C.T. nodded. “I was able to look through the obvious, like this guy's phone log, and didn’t like what I found.”
“Familiar numbers, huh?” Declan asked, shifting his focus to Dace.
“Unfortunately, yes. The same two numbers we know were associated with her before as well as numbers from her phone that we couldn’t identify.”
“We have new information that may explain that,” Dace said. “Turns out, the only numbers she’s been dialing are her dads. The guy had multiple phones, and she’d been trying all the numbers she could remember since being here. Those were on Carly’s phone.”
“The phone that she stole,” Declan reminded.
“Thanks, that helps us a lot, Dec. Pointing out the obvious.” Dace was getting sick of the role of constant devil's advocate his brother was playing. “It was out of fear and desperation, not menace.”
“So she says.”
“I’d say the phone log pretty much confirms her claim. Sure, she called the numbers, but there was no answer on any of them. No incoming calls. Just outgoing.”
“Convenient,” Declan fired back.
“For fuck's sake, Dec – do you want her to be guilty that bad?”
“No. In fact, I want her to be completely innocent, but you’ve already judged and juried her as such, so one of us needs to keep this shit grounded and on track. And I’ll remind you that the call logs on her phone, from the alley, showed multiple calls over the past months to those same numbers that were quite lengthy convos.”
“Right. Before she got here. Before everyone started showing up dead. Since then, it’s been radio silence.”
“Dace. I want you to be right, but I don’t want you to be fooled. If I’m being honest, I don’t think she did any of this, but…”
“Until we clear her either way…”
Dace didn’t need to finish the sentence to know they were on the same page, even if it was a tough way to get there.
“There was a call last night.” C.T. dropped a game-changing bomb. “It shows a call from the second number just before the murders occurred.”
“Just before?”
C.T. nodded. “Yeah. 911 calls came in about thirty minutes after the last call from that phone. There was a three-minute conversation.”
“What time was that? Call took place around twelve thirty, murder around one a.m.”
“Couldn’t have been her. I was with her. I’d already found the phone and confronted her with it by that point.”
“You sure she didn’t sneak off to her bedroom at any point?”
“I was in the bedroom with her…all night. Couldn’t have been her.” Dace leaned back in his chair, waiting for the verbal assault surely coming.
“Fuck, Dace,” Declan said, slamming his palm on the table.
Wylie laughed. “Sounds like it.”
Dace tilted his head in distaste. “Not the time or place, Wy.”
“This. This is why I’m riding you so hard and convicting her of shit I don’t even know to be true. You’re in too deep to keep a clear head about this.”
“Is there such a thing?” Wylie asked, trying to break up the feud with inappropriate humor. “Too deep…I don’t think it’s possible.”
A few of the men chuckled, but Declan sent a look of warning, seconded by Dace.
“Just trying to keep it light, boys.”
“We are past light,” Dace said. “We have a handful of dead bodies, cartel in our backyard, a reappearing fiancée, and a missing son I didn’t know I had. Past. Light.”
Declan shook his head and didn’t comment.
“I get it, Bro,” Wylie said. “We all missed her but not as much as you. You want her to be safe and honest. No judgment here. So, let’s get back on task and find this kid. I’d like to meet him.”
The others mumbled their solidarity in the mission because, at the end of the day, no matter who the good guys and bad guys were, one of their own was out there.
“So, I’m seeing a lot of burners here.” Liam brought everyone back to the case at hand. “Can’t really grab much other than incoming, outgoing, and length of calls. Everything else is clean, but I’ll keep digging. They all seem to match the last two phone logs too. These guys were all definitely connected to the same crowd.”
“So, it’s safe to say this guy was probably one of the men from the alley?” Dace added.
C.T. nodded in agreement. “Safe bet, at this point. Is the camera feed coming up yet, Liam?”
“Yeah, it should be on the wall in a second.” Liam continued to peck at his keyboard. “These pings. They’re all over the place. I’ve lined up the call logs from all three vics and synced dates to see who was calling who when. Maybe a clue. Problem is, none of it’s matching up for the location.”
“Can you dumb that down?”
“Sure. Basically, I have five calls on our first victim's phone, and each call hit a different tower despite a timeline of about two hours.”
Dace shrugged it off. “So he was on the move. Different locations, different towers.”
“Right, but how was he in Portland during call one in the sequence, then Hong Kong an hour later, only to be in Wyoming, Connecticut, then back to Portland?”
“Son of a bitch, like a spoofing app?” Wylie asked.
“Yes and no. This isn’t a typical spoofing program you’d use, so your wife thinks you’re at the office when you’re really at the bar a mile away with your mistress. This is sophisticated, far more advanced than a $3.99 download on your phone. This is what most of our intelligence agencies use when they want to hide operatives around the world. They bounce the signals off random towers using satellites and…”
“Read the room, Brother,” Luke chimed in.
“Right. Basically, this is like a very expensive spoofing program – whoever is using it can make it look like they’re anywhere in the world. They’re doing a shitty job bouncing it around like they are, a total giveaway, but…”
“Can you hack it?” Luke asked.
“Of course. Nobody has it but me and…the government.” Liam shrugged.
“How do you know it didn’t get into the wrong hands? Maybe the cartel has their hands on it. Money talks, and they tend to have a lot of it.”
“Because I wrote the program. I’m literally looking at my own work here. I own all rights and have it on a government contract. It’s on loan, per se. It’s a beta project they’re testing.”
“Get Carter in here. He needs to start digging into the agencies you have testing it,” Dace instructed. “We may have our first major break.”
“If the feds are involved somehow, it’s out of my jurisdiction. I’ll ride your wing as far as I can, but Carter may have to call in help if this lands above my pay grade,” C.T. said.
“On it,” Wylie said, pulling out his phone. “He’s in the building. I’ll get him down here.”
“There’s only one number that I cannot unlock, and I think it’s our smoking gun. Whoever has that phone is a player. It’s too obvious for them not to be. Now that I know what we’re dealing with – my fucking technology – I can unwind it. But like everything else, it takes time. Do we know where Ivy got her phone? The encryption and layers of security make sense now. Hate to say it, but this got really big,” Liam added.
Eli shook his head. “I’ve been saying it all along. It’s her father. He isn’t a damn florist. He’s government, and he gave her that phone.”
“Is your phone one of his too?” Liam asked.
“Hell no. I trust no one and left that one back in Moss Bridge. And it seems with good reason now.”
“The other phones we confiscated from the crime scenes weren’t as sophisticated and easy to crack – basic phones. That’s pretty telling.”
“How so?” Eli asked.
“Because they’re clearly associated with the smoking gun and Ivy somehow, running new drugs, cartel connection…why didn’t they have phones with the same level of security if this person is tr
ying to hide? It’s a direct lead. It’s like whoever this is wanted us to get those phones and crack them.”
“And lead them all back to Ivy,” Dace added, looking at Declan.
“I have to agree,” Liam said. “Why would you go to all this trouble to hide signals, locations, encrypt and secure two phones, but then leave the rest out there in the open if they can lead back to you somehow?”
“They were hoping we’d find a dead end when we connected to Ivy. Didn’t anticipate us digging deeper.” Dace smiled, pleased with what they were uncovering. It felt like a weight being lifted from his shoulders.
“That’s my assumption. We weren’t supposed to find those pings in fricken Hong Kong and piece it together. These phones were never with the victims at all. Not until they were already dead.”
Dace rubbed his hands down his face. “They were planted. The police were supposed to see the random locations and assume it was a glitch.”
“Yep. When, really, the phones were on the move with our suspect, and he or she was just hiding its movement.”
Eli chuckled. “Jesus, you’re really fucking good. I’ve worked with some of the best, and this tops it all. You suppose our unsub knows they’ve been using your technology to set up Ivy and fool you?”
“Doubt it. I’m a pretty well-kept secret when it comes to things like this. Agents in the various branches may know who Brother’s Keeper is, but likely not Liam O’Reilly, the tech genius who sells them all their shit and maintains it.” Liam gloated.
“Right on, mate. This is getting good. How long does this take now? What do we do next?” Eli asked, thoroughly entertained.
“We wait,” Dace chimed in. “We wait until boy wonder over there digs out our guy and gives us someone to chase. He’ll crack it. He always does.”
“It’s just harder when it’s my own tech. I’m pretty good at design, and it’s even hard for me to break my own work.” Liam laughed as if he’d just delivered the ultimate punchline. “I should be able to get into the pieces of Ivy’s phone I couldn’t before now too. I’ll be able to untangle all this and get a steady trace.”
“I still say it’s her father,” Eli insisted. “The man disappears without a trace and then reappears out of thin air. This has him written all over it, especially if he’s using all that shit you’re talking about. He could be right under our noses and still flying under the radar.”
“I agree,” Dace concurred. “We have a solid suspect to consider now. Ivy’s off the table.”
Declan nodded. “Unless we’re given a reason to put her back in the lineup.”
Dace wouldn’t let that happen.
“Videotapes are loading, check out the screen.” Liam and the men watched the large wall of screens as videos began to play, slowly syncing together until they showed the traffic in the area of the crime. Liam paused the video and smiled. “Bingo. We have a match at the murder scene. Black SUVs.”
25
“They’re all cartel. Same small cell,” Eva said, giving an update via video conference on Moss Bridge and the bodies they’d identified. “The MC helped. It was a little too close for comfort for me, and I didn’t want to blow my cover. I laid low, and they grabbed intel.”
“Were they able to collect anything of value?” Dace asked.
“Not really. It was a smoky mess by the time they arrived. You have to understand, this place was out in the middle of nowhere on the water's edge – one of the safe houses that cell used.” Eva proceeded to give them the lead they were hoping for, even if it was still a vague one at best. “The house was smoldering, and the boat and dock on fire – bodies in both.”
Eli’s interest was piqued. “How many bodies are we talking?”
Eva shook her head. “More than a dozen – hard to tell. That boat and any evidence on it are beginning to sink, so you’ll need an underwater recovery team to get better answers there.”
“Carter, can you get a team out there? Make it look official?” Dace asked.
He nodded as he grabbed his phone and began to type. “On it. I have several active cartel cases. It’ll be easy to justify and expedite.”
“Anything from the morgues?” Dace questioned. “Were you able to locate an increase in body counts, cremations, anything?”
“I think this was your cremation, Dace.” Eva’s tone grew monotone and cold. “You aren’t going to like this, but I’m certain this is from your Moss Bridge attack. It reeks of cartel – no dignity, dirty, and almost like a warning. This wasn’t an accident. And Dace, it was only one town over from Moss Bridge.”
“So they very well could’ve been watching us all along.” Eli was stunned and angered. “These bastards had their eyes on us a while they were staged there.”
“I’d have to agree with you. Intel shows they’d been there a solid week prior to Ivy’s father and his team arriving. They were ready and waiting. Covered their tracks by burning the evidence, bodies included, to the ground.”
“The cartel had that cleaner do it. Took care of Moss Bridge, removed the bodies, loaded them in his van, then went straight to the safe house and burned all of it. Gannon’s guys down there said the van disappeared on them. Makes sense now.”
“You mean the van that was in the carport? Burned,” Eva told them. “From what I gather, nothing was left in the way of evidence.”
“Jesus.” Eli stood and paced the room. “We aren’t going to get anything out of this find, are we?”
Carter raised a hand. “Let me work on that. I’m deploying a federal forensics team. I handpicked these guys, and it’s all off the books for now. If there’s something to be found, they’ll get it. If you want to send a part of your team to assist or oversee, just give me a name and time. I’ll make sure they have clearance and get in.”
“We’ll send a small crew as liaison. Anything you guys need, they’ll help facilitate.” Dace would move heaven and earth at this point. They were so close to seeing the big picture.
Silently, Dace monitored Eli’s responses and studied his body language. He’d been quiet the past few days, taking in all of the information but not sharing any or contributing as he had been before. Eli hadn’t even been to see Ivy much. Something was off with him, and Dace was wondering if he was still a friend or foe. Sure, the guy was still laser-focused on his number one suspect and trying to sell the idea, but when Moss Bridge and the safe house became a part of the picture again, he changed, and Dace wondered why.
Eli had already admitted to staying behind when Ivy left Moss Bridge. He’d even shown them the two bodies he’d moved. Who was to say he didn’t move the rest, especially when they were found only one town over. It all seemed awfully convenient. He might have even been working with the man in the van. He seemed to have a lot of answers the day they stood at the site of the alleged crime and kidnapping, but now…he was silent.
It wasn’t lost on Dace that Eli never divulged the lead he said he’d run down after following Ivy back to Portland. Though very forthcoming in some ways, there were still many holes in Eli’s story, and they were growing by the minute. Where had he been? What was distracting him now? Here they were, showing all their cards on the table, and he very well could have been wearing his poker face all along.
Just like Eli pointed out when speaking of Ivy’s father, everyone in their business – at least at a certain level – knew who the brothers were, including Eli. He knew what they did and what they were capable of. If he’d been studying them long enough, he knew exactly how to play them and get away with it for a short time at least. The brothers weren’t to be outplayed, but that didn’t mean this guy couldn’t be a perfect distraction.
Taking a lesson from Declan, Dace weighed a devil's advocate scenario. If Eli was behind any of it, why would he show up there? The brothers were the last people someone like him would drop in on – it was certain suicide, if guilty. Unless what he was there for was worth more than his life and worth dying for.
Ivy…
El
i was smart, well trained, and still mysterious as fuck. He’d know how much time he had before it was all pieced together because he was right in the center of it all. They were handing him his timeline and warning shots. He’d know when the time was up and when to bail.
But then Dace couldn’t help but circle back to the idea that he was there to help. Not help the brothers, but help Ivy because he couldn’t do it alone. He’d said that more than once since his arrival. He was there to help – help himself to Ivy, maybe. Eli had admitting to loving her, after all. It didn’t matter that her love for him was of a different nature. Though Ivy seemed happy beyond words to see Eli again, Dace couldn’t forget that it could have been because she’d thought he was dead.
Eli knew an awful lot about Ivy and Cash. He wasn’t just a bodyguard. He was like family to them. Maybe Ivy and Eli were passionate at one time, but that didn’t seem to be the case any longer – at least not on her part because she was spending her nights with Dace as if no time had passed between them.
Dace wasn’t naïve enough to believe she’d been celibate all those years, and if he was the only warm body around, maybe it went there. Maybe the man was helping raise Dace’s son in his absence. Maybe Ivy and Eli were both guilty and working this thing together, and Cash was just a pawn to grab at Dace’s heartstrings. Master manipulation.
Dace knew he was full of shit, and this was his brother getting in his head. He didn’t believe the bullshit he was spinning anymore than he believed in Santa Clause. He’d keep tabs, figure out who Eli really was, where he’d been, how he fit into all this – again, friend or foe? If Eli was hiding something or knew more than he said, Dace would get so close to the guy he’d be the first to rip it out of him.
If he was behind it, they were right on his ass and about to reveal him. Dace made a mental note to keep tabs on him – have him tailed – and make sure he hadn’t trusted the wrong asshole.
Unaware of what he was interrupting, Dace went after Eli. “Cut the shit, Eli. Start talking.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Or we’ll have no choice but to turn you over to the feds,” Dace threatened.
Brother's Keeper V: Wylie (the complete series BOX SET): NEW RELEASE + Series Box SET included! Page 109
