Cold Case Manhunt

by Jenna Night

  Nothing appeared amiss at the outbuildings. The electric gate at the highway was securely closed and didn’t appear to have been tampered with. All things he would be checking again soon. Because while life experience had taught him a long time ago that no single day could be taken for granted, last night’s attack had vividly reminded him of that lesson.

  He hadn’t eaten breakfast because he hadn’t had an appetite. His stomach was in knots and, rather than pick at a plate of scrambled eggs and sausage at the dining table while attempting to be sociable, he’d really wanted to get to work in the office. Where he could research the various people they’d contacted yesterday.

  Tracking down details about people with the barest scrap of information to start with was often the focus of his day’s work. He had the address of Seth’s nosy neighbor. He had the address of the determined-not-to-help neighbor across the street. He had the name of Seth’s employer, as well as the guy at the dock, Buzz. He’d gotten the name of the salesman from Cassie. He’d start searching public records to see what he could put together.

  After the ambush on the mountain pass, Leon was even more determined to somehow tie the whole series of attacks together. Even if he didn’t yet know what precise bits of information he was looking for. It was like putting together a puzzle without knowing ahead of time what the picture was going to look like.

  Leon needed to organize a timeline of who Cassie had made contact with since Phil had told her about Seth and she’d started asking questions as she’d tried to identify him. And he needed to figure out exactly who had known the bounty hunters would be traveling through the mountain pass at the time of night that they had. Was it someone they’d talked to or who had seen them while they were in Saddleback? Was it someone who had followed them from Stone River?

  Had an accomplice called the shooter to let him know when they’d be heading toward the pass? Could someone have placed an electronic tracker on Leon’s truck?

  Points of information, names and faces and dates swirled around in his mind. It seemed like the disorganized puzzle pieces were too much to put together, particularly since they would go back to an unsolved murder from five years ago. But he would keep at it.

  In the midst of sorting through the information he had, Leon closed his eyes and bowed his head in prayer, asking for strength and guidance and protection for Cassie and the entire Rock Solid Bail Bonds family. He’d just breathed a quiet “Amen” when he heard the soft sound of someone clearing their throat and opened his eyes to see Cassie standing in the doorway.

  “Hey,” she said softly. “I didn’t mean to interrupt you. But I didn’t want you to be startled when you opened your eyes and saw me standing here.” She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the door frame. “With everything that’s been happening, I think we’re all on edge right now. Myself included.”

  She smiled self-consciously and Leon’s heart softened. He thought of the kiss she’d given him last night. And then immediately tried not to, as his face warmed.

  She was dressed in jeans and a light blue T-shirt. Her reddish hair was damp, and he could see the lines from where she’d just combed it. A familiar scent drifted from her direction. Lemongrass and ginger. He was fairly certain it came from her shampoo. And, like her, it was at once familiar and exotic.

  Leon had spent so much time working with Cassie that he could usually anticipate her moves when they were about to capture a fugitive, and he could pretty accurately gauge her reaction to most situations. He spent a fair amount of time at the North Star Ranch even when he wasn’t living here trying to protect her. He was friends with her dad.

  And yet there were some of her thoughts that he had no clue about. He might not ever know. They probably weren’t any of his business, anyway. But he did wonder what she planned for her future, since she’d mentioned it on their drive to the office on Saturday. What would make her happy? What did she envision? He wanted to know so that he could ready himself for the time when she met a man, fell in love again, and moved on with her life. Something he knew was inevitable. And he would celebrate with her when that happened, because he wanted her to be happy.

  He found himself wondering how she saw him. Leon. Did she consider him as anything more than a solid friend and a familiar coworker, or was he simply one of her trusted bounty hunters? Did she see him as he was now? Or did she see him tarnished by his past?

  He realized he’d let his gaze linger on her a little too long and quickly looked away.

  Cassie cleared her throat. “I wanted to get in here, open up my laptop and do some research on the people we talked to yesterday.”

  She hadn’t moved from her position in the doorway, and it now registered with Leon that she had held that lingering, wordless gaze between the two of them for as long as he had before he’d looked away. What did that mean? If anything. Once again, she was familiar and unfathomable at the same time.

  He really needed for this whole sprawling case to get wrapped up quickly so he could go back to staying in his own home every night. He was spending too much time around Cassie, and he was beginning to feel emotionally tangled up with her in a way that would never work out as he might hope.

  “Great minds think alike,” he said. Not an especially original quip, but it gave him an excuse to turn his eyes to his computer, roll his chair back slightly and gesture at the screen. “I’ve been putting together a spreadsheet of everyone we’ve made contact with.”

  She moved to him to have a look at his work.

  “How are you feeling this morning?” he asked. “If I were you, I’d take today off and rest.”

  “Try that line with someone else,” she said dryly. “I know you better than that.”

  She stood to his side, looking at the screen as he scrolled through to give her a quick look at what he’d done. “I haven’t had time to dive into all the deep research yet,” he said.

  “While we’re out in the field, we can get my dad started looking into some of this. He’d enjoy doing it. Email him what you have and copy me in.”

  Leon moved his empty mug to better reach the mouse.

  “Is there coffee?” Cassie asked. “I could use some.”

  “You should eat something,” Leon muttered as he clicked a few times and sent the email. “You can’t live on coffee.”

  “What did you eat?” Cassie asked.

  Leon ignored her question.

  “I thought so,” she said, accusation in her voice. And then she grabbed his upper arm and tugged on him. “Come on, let’s get some breakfast.”

  Leon got to his feet, not quite sure what to make of the situation. Cassie and he didn’t touch each other very much. Not unless it was absolutely necessary. In fact, he was usually hyperaware of not touching her. Probably because he was afraid it would betray the feelings he kept tucked away, the ones he hadn’t been able to sort out. And, for whatever reason, Cassie seemed to follow the same guidelines.

  That kiss on the cheek last night was just an impulse on her part, likely motivated by her relief at having survived another attack. It was just a kiss on the cheek, after all.

  And yet the tug on his arm was something new. Something different. He shook his head slightly and told himself it didn’t mean anything as they walked down the hall and into the kitchen where a small TV was tuned to a local early news show.

  “Good morning,” Sherry called over to them. “I just put on a fresh pot of coffee.” To Cassie, she said, “Your dad and Jay ate a while ago. Right now they’re out exercising the horses. You two sit down at the table. I’ll grab you a couple of mugs and then get started on some breakfast quesadillas for you.”

  Leon and Cassie sat, and almost immediately Sherry plunked mugs of steaming coffee in front of them. She then fetched half-and-half from the fridge and a sugar dish and spoon from the cabinet. Leon watched as Cassie loaded up her coffee with sugar. Some
thing she oftentimes did when she was feeling especially tired.

  “The murder of Jake Wheeler cannot continue to go unsolved.”

  Cassie and Leon both snapped their attention to the TV screen where the bland drone of the local morning news had suddenly turned into something much more interesting.

  “This will not happen,” Mayor Al Downing continued. “Not on my watch.” He was standing outside city hall, flanked by members of the city council. Three uniformed Idaho state patrol officers stood nearby.

  “Oh, the news has been talking about what happened to you driving home from Montana last night,” Sherry said, turning from her quesadilla preparations. “You probably want peace and quiet right now. I have the remote right here. I’ll turn it off.”

  “No, wait,” Cassie said, holding up her hand. “I want to see it. Would you turn up the volume, please?”

  The mayor’s statement broadcast live this morning didn’t go on much longer. He expressed concern for Cassie’s safety, made clear his commitment to make all city resources available to investigators, asked for witnesses to come forth, and announced a boost to the cash reward available for the last five years to anyone who could offer information that would lead to a capture and conviction of Jake’s killer.

  “Do you see anyone in the background, either walking along the sidewalk or standing and listening, who looks familiar?” Leon asked as the mayor’s formal announcement ended and the TV camera pulled back to show a wider scene, which included people headed toward the various public and private downtown offices. It was a truism that criminals were often seen tagging along with investigators as well as showing up at crime scenes. Maybe someone they’d talked to recently would be in the camera shot and unintentionally give them a lead.

  “No one looks familiar,” Cassie said after taking a sip of coffee, her eyes glued on the TV screen. “But I’m sure this segment will be on the station’s website later today. I’ll take another look at it.”

  “Your phone has got to be blowing up with calls and texts by now,” Sherry said to Cassie, setting a plate with a quesadilla, salsa and sour cream on the side, in front of each of them. She then grabbed eating utensils and handed a set to each, as well. “If I were you, I’d leave it off all day. You need a break.”

  “You’re right,” Cassie said. “People have probably been trying to contact me. I’ll go get my phone.” She slid out of her chair. “I left it charging in the office last night.” She headed down the hallway.

  Leon glanced at Sherry, who exhaled loudly and then dropped her chin to her chest for a few seconds before lifting it. “Cassie running for her phone was not what I’d intended.” She looked at Leon and shook her head. “I should have known better.”

  “We’ve all been there,” he said. “You think you’re going to manipulate her. But you’re not.”

  Cassie returned with her phone, which had started to power up and was sounding tones and chirps like crazy. She silenced it and set it aside before joining hands with Leon and Sherry to pray a blessing over their meal. After that, Cassie and Leon dug in.

  Adam Wheeler had a standing directive about checking phones while eating at the dining room table. The gist of it was that sometimes it was necessary to stay on top of incoming calls and messages for various reasons. But most of the time the demands for attention could wait long enough for a person to set the phone aside and either have a meal in peace or enjoy that meal while interacting face-to-face with whoever else was at the table.

  Leon didn’t know how hungry he was until he took his first bite of the delicious cheese-and-sausage quesadilla, and then he realized he was ravenous.

  Cassie was intently focused on her breakfast, too.

  When they finished, Sherry cleared the table and Cassie reached for her phone.

  “Any calls or messages from the people we talked to in Montana yesterday?” Leon asked.

  “I don’t see any. There isn’t anything from an unidentified number.” Cassie scrolled through her phone and then paused. “It looks like Sergeant Bergman called me early this morning.”

  She set her phone on speaker, tapped the screen and listened to a short message from the detective asking her to call him back.

  She disconnected and tapped the phone icon.

  After a few rings, Bergman answered. “I understand you and your fellow bounty hunters had an exciting time heading through the pass on the way home last night,” he said, forgoing any greeting.

  “Yeah,” Cassie said heavily. “I’m getting tired of excitement.”

  Leon watched her closely, concerned this was all becoming too much for her.

  “You guys okay?” Bergman asked.

  Cassie glanced at Leon. “We could all use a vacation,” she said. Her lips lifted in a half smile. “Hawaii, maybe?” She raised her eyebrows at Leon as if asking if he thought that was a good idea.

  Leon nodded in return. He’d love to go to Hawaii. Never been. Never traveled beyond the six states that bordered Idaho.

  “I could use a trip to Hawaii, myself,” Bergman said before exhaling audibly. “So what can you tell me about your trip yesterday? Did you get any leads on Seth?”

  Cassie summarized the interactions they’d had. “Maybe we angered someone in Saddleback,” she said at the end. “Maybe that’s why they shot at us.”

  “Maybe,” Bergman said. “The mayor is once again boosting the profile of your story, especially the angle of finding Jake’s killer, and he’s increased the reward money. That might get us some helpful information. But it also means we’ll have to spend resources on checking out tips that are dead ends.”

  “I’m focusing my attention on finding Seth right now,” Cassie said. “I know the police are trying to track him down, too. Among all the other things you’re doing. I told you the specifics about my attempts to find him in Montana yesterday. And you know I struck out. What recent information do you have about Seth that you can share with me?”

  “Nothing,” Bergman said, a hint of frustration in his voice. “I want to talk to him, too. Nobody can find him. He’s not using his credit cards. We know his car is still in his garage. Right now, we’ve got no trail to follow.”

  “Would you tell me if you did have something?” Cassie asked.

  “If I had some information that I couldn’t share, I’d tell you ‘no comment.’ I wouldn’t lie to you. Right now, I’m not certain Seth is still alive. Maybe the same people who’ve been coming after you have already gotten to him.”

  Cassie looked at Leon and her eyes widened.

  “I’ve got to go,” Bergman said. “Keep in touch.”

  Cassie set her phone on the table after ending the call, tilted her head downward and rubbed her temples. When she looked up, Leon could see that her eyes were red and glistening with unshed tears. “What if what he suggested is true? What if Seth is dead? He was my only hope of finding out who killed Jake.”

  Leon decided to ignore his initial hesitation. He bent closer to Cassie, who was still seated beside him, and wrapped his arm across her shoulders.

  To his surprise, she actually leaned into him.

  He tilted his head slightly and rested his cheek against the top of her head, closing his eyes for a moment just to savor the feeling of holding her.

  “We aren’t giving up,” he said.

  “Of course not.”

  She sounded indignant, even though Leon could tell she was crying.

  He held her a little more tightly and then brushed his lips lightly across the top of her head. He didn’t think about it. It just happened.

  Cassie’s body suddenly stilled and Leon loosened his hold, anticipating that she would pull away.

  Instead, she sighed and continued to rest against him. So he kept his arm where it was, wrapped around her shoulders, and redirected his thoughts toward figuring out who was trying to kill her. Determine
d to stop them before they tried again.

  * * *

  “I know this is all just stuff,” Cassie said the following day, shortly before noon, as she used her foot to shove aside a small pile of scorched debris at the downtown Rock Solid Bail Bonds office. “I realize that I should focus on being grateful that no person was harmed. And I am grateful. Very much so. But still, I’ve spent a lot of time here over the years. And seeing old framed photos and handmade bookcases and even some of the old paper files destroyed feels like I’ve had part of my past stolen from me.”

  Cassie looked over at Ramona Orlansky, who was cinching a trash bag full of debris and burned items that were beyond saving.

  Ramona glanced at her and offered a sympathetic smile. “I know how you feel. I grew up hanging around my family’s diner after school and on weekends. I saw the long hours my parents invested in earning a living. I remember the times when business was slow and my mom and dad had to take out a loan against our house so they could meet payroll.” She let go of the bag and brushed her hands on her jeans. “Rock Solid Bail Bonds is the way you earn your living, but it’s not just about the money. It’s more than that.” She nodded. “Believe me, I understand.”

  Cassie exhaled and felt the sharp pain of loss ease just a little. There truly was something about having a friend who understood what you were going through—even if that friend couldn’t change anything—that made a burden feel lighter.

  She glanced at Leon, who was disassembling an oversize desk with a side table to make it easier to get it out the door and into the moving truck. At least some of the furniture had survived. The desk, plus a few other salvageable items, would be put into a storage space the insurance company would pay for until the renovations to the office were completed.

  A construction crew was scheduled to show up the next day to gut the place and then get started on the repairs.

  The pressure was on Cassie to have everything out of the office that she or her dad wanted to keep. Adam’s arthritis had been bothering him, so she’d convinced him to stay home and follow up on the research Leon had started rather than help out here. Harry was busy making in-person visits to check in with high-flight-risk bail bond clients. Daisy and Martin had volunteered to head over to Jameson to fetch Leon’s truck now that the windshield had been replaced.