Page 22 of Constant Risk
Penelope’s interpersonal skills seemed to be working fine. Bree knew not to say anything. She was tired, stressed and not completely rational.
But damn it, that woman should not look so beautiful. And definitely should not be standing so close to Tanner every time Bree turned around.
“Is everyone else ready to go?” she asked. “I’m ready on my end with the equipment I need. But we’ll need to move pretty quickly once I begin to triangulate.”
“Yes. There’s a solid plan in place. You’ll ride with me and Whitaker. Penelope will follow with Leon and a couple other officers.”
“We’ll have to find the place and be ready and set up by the time he transmits again. Unless for some reason we get extremely lucky, and he’s extremely sloppy, the info we get from this first transmission will only lead us part of the way.”
Damn it.Why hadn’t she figured out a way to bypass whatever rerouting system the killer would use? That would’ve been a better use of her time rather than hunting for some possible other mistake like Penelope wanted.
“Whatever it is you’re thinking—stop,” Tanner pulled her close to him one last time. “No focusing on all the things you could’ve/should’ve/would’ve done. You did the best you could with the info you had.”
The time began to beep, signaling the upcoming transmission.
“I hope so. Because we’re out of time.”
Chapter Eight
It was one of the victim’s calmer moments, which didn’t necessarily make it any easier to watch. Tanner was afraid she was giving up hope. Everyone was.
Bree’s plan needed to work more than ever.
The footage was nearly a minute long this time and the entire room’s attention darted back and forth between Bree and the woman on the screen. Once the screen flicked to black and the transmission was over, everyone’s attention turned completely to Bree.
She finally looked up. “I got it.” She rattled off an address and street name.
“Are you sure?” Penelope asked.
“Yes. That’s where this transmission was routed from. Why?”
“If I’m not mistaken that’s a residential area. We’re going to have to get a warrant,” Penelope said.
Jeremy was already at his computer. “Address belongs to a Patricia Webster. She’s actually retired and lives in Tampa. But her twenty-two-year-old son, Elliot Webster, currently resides at Mom’s house.”
Penelope started rattling off orders. “Leon, I need you to get me a warrant for this address. Karen, get some local uniforms out there until we arrive. Tell them not to engage, but to check for anything that would give them probable cause to enter. Jeremy, I need to know everything there is to know about Elliot Webster by the time we roll up at his house.”
Everyone burst into movement.
Tanner looked over at Bree. She was walking toward him, holding a laptop in front of her, typing on the keyboard with one hand.
“You ready to go?” he asked.
She nodded, still typing. “I’m gathering info on Elliot Webster. In case Jeremy...misses any.”
Meaning, in case the legal channels Jeremy was required to go through didn’t bring up all the information. But Tanner wasn’t going to give her a hard time about how she was getting her info right now. This wasn’t his case, and a woman’s life was at stake.
“Bree,” Penelope called out. “We’ve got nearly the entire four hours until the transmission you need comes around, right?”
Bree looked up from her computer. “Yes, but I’ve got to find the computer being used as the conduit before that time. It could be anywhere in or near that address.”
“Then let’s roll,” the woman said. “We’ve got a judge who’s been kept abreast of the case. Getting the warrant should be fast.”
Bree was still working at her computer when Tanner tucked her into the car and Whitaker drove toward the address she’d given them, following behind Penelope and her crew.
Bree read from her computer. “It looks like Elliot Webster is an engineering student at UT Dallas. High GPA. Never been arrested or in any trouble at all.”
“Anything in the unofficial version?” Tanner asked.
