Page 63 of Shadow of Fear
“As well it should be.” Russ crossed his arms.
Was he going to say no?
“I’m glad to see Veritas is following the law,” Russ continued. “You should first understand the law as it relates to drones before we talk investigations. You can fly a drone over someone else’s property in Oregon one time as long as the drone operator has notified the property owner of their intent and the owner agrees.”
“Which didn’t happen here,” Reid said.
“Correct,” Russ said. “And even if you had agreed, Oregon statutes forbid someone from flying multiple times over the property when the drone has flown over it once.”
“So our suspect definitely broke the law.” Dev’s statement came out emphatically.
“He did,” Russ said, his expression tightening. “And if Reid or Ryan, as property owners, filed a complaint, I could open an investigation and give the Veritas team the go-ahead. Assuming you all are covering the costs.”
“I am.” Kinsley smiled at him. “Thank you so much, Russ. You don’t know how much your help means to me.”
“My thanks, too,” Dev said.
Russ waved a hand. “All in a day’s work.”
“So if no one has anything to add,” Dev said. “The final thing that I want to talk about is security and Kinsley’s safety.”
Dev glanced around the room, pausing his gaze on each person, but no one spoke. “I have to admit the drone has freaked me out a bit. We’ll be two men down with Ryan and Micha in Portland and another man down with Russ needing to be on the job so often.”
“Let me see if I can do the math.” Ryan laughed. “That leaves the three of you. And it’ll take at least two people to staff the cabin’s front door for twenty-four seven coverage, never mind needing someone to handle our guests’ training.”
“Not really a laughing matter,” Reid said. “We’ve got to keep this place running or all but Russ could be out of a job.”
“Then we need some help,” Colin said. “I know it’s not in Nolan’s job description as an investigator to provide protection, but his team members are all former law enforcement officers. We could ask them to help on our protection detail.”
“You think they’ll do that?” Ryan asked.
“Yeah,” Colin said. “If they’re not fully booked.”
“Then if he agrees to meet with us, we can ask.” Dev peered at the group again. “We’ll table the security discussion until we find out the availability of his team.”
“I’ll call him right away,” Colin said.
“I’ve got a class to teach right now, but then I can take door duty,” Reid said.
“Hey man, thanks for being there for us when you already have a full plate.” Dev fist bumped with Reid.
“No worries. It’s what teammates are for.”
Teammates. Not something Kinsley was. Ever. She worked alone. She lived alone. She had a lonely life, and she was now just realizing it. She wished she had something to offer the team, other than making that phone call to Huff’s wife. But besides that, her only priority was to remain in this cabin and not go outside where she might put one of these men who were giving so much to help her in danger.
Kinsley sat across the dining room table from Dev after a long lunch with Colin, Jada, and Sandy in what should’ve been a relaxing meal, but tension permeated the air. The women had insisted on being brought up to speed on the investigation, and neither liked the ongoing danger. Kinsley felt bad about ruining lunch for two people she cared about.
Thankfully, Jada picked up on her mother’s distress and opted to take her into the den to read, which had always been one of Sandy’s favorite things to do. It was also where Kinsley had learned her love of reading. Sandy made sure to take Kinsley to the library so she had books to take home with her to fill the hours when her parents were gone. To this day, she spent her free time devouring all manner of fiction books, living vicariously through the characters. Maybe trying to erase the loneliness she’d just discovered she lived with when she’d thought she’d left all of that in her past.
Dev looked up from reviewing Huff’s rap sheet. “If you want to talk to Marianne Huff before the other team arrives, you’ll need to make the call now.”
Colin had gotten a hold of Nolan and impressed upon him their sense of urgency. He agreed to come right away to discuss looking for Caldwell. He was bringing part of his team too. They worked all investigations as a team, and he wanted them to hear the situation firsthand.
“I’ll call her right now.” Kinsley tapped in the number and pressed her phone against her ear. She half expected to get a message that the number was out of service, but it was ringing. On the third ring, a woman answered with a questioning hello.
“Mrs. Huff?” Kinsley asked, opting for formality instead of calling the woman by her first name.
“Who is this?” Her suspicious tone didn’t bode well for the conversation.
