Cold Pursuit

by Susan Sleeman

  Whitney watched Sam dig through equipment bags. “Do you always travel with this much equipment?”

  Sam gave a resounding nod. “Plus, in this case, we were hoping to recover evidence of our target’s illegal activities so we needed additional equipment.”

  “And this situation with Percy has derailed you.”

  “Actually, I think the storm more than anything has hindered us because our target’s people can’t get through.”

  “Eryn, good,” Alex said, sitting down. “I’m going to put you on speaker with Sam and Whitney.” He changed the setting then set it on table between them and explained about the 3-D gun. “Sam will take detailed pictures and email them. Can you use those to identify a potential source from the Internet?”

  “I can try uploading the pictures and do an image search. Though I don’t think the chances of it returning anything are very good.”

  Alex furrowed his forehead. “Why not?”

  “If the killer printed the gun himself, I supposed he could’ve shared pictures on the web somewhere, but if he bought it from an illegal gun dealer he isn’t likely going to advertise anywhere other than the dark web.”

  “Dark web?” Whitney asked.

  “It’s a deep layer of the Internet where criminals buy and sell illegal goods. The average person never goes this deep as it requires a special browser and special hacking skills. But if someone is printing and selling these guns on any scale at all, that’s where I’ll find them.”

  “Are you going to search there?” Whitney asked.

  “No,” Eryn said. “The dark web doesn’t work the same way as the Internet you know. I’d be happy to explain it in more detail if—”

  Alex groaned. “No please. Not that.” He looked at Whitney. “You don’t want that, trust me. You’ll still be standing right here tomorrow.”

  Eryn laughed. “Fine. Just know that I will look there, but it’s not easy, okay?”

  “Okay,” Whitney said, liking the way Alex had been able to get to a joking mode so quickly from the earlier tension. It honestly felt good to have a few moments of light banter, especially when talking about dark webs or whatever Eryn called it.

  “What do you know about 3-D printers, Eryn?” Sam asked.

  “You mean besides that I’ve been bugging Gage to buy one?” She laughed.

  Alex rolled his eyes. “Yeah, besides that.”

  “Basically, there are many models and prices. Like anything else in life, the lower-cost models don’t provide you with a stellar product. To print a gun yourself, you’d have to buy an expensive printer.”

  “Like how expensive?” Alex asked.

  “I’d say eight—maybe ten thousand dollars. And that would likely be buying it used, not new. Though, I do have to admit that I haven’t looked at prices lately. Once I mentioned the cost to Gage, he shut me down.”

  “So if Percy printed this gun, he would probably have to do it at a company with a top-of-the-line 3-D printer?”

  “Hold that thought for a second. I need to mention it’s looking like Percy isn’t at the resort.”

  “What?” the word shot from Whitney’s mouth. “Why do you think that?”

  “Piper and I believe we have an actual sighting of him. He was caught on camera at a convenience store yesterday.”

  “You believe?” Alex asked before Whitney could ask the same question.

  “The image isn’t clear enough for facial recognition.”

  “Can it be enhanced?” Whitney asked, her heart thumping over the strong possibility that Percy might not be at the resort.

  “No. I’ve given it to my contact at the Marshal Service, and he’s talked to the store owner who recognized Percy’s picture. But the owner can’t be sure that Percy really was the man in the store or if he’d seen Percy’s picture on the news so many times that he looks familiar.”

  “Essentially you don’t have definitive proof, then.” Sam sounded as disappointed as Whitney felt.

  “Exactly. But my guy at the Marshals continues to work the lead, and my gut says it’s going to pan out.”

  “Going to pan out?” Alex stared down on the gun. “For now we still have to assume Percy could be here, and this could be his gun.”

  “Really?” Whitney asked, deflating. “Just like that you ignore this possible sighting?”

  Alex leaned forward. “I’m not ignoring it, I’m putting your safety first.”

  She couldn’t argue with that.

  “So back to the printing, then,” Eryn said. “It takes time to do 3-D printing. Especially the many pieces of a gun. Means he would need access to this printer for some time to complete all the pieces.”

  “Doesn’t seem likely for a man on the run,” Whitney said.

  “Agreed,” Alex replied. “Eryn, can you run the gun info by Riley? Maybe he has some insight that we’re missing.”

  “Glad to,” Eryn said. “And if he has anything to report, I’ll have him call you.

  “Thanks, Eryn. Keep me updated, okay?”

  “Yeah, I’ll get to work on the gun and have Piper get those CCTV files.”

  Alex disconnected the call and picked up the gun to stare at it.

  Something about his look worried Whitney. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

  He shook his head. “It’s just so bizarre, as you said. This isn’t simply a case of murder, but using a gun like this means it’s likely premeditated. The killer didn’t go out and buy a gun, he made it or had it made for him. Percy wouldn’t have had time to think about that or prepare in that way.”

  “Maybe he met someone in jail who gave him a source for this gun so when he escaped he knew where to go,” Sam suggested.

  “But why go to all this effort?” Alex asked.

  Whitney shrugged. “I don’t know. What do you think?”

  “Perhaps because it’s untraceable. Maybe to make a statement of some sort. Or he simply had access to a 3-D printer at his former company, and that was the easiest way for him to get a gun.”

  “I can ask…” My sister. She wanted to ask Vanessa, but she would never be able to do that again. Never be able to reminisce about old memories. Their childhood. Anything at all. Hot tears threatened again and she had to swallow them down before she could speak. “My sister might have known about the printer, but I have no idea. We could call my parents. They might know.”

  “Not on your phone and not from here. If Percy isn’t here, he might be able to use it to track you. I’ll have Gage call them.” Alex widened his stance as if he thought she might argue.

  She got that she’d upset things between them with her overreaction on withholding the gun information, and he likely thought she wouldn’t listen to him, but she wouldn’t risk the kids’ safety like that. “Mom and Dad aren’t going to trust him. Not when they don’t know him.”

  “Then we’ll have to figure out something we can tell them so that they know we’re really working with you.” He held out the gun again. “Because we need to do everything we can to figure out where this gun might have been printed.”

  “I agree.”

  The bedroom door opened, and Isaiah stepped out. “Aunt Whitney, I…”

  Alex shoved the gun in his jacket pocket and smiled at Isaiah. “Hey, bud. Come on out.”

  Oh, man. What a guy. He was this big, tough guy intensely focused on his job, and yet, he was sensitive enough to think of how Isaiah would react if he saw that gun. She couldn’t reconcile Alex’s thoughtful side to the way Percy behaved.

  In just a few days, she’d witnessed Alex’s consideration many times when in all the years she’d known Percy she’d never seen this special kind of caring for his own children. He was of the old-school belief that children were to be seen, not heard. Vanessa didn’t like it and had always said his behavior was a result of his upbringing, but in hindsight, Whitney could see he was simply a cold, hard person.

  Alex was nothing like that. Not at all. She was just trying to give herself a reason not to
fall for a guy who was working his way into her heart faster than she thought humanly possible. And at the moment, with her defenses down, she wasn’t opposed to that idea at all.

  19

  Alex took the evidence bag from his pocket and set it on the dresser in Sam’s bedroom.

  Carrying her camera equipment, she followed him into the room and closed the door. “Good job out there with not letting Isaiah see the gun. I have to say, I’ve never had to take a child into account while processing evidence before.”

  “Makes things a bit trickier, doesn’t it?” Alex thought about how upset Isaiah would have been if he’d been exposed to a gun. How life in general would be harder with children who complicated things. But then Isaiah’s brief smile when Alex had broken through would be worth a million inconveniences if he could help the boy smile again.

  Sam unfolded a small tripod. “I can get these to Eryn if you want to go back to them.”

  “Actually, I wanted to talk to you about our next step.”

  She mounted the digital camera on the tripod. “I can tell you have an idea.”

  He nodded. “I feel certain Whitney was the target of that fire. To smoke her out.”

  “I agree.”

  “That says Percy is our shooter, but as we discussed, it makes no sense that a guy on the run is going to take the time to stop and print a gun.”

  “Agree with that, too.”

  “Which means he probably bought it. Logic would say it was a local purchase as he sure doesn’t have the time to wait on mail order.”

  She positioned the camera over a white mat. “Makes sense, I guess, but overnight shipping would take care of that.”

  “Still, he’d need a shipping address. Would he want to take the time to set it up, and then could he even be sure he’d be at the delivery location?”

  “Yeah, both are problematic.” She looked up for a moment. “A local buy is more likely.”

  “I know there are Portland companies that contract to do 3-D printing of various items, but no reputable company will print gun parts.”

  “Okay, then.” She tilted her head and stilled her hands. “We’re looking for someone who owns an expensive 3-D printer and has questionable ethics.”

  “Percy ran in pretty high economic circles. Could simply be a friend of his.” Alex was already forming a to-do list in his head. “I’ll ask Whitney about that, and we can also look for online contacts in connection to Percy who might have access to a printer.”

  “We should check out LinkedIn. A lot of professionals network there, and he might have, too. Until his address became a prison cell.”

  “I’ll check it out,” he said, adding it to his mental list. “I know I said I believe this is all about Whitney, but I could be wrong about her being the target last night.”

  Sam looked up and met his gaze. “Then what was the point of the fire and who set it?”

  “Not sure, but we have to consider everything, right?”

  She nodded as she snapped on gloves and took the gun from the bag.

  “We should listen to the interviews and review our notes again to see if any of the people we talked to might have access to a 3-D printer. We could check out their employers. Hobbies. Then anyone who has a hint of a lead, we go back to them for a follow-up.”

  “Which do you want to start on first? Percy or the others?”

  “What if we split this up? I take Percy and you take the interviews?”

  “Sounds like a plan once I’ve gotten these photos taken and off to Eryn.” Sam laid the gun on the white mat and set a ruler next to it for scale. “And I have to check on John Doe’s phone.”

  In the excitement of finding the gun, Alex had totally forgotten about the phone. “You sure you don’t want to do the phone first? It could’ve been a while since John Doe looked at it, and we’re off on our timing.”

  She glanced at her watch. “We’re good. I figured if the phone was in his hand, then he’d recently unlocked it. Besides, not many people let hours pass without checking their phones these days so I also left a few hours’ buffer just in case.”

  “Good job, Sam.” He smiled sincerely. “Like I said, you’re the best.”

  “And don’t you forget it. Oh, and maybe tell Gage, too.” A mischievous gleam brightened her eyes and she laughed.

  He rolled his eyes. “Let me know when you’re ready to turn it on. I don’t want to miss it.”

  “What about McCray?” she asked. “Any way you see him fitting in with this?”

  “Not with the attack last night,” Alex quickly answered but then gave it some thought. “I suppose I could be wrong about Whitney being the target. After our contentious interview with him, he could’ve started it just to mess with us.”

  “Oh, yeah. I could totally see him doing that, but shooting you? That’s a little extreme, don’t you think?”

  “Maybe.” Alex ran a hand over his hair and wanted to pull it out in frustration. “I guess what it all boils down to is I don’t want Whitney to be the target.”

  Sam watched him. “You really do have a thing for her.”

  Alex thought to deny it, but why? “It’s not going anywhere. So if you’re worried it’ll be a problem, you don’t need to.”

  “Here’s the thing, Alex.” She set down a marker next to the gun and put her hands flat on the dresser. “I have to count on you to have my back here. I can’t afford for you to be distracted. Not even the least bit. Are you sure you’re up for this? Because if you aren’t, tell me now so I know to be prepared.”

  He hated to be questioned about his ability to do his job almost as badly as he hated Whitney drawing a comparison between him and Percy when no similarity existed. Maybe Sam had a right to voice her concern because her life could depend on him having her back, but Whitney had been way off base. Either way, he had to take a step back from Whitney and think like a Blackwell operator on a serious mission.

  He clenched his jaw, stepped forward, and held Sam’s gaze. “You can count on me.”

  She gave a firm nod. “Your word is good enough for me. I’ll finish up here and get to the phone.”

  “I’ll be out in the living area.” He found the room empty and heard Whitney talking to the kids in the bedroom, the TV playing in the background.

  He took a seat at the small dining table to begin his research. He knew a lot about weapons from his military days, but he knew little to nothing about 3-D guns. Eryn and Riley were charged with officially gathering information, but he needed to do his own research, too. It would help him figure out where Percy might have gotten his hands on this style of weapon.

  Alex used his phone to access the Internet and started reading about 3-D printers first. He wanted to confirm Eryn’s comment about the quality of machine that might be needed to create a gun. As she’d said, it required a pricey printer or the weapon became deformed in firing. But so what? If the barrel got deformed, the gun had removable barrels that could be swapped out in seconds. He found the gun blueprint and the gun consisted of fifteen printed parts, most of which were small and would print fairly rapidly. But four main body parts would take hours as Eryn mentioned. The barrel alone took four hours to crank out.

  Sam came into the room and dropped into a chair across from him and took out her phone. “Photos done. Gonna email Eryn now.”

  He shook his head. “This is crazy. The guy who developed the blueprints now plans to adapt his method to work on cheaper printers.”

  She tapped her thumbs on the screen. “So more people will have access to DYI guns.”

  “Exactly. And forget about metal detectors to find them at airports or like you did. The only non-printed piece in this plan is a common hardware store nail. It’s non-functional steel inserted into the body to comply with the Undetectable Firearms Act.”

  “Like our gun has.” She stopped texting and looked up. “If it’s non-functional, they could just leave the nail out then.”

  “Exactly. The gun designer said that
he didn’t have to add the pin, and that others who printed their own weren’t required by law to do so. He hoped they would.”

  Sam snorted. “Right, like the kind of person who needs to print their own gun will even consider it.”

  “My thoughts, too.”

  “But our gun has one, so that’s a bit odd, right?”

  “Maybe the person who made it is more legit than we thought. He wants to comply with laws, but he still can’t legally sell firearms.”

  “Or it’s a legit dealer.”

  “That would be an interesting dynamic.” Alex didn’t even want to open that can of worms as it could take them down rabbit trails and waste their time. “Just thinking about this gives me the creeps. Imagine a world with an unlimited supply of non-detectable guns. The black-market value of such an endeavor would be through the roof. The printer cost puts it out of reach now, but if the blueprint guy updates the plans for cheaper printers or even an open source printer where someone can design and build their own, then the floodgates really are open for creating an undetectable gun.”

  “I can’t even wrap my head around it.” Sam shoved her phone into her pocket and got up. “I’m glad to have the phone to work on to keep my mind busy.”

  “And I have to search for Percy’s contacts.” Alex turned back to his computer and opened LinkedIn.

  Sam crossed over to the TV cabinet where the phone had been placed in a drawer for safekeeping and got to work.

  “Let me go ask,” he heard Whitney say before she entered the room, and her gaze went from him to Sam and back again.

  After her reaction to McCray’s gun, he didn’t know what to say to her.

  She approached Alex. “The kids were wondering if you wanted to have lunch with them.”

  Okay, not the question he expected. “I really should keep working.”

  She came to sit next to him. “Is this about my overreaction earlier?”

  Another slap in the face. “You think I’d be childish enough not to have lunch with them because of that?”

  Her eyes widened. “No, wait. I’m making things worse, aren’t I?”

  “You’re sure not making it better.”