Page 50 of Shadow of Doubt
Everyone fell silent for a moment, likely thinking about the victim as Colin was doing. Thinking of the horrific way he’d died. If he was found in Tarver’s place, he could very well be a criminal. Maybe another hacker. Or even a wildlife trafficker.
Colin couldn’t let the fact that he was likely on the wrong side of the law sway him. No matter who this guy was or what he’d done, he deserved justice. Colin wouldn’t stop until the man was identified and his killer brought to pay. If it turned out to be Kane Tarver, all the better.
12
Brooklyn poured a second cup of coffee and basked in the calm in the kitchen for a moment before rejoining the men in the living room. Colin had called a break after the meal so Sandy would take a nap, but the guys remained gathered around the dining table. Nick had arrived to join them. Dev unfolded easels, then added small whiteboards.
So the discussion was about to get more intense. Could she handle it? These guys seemed to take it all in stride. Except for Nick, they’d each lived a life where they hunted down criminals and dealt with all that entailed. Her, not so much. The closest she’d come to a crime was as a teenager, when she saw one of her classmates break into a closed store while she was walking home from piano lessons. She called the police and kept an eye on him until they arrived and arrested him. She even got her name in the newspaper for being a good citizen, but then her sleuthing days were over.
In her day, in her little hometown up the coast, that was a big deal. But today, it was nothing. A routine police call. Not as routine in her hometown, but elsewhere. She hungered for those simpler times. Until she thought about life without theavailability of the internet and technology. Then she changed her tune. But today, she’d give just about anything to go home and not have to go back into the dining room because a man was hunting her, and they had to find him before he hurt her.
Colin poked his head in the door. “Joining us?”
She nodded, but couldn’t seem to start in that direction.
“Something wrong?” He ran his law enforcement officer gaze over her. Probing. Demanding. And she could easily picture him as an FBI agent. “I mean, other than we don’t know where Tarver is, and he might have killed someone.”
She gripped her mug tighter. “I didn’t expect to be in this situation. Not at all. I’m thankful for your and your team’s support. I really, really am. But when you all get together, it can be a bit overwhelming for someone who’s used to being alone with her computer most of the time.”
“Yeah, I get that. I do. Even experienced it when I was a code crusader.” He paused and grinned. “But I’ve come out of my bat cave, and now this chaos seems normal.”
“I think I can get used to more people around. That’s not the problem.” She bit her lip before going on. “But I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to handle so many extremely intense guys in one place.”
“We’re only intense when working an investigation. Otherwise, we’re pussy cats.” He grinned, and he resembled Devan far more than when he was serious.
She liked this combo of intensity and fun as they seemed to balance each other out. “I’ll believe it when I see it.” She laughed and pointed at the door. “Lead the way. I’m ready to rejoin the guys, but I’m hoping it’s the kitty litter crowd.”
He laughed and turned back. His tone warmed her through. This was the good humor he was talking about. If everyone lightened up, she could see being part of such a group. Alas, the fun-loving guys weren’t sitting at the table. The fierce group hadshown up big time. And that included Nick, who was head down working on his laptop. He hadn’t stopped searching for any hint of Kane online. No success yet, but if any data could be found, he would find it.
“Good,” Dev said from where he stood by a whiteboard. “We’re expected back at the crime scene soon and need to get started.”
“Then let’s get to it.” Colin pulled out a ladder-back pine chair for Brooklyn, then sat next to her.
She set her mug on the scratched table that could tell years of stories about vacationing families, but they weren’t there to hear fun camping stories. No, they were there to hear about Kane potentially murdering someone. She still could hardly process that, much less believe it.
Reid leaned forward and glanced around the table. “Anyone hear from Kelsey today?”
The men, except Dev, shook their heads.
“I talked to her,” he said. “But nothing to report.”
Colin sat forward. “She did say before we left last night that she thought it best to wait until today to remove the remains. She didn’t want to miss anything.”
“She still believe it’s a male?” Ryan asked.
Dev nodded. “She’s confident of that. Something about hips and bone structure of the eyes. We can proceed with looking for a male identity.”
“Any other leads at all?” Reid asked. “From the Veritas staff or the sheriff?”
“A few things that we can help follow up on,” Dev said. “Sierra says gas could very well have been the accelerant used to start the fire. To that end, I need guys to go to the local stations to collect samples she can take back to her lab.”
“If we know the station where the gas was purchased, we can request their security footage,” Colin added.
Dev nodded. “I don’t mean to presume to decide who should do this, but Reid and Ryan, you’re from the area and know all the station locations.”
“Glad to do it,” Reid said.
Ryan looked at his brother. “I’m on board if you take Gladys Miller’s place.”
