“Gotcha now.” Adam tucked the memory card in his pocket and replaced the bear exactly where he had found it, aimed right at the spot where the shooting had occurred.
After poking around a little bit more, he headed back to the truck. He’d get one of the IT guys to help him read the memory card. The ride back to the station was uneventful.
“Good afternoon, Detective,” the desk sergeant greeted him.
Adam gave him a nod and a quick greeting before heading to his office. He wanted to check his emails and phone messages first, then see about a reader for that memory card.
Adam stopped in the break room and grabbed a cup of coffee. His night on the couch had not been as restful as he’d let Emma believe. What he couldn’t decide was if it was because of the comfort of the furniture or because he was in Emma’s home for the first time in so many years. Having her back in his life had begun to fill a void he hadn’t realized existed, and it had him a little off-balance.
Settling into his chair, he booted up his computer and logged into the email program. Mostly there were departmental announcements, wanted posters, and a random weather report from one of the IT guys who probably should have been a meteorologist instead.
After deleting all the junk and saving the important stuff, he ran across one random email from an address he didn’t recognize. The subject simply read Important Information. He clicked on the email and opened it.
Stay off the mountain and we will leave your girl alone.
What matters more to you—a big bust or saving her life?
You back off. We back off.
Case closed.
A knot formed in his stomach. They knew who he was. Not good. Not good at all. Adam looked around his office as though the sender of the mysterious email would somehow be standing behind him.
The email was a generic one, giving away nothing about the sender. It didn’t matter though; he knew who it came from. Well, not exactly. But he had a good general idea. Fishing his cell phone from his pocket, he dialed Emma’s number. It took her three full rings to answer, making his leg bounce up and down in an effort to free the nervous energy beginning to engulf him.
“Hello?”
“Emma! Are you okay?” He really hadn’t meant to sound so worried.
“I’m fine. Why?”
He ignored her question. “Can you just double check the doors and windows?”
“Adam? Did something happen?” Now she sounded as worried as he did.
“Nothing. I just want you to be sure they are all locked.” He could hear her moving around, probably going from door to window.
“Adam Marshall, you have always been a terrible liar. Tell me what’s wrong.”
He sighed and leaned back in his chair, still studying the email on his computer screen. “The men that are after you also know who I am.”
“How do you know?” There was a slight tremor to her voice. Emma had always been fearless. The first in their group to try skateboarding, rollerblading, and bungee jumping. At that moment though, he heard the hint of fear that having her name on a hit list caused. The fear she’d been working so hard to keep in check.
He might as well tell her. Emma deserved to know. “I got an anonymous email at work. They told me to back off the case and they’d back off you. Told me to choose, your life or the big bust.”
Emma exhaled hard against the phone, her breath causing a little static between them. “You can’t give up the case.”
“I can’t risk your life.” The conviction in his voice came from the soul.
“You’ve put in too many hours, Adam. That email just means you’re getting close. Someone is really worried.”
Adam drummed his fingers on the desk. “There’s too much risk. If I hand over the investigation to the rest of the task force, it will keep you safe.”
“There’s no guarantee of that. I’m a loose end, remember? Whether you keep investigating or not, they are going to keep looking for me.”
He leaned back in his chair and crossed one leg over the other. “I’m not sure I’m willing to take that chance.”
“So, you’ll give up everything you’ve worked for, put your career and reputation on the line? For what? A hunch.”
“I can’t lose someone else I care about. This is just a job.”
“A job you love. A job you were meant to do since you were a baby!” Her obvious frustration echoed his own.
He slapped a palm onto the surface of his desk, the sting of it traveling all the way up his arm. “It’s just a job. You are too important to me to risk losing you all over again.”
Emma chuckled. “You make it sound so serious.”
He jumped to his feet and paced the area behind his desk. “It is serious!”
A uniformed officer passing by stuck his head into Adam’s office. “You okay in there, Detective?”
He waved the officer away. “I’m fine, Collins.”
“Adam? Are you still there?” Emma asked.
Adam went and closed the door so no one else would interrupt them. “Yeah, sorry. One of the guys stopped by but he’s gone now. Did you make sure everything was locked?”
“Tight as a tuna can.”
He couldn’t help but laugh. “Tight as a tuna can?”
Emma laughed too. “My great-granny used to say that. Always seemed logical to me. Now, back to the important stuff. What are you bringing me for dinner?”
Resting his feet on his desk, Adam reclined the desk chair and let his eyes close. “You are infuriating sometimes. You know that, right?”
“Only on days that end in Y. Bring me food. Preferably Italian. Then we can talk about what to do with the case.”
“There’s nothing to discuss. Now that they know who I am too, I should hand it off. I’m sure the FBI, ATF, and state police can handle it without me.”
Emma chuckled. “Alphabet soup.”
Confused, Adam frowned. “You want me to bring you alphabet soup?”
“No, silly. The FBI and ATF. My boss always called the government agencies alphabet soup.”
“Ah, okay. I was about to question your definition of Italian food.” He lowered his feet to the floor.
“You can’t hand it off. You need to see things through, Adam.”
Truth be told, he didn’t want to give up. He wanted to protect Emma and see the investigation through to the end.
“I’ll think about it, Em. There’s a lot of things at stake. Right now though, I’ve got to meet with a buddy in IT about a couple of things and then I’ll bring you enough food to feed the local high school football team.”
“Gee, I’m not that hungry. Eh, forget it. Yes, I am. Bring it on, buddy.”
The stress from the email finally melted away. “You got it, woman. See you in a couple of hours.”
They ended the call, and Adam printed a copy of the email to bring with him. He also printed a copy of the one Emma had sent to him. Maybe his buddy John could figure out more than he had from the email addresses.
Since the police station sat next door to the operations building, the contractors had had the foresight to build a tunnel between the two buildings. On the other side of operations sat the main fire station, also connected by tunnel access. Adam took the stairs to the basement and headed to the passageway. He patted the pocket of his shirt where the small memory card sat. For the first time since Emma had walked into the precinct, he felt hopeful that they might break this case wide open. Obviously, the sender of the email didn’t know what he’d found, so maybe, if there was something good stored on it, he could close the case quickly and protect Emma at the same time.
Thirteen
“Hey, John.” Adam knocked on the office door of John Burns.
John looked up from the computer he was working on. “Adam! How nice to see you.” The older gentleman stood and offered Adam his hand. Adam accepted the handshak
e.
“I got something I need you to look at. I don’t have the little doohickey you need to plug it into my computer.” He pulled out the memory card and handed it to John. “And you know how old the department computers are.”
“Dinosaurs.” The other man nodded as he looked at the card in his palm. “No worries. I got you covered, brother.”
He popped it into a slot on his laptop. “This will just take a second to open up. Gotta load the driver first.” John clicked an icon then tapped a tune on his desk with his fingers while they waited for it to load. He raised an eyebrow at Adam. “I heard Emma’s back in town.”
“Yeah.”
John raised both eyebrows this time. “I also heard someone’s trying to take her out.”
Blood rushed through his veins, pounding in his ears. “The whole damn department knows already? Carter and his big mouth.”
“What does Carter have to do with this?” With a confused look, John held up his hands in surrender. “Hey, man. I didn’t know you asked your boss for permission to date a chick, but if that’s what you do, no judgement here. We all knew it would happen eventually.”
Adam’s burst of anger receded quickly. John meant take Emma out on a date! “Sorry, man. I’m just a private kinda guy, you know? People talking about my personal life gets under my skin.”
John shrugged. “Whatever, man. Sorry to get you all worked up. Here’s your file.” He moved the mouse cursor over a yellow file icon and clicked.
A list of dated files appeared. “Where did you get this? A camera?”
Adam nodded. “Yes. A security camera.” Probably more like a spy camera but it didn’t matter.
“I’m guessing it was motion activated.” He pointed to the computer screen. “See how they are all date and time stamped?”
Adam followed the list down to the date and time that Emma would have witnessed the murder. He pointed to the right one. “Can you click on that one, please?”
John moved the cursor to the indicated file and clicked. A few seconds later, a video loaded. In it were two men, one tied to a chair and the other holding a gun to his head. The way the shooter stood, he looked straight at the camera as though he didn’t know it was there.
A perfect face shot. “Can you freeze it there and print me a picture of that man? He’s my suspect.”
“Sure thing.” John clicked a few things, and in a minute the color printer beside them booted up and spat out a photo of the killer.
Adam picked it up. He definitely looked like the guy at the supermarket. “Who are you, you slimy-looking dude?”
John peered at the photo and faked a shiver. “Definitely not someone I’d like to meet in a dark alley.”
“Anyway we could download those files to a jump drive? I won’t necessarily have secure internet access the next time I open them. “
“Sure thing.” John pulled a jump drive out of another drawer, plugged it in, clicked a few things, and popped it out. He handed it to Adam. “Anything else I can help with? I like living vicariously through you, my crime-fighting friend.”
Adam laughed. “Actually, there is one more thing. Is there any way to know who sent these emails?” He handed the printouts he’d made to John.
“Not from these pieces of paper. But if you wanted to forward me the original emails, there’s some investigating I can do from there.”
“Okay. Hold on, I’ll do it right now.” Adam pulled out his cell phone and signed into his work email. “There. Sent.”
A little chime sounded on John’s computer. “Got it. I’ll look at it as soon as I finish this thing I’m working on for the chief.”
“Thanks for all your help. I really appreciate it.” They bumped fists, and Adam headed back to his office. He wanted to grab his laptop to take to the cabin. He could watch the videos there. Leaving Emma for too long had started to worry him. And, if he were being completely honest, he missed her.
Emma walked into the kitchen area and pulled open the refrigerator. Bottles of water lined the top shelf. Soda and beer filled the next one. The bottom shelf held some packages of steak, chicken, and ground beef. She could see that the vegetable and fruit drawers were also full. She would have to ask Adam how it all got there. Keeping fresh food in a fishing cabin seemed odd. But then, the whole place was kind of odd with its modern décor.
Pulling out a bottle of water, she closed the door and started opening cabinets. Dishes, glasses, and serving pieces filled one. Another held rows of canned goods. Emma reached up and pulled one out. Canned beef stew. The last time she’d eaten that, she’d been in college.
Footsteps sounded on the front porch. Emma froze. There was no way Adam had made it back that quickly. Maybe he had sent one of his brothers like he’d mentioned. Quietly setting the can and bottle of water down on the counter, she looked around for something to defend herself with. The footsteps moved closer. Emma spotted a broom hanging on a hook in the corner of the room. Grabbing it, she held it in front of her like a baseball bat. The doorknob jiggled, followed by the sound of a key in the lock.
Okay, maybe it was Adam.
Just in case, Emma walked quietly across the space and stood behind the door. As she readied the broom, the door pushed open. The intruder whistled a tune, low and quiet. Emma raised the broom.
He closed the door, and Emma made her move.
“Freeze!”
The man dropped the cooler and the bag he carried and spun around, hands out at his side. “What? Who?” He wore a navy-blue Boston Red Sox hat, matching T-shirt, and a look of shock. A long gray ponytail ran over his shoulder, and familiar blue eyes peered back at her. Familiar, but not.
“Who are you?”
“I should ask you the same thing.” He looked her up and down, a smile twitching the corner of his lips when he noticed her broom. “What are you doing in my cabin?”
“Your cabin?” Now she knew why his eyes were familiar. “Are you Adam’s uncle?”
“Walt Marshall. Now that you know who I am, who are you?”
Emma leaned the broom against the counter. “I’m Emma Thomas. A friend of Adam’s.”
“Emma Thomas, Adam’s little friend from grade school? Now you’re the big-time newspaper reporter.”
She nodded. “You know my work?
“Of course! Why is an investigative reporter snooping around my fishing cabin?”
“I’m not snooping. I’m hiding.” She knew that sounded weird as soon as the words left her mouth. “What I mean is, I’m in hiding. A story I’m working on got tied up with a case Adam is working, and I made some people mad. Adam brought me here this morning. He should be back soon.”
Walt grinned. “So, you’re in like witness protection?”
“No. Kinda. Not really.” Emma laughed. “It’s not official or anything, but I am hiding out for protection. Just until we can figure out who wants me dead.”
Walt pressed a hand to his heart. “Oh my! You got a hit man after you? This is better than the TV.”
Emma laughed. “So glad to entertain you.”
“So, my nephew brought you out here to hide you away while he goes after the bad guy?” Walt looked proud.
“I went to Adam when I needed help and ended up here in this very beautiful cabin. I was quite surprised by the inside, by the way. The exterior is deceiving.”
Walt shrugged. “I figured if it looked run-down and old, no one would try to steal my television.”
“Good plan, Mr. Marshall.” Of course, she didn’t mention that the other old, run-down cabin she’d encountered that week served as an outpost in an organized crime transport route. It also hosted murders, apparently.
Emma’s phone chimed with a text in her pocket. She pulled it out.
Adam: I’m on my way.
She debated telling him that his uncle had shown up unexpectedly and decided to wait. Her stomach let out a loud rumble, m
aking Walt chuckle. It felt like forever since they’d had lunch.
“You know, there’s plenty of food in this here cabin. My nephew isn’t trying to starve you, is he? You already could stand to eat a couple cheeseburgers.”
Her own uncle had said the same thing earlier that day. She wanted to be offended by his comment, but the smile on his face told her he wasn’t being nasty. “I actually had a huge burger for lunch at my uncle’s diner, and Adam is bringing me dinner from the Italian place in town. I had a craving for carbs. All this running for my life has struck up quite an appetite.”
“I like you.” Walt winked. “I bet my nephew does too. He needs a feisty one to keep him in line. The good Lord knows you can sure work a broom handle.”
Her face warmed as every ounce of blood in her body seemed to go straight to her cheeks. “Yeah, sorry about that. I thought you might be the guy trying to kill me.”
Walt nodded toward the broom and grinned. “No one ever told you not to bring a broomstick to a gun fight?”
Emma laughed, dropping her hands on her hips. “Hey, a girl’s gotta improvise, you know?”
He leaned over and picked up the cooler he’d dropped earlier. “I’m just gonna drop these cold cuts and salads in the fridge and I’ll be on my way. You and that nephew of mine feel free to eat whatever tickles your fancy.”
“Adam just sent me a text that he is on his way. Why don’t you wait and have dinner with us?” Emma grabbed some wrapped deli packages from the cooler he set on the counter and handed them to Walter, who stashed them in the refrigerator.
“You all don’t need some nosy old man hanging round on your dinner date.”
Emma laughed. “I’d hardly call it a dinner date.”
“Adam’s kinda a grab-and-go bachelor. He keeps frozen burritos and microwave meals in his kitchen and not much else. The very fact that he is going to sit down and eat off a plate like a civilized human will have his Aunt Stella tickled pink. And she’ll whack me with her broom if I horn in on this meal of yours.”
Murder on the Mountain: A Marshall Brothers Novel Page 12
