Threat Detection, page 12
“There are two bedrooms each with two beds, and of course the couch folds out.”
Isaac walked around the living room and kitchen, looking out each of the windows, and then disappeared down the hallway. What a strange contrast to step into this fairy-tale world because her life was under threat.
Isaac returned a moment later. “I think this will work. Did Brandie set up a way for you to get paid?”
“Yes, we took care of all that, but she said you had the final vote on whether it would be a good fit. The kitchen is stocked with the basics. There is a little grocery store up the road about five miles. You probably passed it on your way in.”
Aubrey assumed that Doris was referring to the gas station/convenience store they had passed. “I think I remember that.”
Isaac pointed in the opposite direction than they had come in. “What’s up the road that way?”
“Just two other farms,” said Doris. “The road that goes by my house is the only way in and out.” Doris excused herself and stepped outside.
Isaac glanced around. “It’s kind of like being inside a dollhouse or something.”
“It has its charm.” Aubrey stepped toward the kitchen. “I can make us some coffee or tea. Whatever’s available.”
“Sure, that would be great. I’m going to go get Freddy.”
Aubrey found the coffee maker and started a pot brewing. Through the kitchen window, she watched as Isaac walked Freddy. Isaac hunched in the rain, but it didn’t seem to bother Freddy, who was sniffing the flowers and bushes that surrounded the cottage.
By the time the pair came inside, the coffee was ready. She brought a mug to Isaac after he took off his wet shoes. Freddy settled on the rug by the sofa, and she sat down opposite Isaac with her cup of coffee.
His phone rang. “Jasmin, what did you find out?...Okay, Ruby should be awake by now, I’ll get her up to speed and send her over to the hotel.” He disconnected from the call and then turned to face Aubrey.
She took a sip of her coffee. “I gather Jasmin couldn’t find out anything about how the Russian man died.”
Isaac nodded. “I’m going to brief Ruby on what has happened so far and see if she can go over to the other hotel, where Dimitri died, and talk to the staff there. Showing up in person worked for us at the first hotel. Maybe she will have the same good results we had.” Isaac pressed the buttons on his phone.
As he talked, he wandered toward the back of the house, so she only heard the first part of the conversation.
Aubrey stared through the big front window at the long driveway and beyond. There was nothing she could do but wait and pray. She had no way to contact her sister. She’d already texted Mary to contact her if Emily showed up to work. She’d done everything she could.
The feeling of powerlessness was overwhelming.
As charming as the cottage was, it felt like a prison.
* * *
Isaac returned to the living room, where Aubrey sipped her coffee while she paced from kitchen to living room.
He understood her restlessness. He felt it too. While he knew he was the best person to provide protection for her, being sidelined from the action of the investigation was hard for him. Working the case would make him feel more like he was making justice happen.
He looked around the room. There was a bookcase that in addition to books contained a shelf that had board games on it. He pointed toward the stack of games. “It would pass the time.”
She shrugged and walked over to where he stood. She pointed to a trivia game. “We used to play this one all the time with your little brother. Remember that?”
“Yeah, he loved it. Hugh was such a voracious reader he almost always won.”
She locked him in her green-eyed gaze. “How is Hugh doing these days?”
Any mention of the past was riddled with potential land mines. “He dropped out of college when our parents died, but he’s talking about going back.” The tightening in his stomach signaled that he had some trepidation about bringing up the past.
“I always liked Hugh. He was a good kid, but I guess he’s not a kid anymore.” She looked him in the eye.
The butterflies in his stomach seemed to have calmed down. They could talk about some parts of their past; it just took both of them choosing not to be reactive. “I’m sure Hugh has fond memories of playing that game, as do I.”
“Me too.” She grabbed the box that contained the trivia game and handed it to him. “Why don’t you set it up and I’ll see if there is anything to snack on?”
He heard Aubrey opening and closing cupboards and then the sound of the microwave running. She returned with a large bowl of popcorn. Freddy rested at his feet on an area rug.
They had finished one game and eaten most of the popcorn when Isaac’s phone rang. It was Ruby. “Ruby, I’m going to put you on speakerphone so Aubrey can hear this too. What did you find out?”
Ruby sounded breathless as though she were running. “Just leaving the hotel. Some guy came to Emily’s place. Brandie’s tailing him. I’m going to see if I can help.”
“Did you find anything out at the hotel about Dimitri?”
“The guy ordered a room service meal, and then he was found dead.” The sound of a car door opening and dinging noises filtered through the phone. Pepper let out a single yip, probably picking up on Ruby’s urgency.
“What are you saying?”
“I tracked down the hotel employee who found him dead. He said Dimitri’s skin looked jaundiced.”
Isaac sucked in air through his teeth. “Arsenic in his food maybe?” When he glanced at Aubrey, her face had drained of color.
The sound of a car starting to roll was in the background as Ruby talked. “Nothing official yet, just wanted to let you know. Look, I need to concentrate on my driving. I’ll be in touch.”
Before he even disconnected the call, Aubrey had risen to her feet and was pacing again. “For sure, the Russian man was murdered.”
He moved toward her, and she fell into his embrace. He rubbed her back while she rested her head against his chest.
“I’m so afraid,” she said.
He held her a moment longer, wishing there was something he could say to ease her fears.
She pulled free of the embrace and massaged her temples as though a headache was coming on. “The hardest part is just sitting here playing games that don’t matter when my sister is obviously in real danger.”
“I know. I prefer to be in the middle of the action too. But this is the safest place for you right now.” He took her hand and ushered her back toward the bookshelf. “Let’s pick out another game, or maybe there’s a book you want to read.”
“I know you’re trying to distract me.” She turned back toward the window. “Look, it’s not raining anymore. Can we at least go for a walk? Or maybe we can go for a run together like we used to. I’m sure Freddy would like the exercise.”
Being outside would leave them exposed, but they were miles from anywhere, and there had been no sign that they had been followed. “Okay, maybe a brisk walk with Freddy. Neither of us have the shoes for a run. Unless you have something in your overnight bag.”
She shook her head. “A walk it is then.”
The mention of the runs they used to take around the lake by his parents’ house meant she was thinking about the things they used to do together and maybe even the love that had burned with such intensity. Playing the trivia game had opened up a door in a safe way to who they had been to each other years ago.
They stepped outside the back door, where there was a deck with some outdoor furniture. Freddy heeled by Isaac’s side. He would let them know if he saw any danger.
Though there was no obvious trail, they walked toward the forest and the mountains in the distance.
When they returned to the cottage, rain was sprinkling out of the sky again. Isaac found a towel to dry off Freddy when his phone rang. Jasmin.
Aubrey came back into the living room from the bathroom where she had changed out of her damp clothes.
He hit the speakerphone icon. “Jasmin?”
“Look, I’m making your case a priority in terms of what I can do with a computer and a phone. I’ve had some interesting developments.”
“Go ahead,” said Isaac.
“We got legal permission to access Nathan Wharton’s emails and phone content as well as Hans Hilstead’s. Nothing much with Hans. He just wasn’t big on written communication. But in one of Nathan’s emails to a friend days before he died, he mentions he’s going to come into some money.”
“Interesting.” Isaac turned to face Aubrey, who had moved toward him as she listened.
“It only took a few calls to track down who Hans mostly climbed and practiced with, and that guy said the same thing. That Hans talked of a big payday about to happen.”
“That is the first thing that even begins to link them together,” said Isaac.
“I don’t know what it means. Probably they were involved in something illegal with the promise of a getting paid. The other thing I wanted to tell you is that I did figure out where the photos of our mystery man were taken based on the businesses in the background, after I enhanced them and I was able to get a partial read on a street sign. I narrowed it down to a street in Longview. I know you’re just outside of Longview, so you’re close. It’s a business district not near anything residential.”
“So maybe our mystery man works there.” Isaac walked the floor while he talked.
“That was my thinking, judging from the way he’s dressed in the photo. I’d say he was in finance or banking. Since you’re on protection duty, I’m going to text Ruby with a list of three businesses on that street that might fit the bill.”
“Ruby is not free right now. Aubrey and I will go. We have no choice if we want this investigation to move forward. The clock is ticking for finding Emily.” Sitting around waiting wasn’t doing either of them any good.
“Okay, it’s your call. I’ll text you the info. I doubt he works at a deli or a laundromat, which is also in that area. There are also several jewelry stores there. Maybe if the three businesses I’ve given you don’t pan out, they might be a possibility.”
“Okay, thanks. I’ll let you know what we find out.”
They loaded Freddy into his kennel in the back seat of the SUV and headed back to Longview. The drive took about twenty minutes to get to the downtown business district. Isaac left Freddy in the SUV.
The first business Jasmin had texted them was an investment firm on the second floor of the two-story brick building. No one at the firm recognized the man in the photographs.
Several buildings up the block, they entered a bank, which featured a lobby done in marble with an ornate copper ceiling. There was only one woman behind the long teller’s counter. She looked up from her computer monitor. With Aubrey by his side, Isaac stepped toward her. In the quiet lobby, their footsteps echoed on the marble. The lack of visible employees or clients and the high-end decor suggested that this was not a bank where the average Joe deposited his paycheck, but that the clientele dealt in high caliber loans and business deals.
The teller smiled as they reached the counter. “Can I help you?”
“I’m wondering if you know who this man is.” Isaac brought the first picture up on his phone, the one of the man dressed in a business suit.
The teller studied Isaac, who was in uniform. “Is this official police business?”
“Yes,” said Isaac. “It’s part of an ongoing investigation.”
“That could be Michael, but it looks like it was taken from far away. Do you have another one where his face is clearer?”
He clicked to the picture of the man jogging in the park.
The teller’s face brightened. “That’s Michael Lumsford.”
Isaac’s heart skipped a beat. “He works here?”
“Yes, he does. Michael handles international transactions and loans for our overseas clients.”
Maybe they would finally get somewhere. “Is he here right now? Could we talk to him?”
“Strangest thing just happened. Michael comes in from his late lunch with the newspaper to read. Something he always does, but a few minutes after he went into his office, he runs out saying he had something he needed to take care of.”
“Do you know what it was about?”
The teller shook her head. “I will say I’ve never seen Michael that upset. He’s a pretty even keel guy.”
“I wonder if it was something he read in the newspaper,” said Aubrey.
“I don’t know. On his way out he set the newspaper down.” The teller came from behind the counter and walked over to the kiosk where people wrote out their deposit slips. She handed Isaac the newspaper.
It was folded to the page that contained the story about the Russian man dying in the hotel.
Isaac’s heart pounded. “How long ago did Michael leave?”
“Less than five minutes ago. He’s got a bit of a walk to his car. Parking is such a bear around here, he usually parks in the underground garage. He drives a black Lexus.” The teller pointed. “Take a left once you are outside. About four blocks away.”
As he ran for the entrance, Isaac thanked the teller. Aubrey fell in beside him.
He only hoped they weren’t too late to talk to Michael.
THIRTEEN
Even though her work kept her in good shape, Aubrey was breathless as she sprinted up the street keeping pace with Isaac. They saw the sign with the arrow for the parking garage and ran down the ramp.
It wasn’t a huge parking garage. One floor, three rows of cars, six or seven deep.
Isaac called out Michael Lumsford’s name. A car backed out of a space one row over. They ran in that direction. The car, a black Lexus, barreled up the ramp before they could stop it.
Isaac sprinted after the vehicle when it pulled out onto the street. He ran up the street trying to get the driver’s attention.
A high-pitched sonic boom filled the air. The car zigzagged and careened into a parked car. The noisy clang of car alarms filled the air. The few people on the street scattered; some slipped behind cars or into buildings.
As they ran toward Michael’s wrecked car, Aubrey saw that the driver’s-side window was shattered. Michael was slumped over the steering wheel.
“He was shot.” Isaac glanced up as he gathered Aubrey into his arms and directed her toward the shelter of a parked car. More shots were fired. More glass shattered.
Sirens in the distance indicated that someone had made an emergency call. The shooter must have been waiting for Michael to come out of the garage while on a building on the opposite side of the street. And now he had seen that Aubrey and Isaac had tracked Michael down. That meant they had an even bigger target on their backs.
Crouching, she pressed against the car while Isaac turned and peered above the trunk toward the two-story building across from the parking garage.
He turned back around and pressed closer to her. “I can’t see the shooter.”
With the police on the way, the sniper would probably not stick around.
“I need to check, but I think Michael Lumsford is dead.” Glancing around, he walked over and reached into the car, then looked in her direction and shook his head.
Despair and fear battled within Aubrey as Isaac came back toward her. Another life was lost.
“I’m sure the police will have questions for us,” he said. “We need to get back to that teller and find out what she knows. Stay low. Use the parked cars as cover just in case.”
They made their way back up the sidewalk bent over and running. The teller had come outside on the sidewalk. Her hand was over her mouth, and she was shaking her head.
Isaac ushered her back inside the safety of the bank.
The teller tugged at the necklace she wore and ran her hands through her hair. “What is going on?”
“Michael is dead,” said Isaac.
The teller’s eyes grew wide. She shook her head even more intensely as her eyes rimmed with tears. “Did you have something to do with his death?”
“No, please believe me. I believe it’s connected to my investigation. I’m so sorry for your loss. It seems that you cared deeply about him, but a woman’s life depends on us finding out how Michael fit into this case I’m working on.”
The teller took in a ragged breath and nodded, calming down a little. “Okay.”
Isaac walked over to where he’d tossed the newspaper and pointed to the Russian man’s picture. “Did you see this man at all in the last few day? He’s usually with two guys who function as bodyguards.”
The teller shook her head.
“Have you been behind that counter for the last few days, so you would have seen who came and went from the bank?”
The teller nodded. “I’m here anytime the bank is open. I usually even eat my lunch at my desk.” She pointed to a desk that would still allow her to see people come and go.
“There’s no one else who would have seen who came and went through those doors?”
“Not likely. Everyone else is in an office most of the time.” The teller tilted her head as if thinking. “Some of Michael’s business dealings are done over lunch, which is more relaxed than his office. It’s possible he met that man outside the bank.”
“Did he share with you anything unusual going on in his professional or personal life?”
“Michael was a very private man. Other than talking about his golf game, he rarely said anything about what went on in his life,” said the teller.
“What kind of business transactions was he working on? Did you handle any of the support paperwork for him?”
While Isaac continued his questions, Aubrey prayed they were not at a dead end. Judging from the photos, the killer had not known where Michael lived. He was photographed outside his place of work, so his connection to all this must be work related.
