Page 71 of Shadow of Fear
He would have to figure that out, but right now his job was to try to encourage Kinsley.
“You’ll just have to trust me on that.” He almost snorted as he said the words, expecting her to trust him when he was the king of distrust.
She didn’t pick up on his internal conflict and gave a firm nod. “I do trust you. All of the team. I’ll also pray about it.”
He forced a smile, hoping she thought he believed God would be there when they needed Him. Too bad he still wasn’t certain.
Kinsley couldn’t take her eyes off Nolan as he raced past Dev at the door and into the room. He approached Colin at his computer across from her.
Nolan stopped at the end of the table and turned to look at Dev, who was closing the door. “I know you need to see me, but you won’t believe what we found.”
Dev came to sit by Colin, but enthusiasm about the potential news she expected Dev to have was nowhere in his expression. “You struck out on Caldwell this soon?”
Nolan gave a throaty laugh and bounced on his toes. “Not hardly. We found the guy.”
“You did?” Kinsley resisted shooting to her feet in excitement. “Where? How?”
“Believe it or not, he’s big into poetry.” Nolan’s face beamed, but he stopped bouncing. “Gabe talked to Caldwell’s former neighbors before going to Luongo’s residence. An older lady remembered the poetry connection.”
“Poetry?” Dev shook his head. “I would never have guessed that.”
“Odd for sure,” Nolan said. “But something unique enough to help us locate him pretty quickly.”
“How can it help?” Kinsley asked. “Other than looking for something he might’ve published.”
A confident, almost cocky smile crossed his face. “We joined a poetry association—be prepared for the bill—and their directory contains their members’ names and cities where they live. His name was listed in their directory. Lives in Eugene. Didn’t take much after that to find his address and also discover that he would be reading at an open mic night where we can intercept him if needed.”
Colin looked over his computer. “If he’s listing his city in the directory, he must not be trying very hard to hide out.”
“Could be,” Nolan said. “Or he’s kept his poetry a secret and doesn’t figure Huff can find him based on that.”
“I could see that happening,” Kinsley said. “Especially since he was in the construction trade. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he hid it from everyone.”
“Ryan told us Huff hired a PI to find Caldwell and Kinsley,” Colin said. “If you found Caldwell so quickly, then another good PI can find him too.”
“That’s why I called you up here,” Dev said. “I wanted to see how much of a threat we had with this PI potentially finding Kinsley, and I wanted to know if you’d heard of him. His name is Greg Egan.”
Nolan rested his hands on the table. “I’m not familiar with the guy, but I can ask the team and see if anyone else recognizes his name.”
“Is there a PI directory that you can check to see if he’s even official?” Kinsley asked.
“I can do that right now.” He got out his phone and tapped the screen.
She shifted her attention to Dev. “Odd turn of events for sure, but at least it led to his whereabouts.”
He nodded. “Let’s hope Egan doesn’t figure this out.”
Nolan looked up from his screen. “Egan’s licensed. He’s been licensed for nine years. The database contains his address and phone number. Lives in Portland. The records were updated earlier this month, so his information should be current, and we can pay him a visit to ask about an alibi for the shootings.”
“But first,” Dev said, “we need to warn Caldwell that Huff could be coming for him.”
Nolan frowned. “If we’re not already too late. Do you want us to approach him?”
“Yes,” Dev said. “And the sooner the better. I don’t want someone’s death on my conscience.”
Kinsley couldn’t imagine living the rest of her life feeling responsible for someone’s death. If only she could do something to stop Huff, and yet, all she could do was pray that Egan hadn’t located Caldwell or didn’t find the man before Nolan had a chance to warn him.
