “Also, since he’s in the picture he didn’t take it and probably wasn’t his to share. Unless he used a timer on his camera.”
“Where did your search turn it up?” Micha rose back to full height but didn’t move away.
Colin swiveled his laptop to face him and tapped a few keys on his keyboard. “Ah, that’s it. I added Phoenix Preston’s name in my searches, and he shared the photo in a private Discord group he manages.”
“Discord?” she asked.
“It’s a chat app. Voice, video, and text. Mostly used by gamers, but lately it’s become popular with like-minded people who form private groups of all sorts. The data is harder to mine, but I’ve found a way to do it.”
Micha clapped Colin on the back. “Good work.”
“I know, right?” Colin laughed. “I’ll dig into the group and see what they might be sharing that could help us.”
She swiveled to look at Micha. “No matter what else he finds, we now have Layne’s connection to one of our suspects, and hopefully it will move us forward.”
Micha and Colin parked down the road from Jamal’s house, a light rain wetting the property in the hazy, late afternoon. Ryan had returned to base with the disposable drinking glasses and drove them to Portland, but headed right back home to his family. Reid also had freed up Dev to make the trip to Portland to aid Micha in any way he needed. Right now, Micha needed him at the apartment to protect Ava so he and Colin could both question Jamal.
Micha killed the engine and looked at Colin. “You ready for this?”
“Are you kidding? I was made for this.” Colin grinned.
Micha rolled his eyes, but Colin was right. He was made for this. He was known for walking the fine line of legal. Never straying over the line, but pushing the boundaries. He might be a crushed idealist, but he was also charismatic and street smart, where his brother Dev was the natural charmer of the family. Colin had burnt out on the job, and maybe that was what crushed him, or it was his natural personality to walk that fine line. Either way, he was usually up for a good fight to try to right the scales of justice.
“Be on alert,” Micha said. “We can’t know for sure if the guy has explosives.”
“I got this.” He opened his door and drew his weapon. “I don’t want to have to save your sorry butt, so you just worry about yourself.” That grin came back as he slipped into the dark of night.
Micha joined him at the front of his vehicle, and they headed up the driveway. The skies were overcast. What remained of the sun was hidden. Good for cover. Not so good for seeing, but at least the big rain storm meteorologists were predicting hadn’t started yet, and heavy rain wouldn’t hinder their search for any boobytraps.
They moved slowly. Silently. Micha caught sight of the house and flashed up a hand to tell Colin to stop. Jamal’s battered white pickup truck was parked next to the cabin where the front door stood wide open. Not a good sign.
