Page 69 of Lay Me Down
“So, they may not have even known he touched it,” Zeke implies. Kade just shakes his head.
“They must not have, unless they either left it on purpose or just didn’t care. According to John’s files, they never leaveanyevidence behind. That’s partly why it’s so hard to find them.” Kade informs us.
“Yeah, but Damien isn’t one of them,” Alex points out.
“Exactly.”
“I want to know everything about that area. I want surveillance, door cameras, and street views. Get me everything from the past twenty-four hours,” I demand. There’s newfoundoptimism blooming in my chest, and while I don’t want to get my hopes up, I just can’t help it.
“I’ve already started gathering it,” Kade says.
“Carter, pull up the digital map, please.” I walk over to the board as Carter does what I ask, and I mark the spot of the murder before marking the Attic on it as well.
“What are you doing, Ash?” Carter asks, and I can’t help but cringe at myself.
“I’m not sure, really. I saw it on ‘Criminal Minds.’”
Zeke bursts out laughing, and I cut my eyes at him before flipping him off.
“To Ash’s defense, geographic profiling is definitely a thing,” Kade says, and then he walks up to the board with me. “The issue is, we need at least three points, and even then, we would have to widen the search significantly.”
“If that was a target, what makes you guys think they’re anywhere near here?” Alex argues.
“Well, they just shot John. So, there’s that,” Serena retorts, and the room goes silent—all except for a small hiccup from Leanne. “Shit, sorry. That was really insensitive…”
“No, but that’s a good point,” Carter says and points to her. She grins just a little at him, and I’m shocked to see him do it back.
“So, what’s our third reference point?” Zeke asks in a surprisingly-angry tone. I know he’s just as anxious to get Damien back as I am. Well, they all are, and the thought of him being in their hands any longer is torture in itself. I know the guys miss him too, and we’re all desperate to get him back.
“We don’t have one yet,” Carter says regrettably.
“Where did you say you caught Popov at that toll?” I ask Carter.
“The Dulles Greenway, coming in from Maryland,” he replies, and then he puts it on the screen for me to see. I start tofollow the map to think of where he could’ve come from, when something snaps into place.
“Why are you assuming from Maryland? The Dulles Greenway splits off, doesn’t it?” I look back at him, and he subtly nibbles on his bottom lip.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, you said his original operations in the country were in New York, right?” He nods back at me as a reply. “So, why would he come from the west? Wouldn’t he travel down the major highway into D.C. if he was coming from the north?” Carter’s face relaxes, and he steps up to the map with me. “Because if he’s coming from Dulles Greenway, you know where else that easily leads to, right? I mean, it’s a bit of a loop around, but if he didn’t want someone to trace him back, he could’ve easily taken route seven from—”
“West Virginia…” Carter says softly, and it’s like both of our light bulbs flicker on.
“West. Fucking. Virginia,” I say pointedly, and Carter practically jumps back to his laptop. He starts typing away, and Kade leans over his shoulder to watch.
“I was so focused on anything north from here to New York, I didn’t even think of—”
“Don’t harp on it now, just keep looking,” Zeke demands and starts to pace. It’s dead silent now, and after a few moments, Carter stares intensely at his screen, but he stops typing.
“There’s nothing under Victoria or John Avery…”
“What about Hugo?” They all raise their brows at me, like they’re shocked I said his name. It tastes like sulfur, but ifhecan somehow still connect us to Popov, then it’s necessary. “Well, if he really wanted to lay under the radar, why not under a dead man’s name?”
“It’s worth a shot,” Kade says, and Carter goes back to typing like a mad man. Saconne and DeLuca wouldn’t be stupid enoughto put anything under their own names, and the same goes for Popov, but it would have to be someone they could easily access. And for Popov? The easiest person for him was Hugo. Even if he can’t get any new properties using his name, there’s a good chance he’s still got some old ones.
Carter stops typing, and his eyes widen.
“Holy fuck…”
