Deadly Evidence

by Elizabeth Goddard

  * * *

  From behind the brick wall where he took cover, Ryan returned fire. He’d already called for backup, but unless they arrived soon, they would be of no help.

  He couldn’t believe he found himself cornered in the alley next to the motel. He’d followed Tori after the deputy watching the house had contacted him to say she’d left. He’d caught her on the highway leaving town and followed from a good distance so she wouldn’t see him. He’d spotted a gunman approaching the motel room and then the man had positioned himself behind a vehicle to shoot her as soon as she exited the room.

  Ryan knew he would have to stop the ambush meant to kill Tori. He’d identified himself and tried to detain the man, who then shot at him.

  He’d returned fire but had to take cover and now he was pinned behind this wall. This wouldn’t help Tori at all, but by now she had to have heard the gunfire. At least she wouldn’t be ambushed.

  Peering around the wall, he prepared to take another shot. Tori stood opposite him behind a car and fired her weapon at the man.

  Ryan reloaded his clip.

  “You can come out, Ryan,” she called. “He took off.”

  Ryan stood and cautiously left the cover of the brick wall in time to see that Tori had run after the man and now sprinted down the alley, the rush of adrenaline giving her the boost she’d needed.

  Ryan burst from the wall and ran to catch up with her. She paused at the end of the alley.

  Gasping, he asked, “What do you think you’re doing?”

  “I’m going after him.” She prepared to peer around the corner.

  “Please, let me.” He looked both directions. “Clear.”

  They ran from the alley. “Which way did he go?”

  “Not sure. But he couldn’t have gotten far. I’ll go south, you go north.”

  “No, we’re sticking together.” They jogged across the street to a shopping center parking lot.

  Ryan stood at Tori’s back as they both searched. “We’ve lost him.”

  “No, wait.” She tugged on his sleeve. “That van is starting up. Can you see who’s in it?”

  “Not yet. We can watch it drive by.” He pulled his cell out to take a picture. Sometimes he wished the sheriff’s department had enough funds for the deputies to wear body cams. Maybe next year. That could make his life so much easier. The van passed them.

  “I can’t tell if it was our guy. The driver was wearing a ball cap. Could have pulled that on as a disguise.” Ryan took the photo of the license plate anyway. “We’ll run it and see what we come up with.”

  Tori put her weapon away.

  He shook his head and urged her back to the motel until they stood at her vehicle.

  “I don’t like this. You shouldn’t be questioning potential witnesses. You could ruin our case. You know that, right? I was supposed to go with you.”

  “What case? You wouldn’t even have this without me.”

  “I thought we were working together. You were supposed to call me if you set an appointment with him. It was too dangerous for you to come here by yourself. If I had not followed you then you would have been ambushed. If I hadn’t been here, that guy would have shot you the minute you walked out that door.”

  “Okay, you got me. But I can’t say I’m sorry for jumping on the chance to talk to the guy. I appreciate that you saved my life. But Dee called me. He was willing to talk, but he said no cops.”

  “And we could have kept you safe while you talked to him. You know all this.” What had gotten into her except her hazardous need to find Sarah’s killer at any cost? “Well, what did you find out?”

  She told him everything, including Sarah’s email about the package. “But we’re here now, and I suggest you question Dee. We don’t have time to play games.”

  Ryan put his gun away for the moment. Together they headed for Dee James’s room and knocked on the door.

  “Mr. James? It’s me again,” Tori said. “Detective Bradley would like to speak to you.”

  They waited but no one answered.

  “Mr. James,” Ryan said. “You could be in danger. Someone tried to shoot Tori as she exited your room.”

  A maid pushed a cleaning cart toward the rooms. Ryan was glad she hadn’t been in the vicinity of the shots fired. Sirens resounded as other law enforcement showed up.

  He flashed his badge and gestured for her to open the door. They didn’t have a warrant, but he was concerned that a stray bullet could have hit Mr. James—exigent circumstances. The maid opened the door and they found the room empty.

  “He’s gone,” Tori said. “He must have left as soon as you and I chased after the shooter.”

  A police officer stepped up to the room. Ryan explained what had happened and contacted Deputy Jackson to bring Dee James in for questioning.

  Ryan then walked her back to her vehicle.

  Tori lingered at the door but didn’t open it. “He said he was scared and didn’t know who he could trust. And he definitely won’t trust me after this.”

  “I hope the feeling is mutual and you don’t trust him,” Ryan said. “That was an ambush.”

  “So what if it was? It doesn’t mean that Dee James arranged it.” Despite her words, uncertainty flickered in her gaze.

  “We’ll get to the bottom of this,” he said. “I’m going to follow you home.”

  Tori made to climb into her vehicle, but he stopped her. “I forgot to thank you for saving me back there.”

  She shrugged. “You can handle yourself.”

  “No, really. You had my back. I got cornered. I honestly hadn’t expected to see someone gunning for you like that, even after everything that’s happened so far.” His heart tumbled around. He wanted to pull her to him and hold her—to comfort himself. He pushed aside the ridiculous thought.

  “You’re welcome, Ryan.” She slid into the seat.

  “Tori?”

  She lifted her gaze to meet his, her green eyes flashing at him. If he understood the timeline, her bereavement leave would run out soon, and then what would she do? Would she really give up her career to stay here? He just couldn’t see that happening. If her goal was to be there for her parents then maybe she could somehow transfer to be closer. There was a field office in Sacramento, and resident offices. But he understood agents were often assigned and had few choices.

  And why did he care?

  “Yes, Ryan?”

  “Let’s work together. I mean...closely. You can help us with what you know and learn about Sarah, but I can’t have you rushing in on your own, ruining our chances of charging someone or getting a conviction.”

  Subtly nodding, she looked at the ground. “I understand.”

  Then she started her vehicle. He got into his and followed her back to Rainey. As soon as they pulled into the drive, his cell rang.

  Deputy Jackson. He answered.

  “Dee James is dead.”

  NINE

  Tori had wanted to go to the scene where Deputy Jackson had found Dee James, but Ryan wouldn’t let her. He was letting the techs gather the evidence first, he’d said.

  She’d almost been killed. Again. Now she had to wonder if Dee hadn’t been the true target. Ryan had assumed the attacker was waiting for her, but what if he’d been waiting for Dee? Or for both of them?

  In the meantime, she was back at the bungalow. Another eventful morning to process through, and the day wasn’t even over yet. She’d shared with Ryan all the information she’d gathered from Dee, which left her with more questions than answers, and yet, it had sent her in a direction. She would try to find out who the legislator was that Sarah might have threatened.

  Getting Sarah’s email alias and accessing those emails was critical.

  So Tori peered at her own laptop again, but her mind was far from Sarah’s emails. She analyzed everythin
g that Dee James had said from their initial phone call through to their meeting at the motel. She tried to think if she’d missed some nuance in his words. Some important information.

  Because now he was dead and he couldn’t tell them more.

  At least, Dee couldn’t tell them more in person. But maybe there was something at his apartment, on his cell, or on his computer to help them. Maybe someone else within his environmental activist group knew something to help them. They would need to track down all those involved to question them.

  Oh, wait. Ryan had said he would put someone on that. Translation: Tori should stay out of it.

  So while she sat in Sarah’s comfy chair, on her laptop, Ryan paced in her kitchen. She’d damaged his trust in her when she’d gone to see Dee James alone. Now he was here at the house with her and she wasn’t sure he would let her out of his sight again. And she couldn’t blame him. He’d refused to leave her side, despite her insistence that she could protect herself. She wanted him out there, working the case, but instead, he was doing his job in her kitchen, speaking on the phone, trying to get a warrant and tech people to retrieve Sarah’s digital evidence on top of another possible murder to investigate—Dee James’s.

  Her heart ached at the thought of his death. The cause of death was a drug overdose, but she and Ryan both believed he’d been forcibly injected—murdered.

  She wished she could be officially assigned to work this case. She could almost wish that she worked for Maynor County with Ryan, but even if she did, she would never be assigned her sister’s murder case. At least this way, with no official role in the investigation, she had some freedom to look into things in her own way.

  Tori concentrated on her conversation with Dee. There had to be something more that he hadn’t told her, something that would explain who had killed him—and Sarah. It was all interconnected and Tori focused back on trying to figure out Sarah’s alias—she didn’t have time to wait on Ryan and his team to get the proper warrants to look through Sarah’s computer. Even as her sister, Tori could only give consent to search her own belongings. Anything more could be challenged in court by a defense attorney. Ryan was covering all his bases.

  Admittedly she had already been on Sarah’s computer, but now Ryan had a reason to search for digital evidence in his investigation.

  Still, Sarah wouldn’t have bothered with an alias only to use that on her personal computer. It was like Dee had said—if she was going to email someone with the alias, using her own computer, then there wasn’t much use for it.

  Who was the person she didn’t want to be able to track her down? Whom had she emailed using the alias? And how had they found her?

  Ryan approached from behind. “What are you doing?”

  “I’m trying to figure out her alias.”

  “I’m waiting to hear on the warrant for the digital evidence. That includes her alias.”

  She shoved up from the chair. “You’re not going to find anything about the alias on her computer. And we don’t have time to wait on warrants. Think about it, Ryan. Someone got to Dee James already. They might already know Sarah’s alias address and they could be in the process of erasing the emails. I’m not hurting anything by looking.”

  He sighed.

  “Besides,” she said. “Someone keeps trying to kill me. They must think I know more than I actually do. So they want to kill me to keep me from figuring the whole picture out. They don’t seem to understand that attacking me only drives me to try harder.”

  “All the more reason you need to be somewhere else.” He held up his cell. “I’ve been on the phone to make all the arrangements. I’m moving you to a safe house.”

  It wasn’t a request or even an argument. He’d already made his decision and the arrangements without involving her. He crossed his arms as if he expected a confrontation.

  Tori rose to face him, crossing her arms, as well. “I might be a lot of things, but I’m not stupid.”

  “Meaning?”

  “Though staying in Sarah’s home has been good for me, and I think it could still help us, I know I should move somewhere they can’t find me. That said, I do need to stay here until I can figure out her alias.”

  Ryan huffed out an incredulous chuckle. “First, you can look for her alias anywhere you can get internet on your computer. Second, what makes you think you’re going to find it?”

  Ryan still didn’t get it? “Because I know my sister. She would choose a certain kind of email handle—something with personal significance. That’s why, no, I can’t just figure it out from anywhere. I have to be here. Just being here in her home, surrounded by her things, her photographs and knickknacks—everything that has Sarah all over it—can trigger that for me.”

  “But then you’ll still have to figure out her password, and how long will that take?”

  “Nah. Sarah always used the same one.”

  Ryan flinched as his eyes widened. “You’re kidding.”

  “Nope. She said she only had so much mental bandwidth, so why try to remember a kazillion passwords.” Tori completely understood that thinking, even though she knew it was practically begging a hacker to dive into all of your accounts. “Okay, so you go do your thing. Call someone or something. I need to look through her house and see if I can figure out her email.”

  The incredulous but amused look Ryan gave her was kind of cute.

  Tori started in the kitchen, looking at the placards of nature and verses from the Scriptures. She skimmed through a couple of cookbooks Mom had given Sarah for Christmas.

  Lord, please give me some direction.

  Hours later, technicians arrived to retrieve Sarah’s computer. Apparently Ryan had gotten the warrant to search for digital evidence. Tori had pulled everything from her sister’s closet in search of ideas and now she felt ridiculous. Why had she thought this would work?

  Ryan approached. “It’s time to move, Tori.”

  “I haven’t figured it out yet. I can’t leave.” He was right about going, and she knew it, but she wanted a few more minutes. Maybe then...

  He shrugged. “You might never figure it out.”

  Tori turned and Ryan was much too close.

  “In the meantime, I want you out of danger, Tori.” His nearness tugged at her.

  Her breath hitched. She wanted to feel his arms around her again. Tori put a hand on his chest and gently shoved him back so she could get by.

  “You can still work on it at the safe house,” he said. “Sometimes you have to get some distance to get a fresh perspective.”

  The way he said the words, she wondered if he’d meant something more. If he was talking about their past relationship. And their recent kiss. What would her perspective be on that kiss when she finally got any distance from Ryan? She lifted her eyes to look at him. He studied her. He’d shuttered away the emotions she might have seen earlier. What was he thinking? A better question—did she really want to know?

  “All right.” She blew out a breath. “I’m going to pack. I don’t have much, so it won’t take long. But I might need to come back here if I think of something to look into.”

  He lifted his palms and then dropped them. “If that happens, we’ll do what we can. But I think we both know there’s nothing here to find or you would have found it already.”

  “Maybe I can help your computer tech with Sarah’s computer.”

  “We’ll see,” he said. “Now it’s getting late. I want to get you to the safe house before dinnertime.”

  “What about my parents?”

  “I’ll inform them that I’m keeping you safe. That’s what they want, and they need to trust me for now.”

  Wow. “But they’ll want to see me.”

  “We’ll arrange for that.” Ryan’s brows knitted. “You know how this works. Why are you wasting time? Let’s just get out of here.”

 
; Tori couldn’t take his intensity and headed toward the bedroom to pack.

  She turned to shut the door only to find him standing in the doorway, blocking her.

  “Please give me privacy so I can pack,” she said.

  “I’m sorry. I thought we were still talking.” He shrugged. “Thank you for agreeing to this, and also, for what you’ve learned to help the investigation.”

  Admiration swam in his eyes. Tori wanted that from him much more than she should. “You’re welcome.”

  He nodded and stepped back enough for her to close the door. Grumbling to herself, she removed the few clothes she’d put in Sarah’s closet and dresser drawers. She was accustomed to living out of her luggage when she traveled, but she’d put her stuff away as if she truly intended to stay here.

  Uncertainty about her future gnawed in the back of her mind. Those permanent, life-changing decisions were too big, too important to make while she was in this frame of mind. And yet wasn’t it because of the current set of circumstances she was even considering leaving her position?

  Tori sighed as she finished packing far too quickly to clear her thoughts. She hadn’t brought much. After all, she’d only come out here on bereavement leave. It was only after she’d gotten here that she began to consider extending that indefinitely. She plopped on the edge of the bed and pressed her hands against her face.

  Should she go back to work? Ask for a longer extension, or simply resign? She’d need to make that decision over the next couple of days. She wanted to stay close to her parents, but she was in danger, herself, and couldn’t be very close to them anyway, since she would be staying at a safe house. Nor could she be as free as she needed to be to conduct her own investigation.

  “Oh, Sarah.” She lifted her gaze and, through teary eyes, spotted the framed photograph on the dresser. Her sister stood in front of the marina sign in Crescent City with Tori. The picture had been taken before Tori had moved to South Carolina.

  The window exploded with shards of glass.

  The bedroom door flew open.