Page 51 of Shadow of Doubt
“She’s notthatbad.” Reid explained to Brooklyn. “Gladys is our town busybody. She’ll talk your ear off.”
“She means well, but she’ll waste hours of your time.” Ryan grimaced. “But yeah, I’m in. And I’ll even take Gladys if I have to, but if so, you can call Mia and tell her not to expect me home until next week.”
Dev rolled his eyes and got out a blue marker to write the item on the whiteboard and add Ryan’s and Reid’s names to the task.
“Micha.” Dev turned back. “Sierra recovered a Sig P320 compact along with a silencer in the house. The weapon still has the serial number on it. Her team will be analyzing it when she gets all the evidence back to the lab, but before then we could be checking with local gun dealers to see if any of them sold the weapon and get the name of the person who purchased it.”
Micha specialized in weapons in the military, so to Brooklyn, this seemed like a good fit.
“I’ll make the calls.” He ran a hand across his face. “But I’m not law enforcement, so even if they sold the Sig, they’re not likely going to give me a name.”
“True,” Dev said, not seeming daunted by Micha’s comment. “But if they admit selling it, I can then follow up for a name. And if any shop owner refuses to give you info, those are the ones we want to focus on.”
“Okay, sure. I’ll start on it after my class.” He glanced at his watch and stood. “Which is in ten. Someone still has to take care of our guests.”
“Now that’s the attitude I like to see.” Reid laughed.
“Any signs that this gun was used to take out our victim?” Ryan asked.
Dev shook his head. “Kelsey didn’t see anything last night that would point to that, but last I talked to her, she hadn’t turned the body. Or moved it at all, actually. Maybe she’ll know more when Colin and I go back.”
“Any chance I can go with you?” Brooklyn asked, despite knowing how Colin would answer.
“You don’t want to go there,” he said. “It’s a horrible sight, and once you get a look at the victim, you can never unsee him.”
“He’s right, which you know I’d do almost anything not to admit.” Dev smiled but firmed his shoulders. “But trust him. Us. This is a sight you don’t want to see if you don’t need to, and I don’t think you need to. I can’t see how you could help.”
She sat forward and looked between the men. “What if something belonging to Kane survived the fire that meant something to me but not to you all? Or to Sierra and Kelsey? I might be able to find that lead we all want and need.”
“She has a point.” Reid glanced at each man in turn. “She could help, and with the police involvement now, odds are low that Tarver is in the area, and she should be safe.”
“I don’t like it.” Colin clenched his jaw. “He could be hanging around out of sight.”
“I doubt it.” Nick looked up from his laptop. “Kane’s known for cutting and running after he’s broken the law. It’s one of the ways he’s escaped arrest. I doubt this scene is any different.”
“I still don’t like it.” Colin stood and ran his gaze over the team. “We don’t have eyes on him, and it’s not safe.”
“Not one hundred percent safe, no,” Reid said. “But if we all go to the scene, we can eliminate pretty much every danger except a sniper shot.”
“Right,” Colin said. “The most deadly method to take someone out when they least expect it. You think that’s an acceptable risk?”
Nick looked up from his computer. “Kane never had an interest in guns. He toured the Veritas facility after I left the company where we worked together. He didn’t even ask to see the weapons lab.”
“I remember that day,” Brooklyn said. “He came back home saying he barely wanted to see anything other than the computers, but you were so stoked about the place that you insisted he see it all.”
“I can’t say it enough.” Colin eyed them all one at a time. “He could’ve changed.”
“Sure, it’s possible he started liking weapons,” Micha said. “But become proficient enough in long guns to take the kind of distance shot with precision that it would take? I doubt it.”
“But itispossible,” Colin said.
“Yeah, possible.” Micha’s skeptical look said it all for Brooklyn. He really didn’t believe Kane had developed such skills, and as a weapons expert, he should know.
“We do what we usually do when we’re at odds,” Reid said. “We take a team vote and go with the majority.”
Colin gritted his teeth but didn’t argue. Brooklyn appreciated his concern for her, but she really believed he was being too cautious. And she trusted Nick’s assessment. He knew Kane. Or at least had known him. She would pray that Colin was wrong and that Kane hadn’t changed enough to become a proficient sniper.
Reid’s phone chimed, and he grabbed it. “Front gate. It’s a patrol car.”
