Present Danger by Elizabeth Goddard (shoe dog free ebook .txt) 📗

to be there for him. But her poster only included her cell number, not the house address. Reuniting a dog and his boy was a worthy cause for someone as conscientious and compassionate as his aunt.

He’d come back to be here for her and never could have imagined what had transpired in the last few days. Somehow, he’d have to do better—for her sake. But today, Jack needed to be at the county offices to work. He needed to see this through.

He could have stayed home to listen to what Aunt Nadine wanted to tell him about his father, but he couldn’t take it right now, because she wasn’t making any sense. Had she even understood what he’d told her about Sarah?

Nathan shoved through the door to join him in the conference room, carrying a drink holder with extra creamers and cups of coffee—the good stuff from the café down the street. “How are you feeling?”

“How am I feeling?” Jack repeated the question because he didn’t know how to answer it. He slumped at the table. “I need coffee.”

“Here you go.” Nathan set the drink holder down.

Jack grabbed a cup and dumped in the creamer. “Thanks, man.”

Nathan fixed his own coffee, then stared at the board. “You didn’t answer my question. How are you feeling?”

“Concerned about Terra.”

“Yeah, I get that. She can take care of herself, but she’s more than a special agent. She’s special to you, isn’t she?”

Again, Jack wasn’t sure how to answer.

Nathan chuckled. “It’s okay. She cares about you too. You should have seen her last night. Man, she was ripped up.”

“I figured she would be here by now, that’s all. She didn’t return my call, but I texted to invite her to join us. She responded that she had a few things to do but would try to stop by.” She was definitely avoiding him, and what did he expect, given their kiss and the way she’d walked out on him?

He’d deserved that and needed to accept her decision and move on. Leave her alone.

“Are you sure you shouldn’t stay home and rest today?” Nathan asked. “I can question whoever you think needs questioning. Just bring me up to speed.”

“We thought if we found who killed Jim, we’d find the man responsible for Neva’s death too. And the man behind an artifact trafficking ring that could include pieces from the Middle East. Or at least one.” Jack scratched his jaw. “After Leif fired on us, I thought we had our man.”

“But he’s dead now. Someone cleaning up loose ends and moving out?”

“All the more reason we need to figure this out today.” Jack chugged his coffee, finishing it, then tossed the cup in the corner trash can.

His arm throbbed, but he wouldn’t take painkillers. He needed a clear head.

“Let’s go over everything again, starting with what we’ve learned about Leif Morrisey. We need a list of all his connections and associates.”

“Owen Connors.” Nathan grabbed a marker and wrote his name on the board.

Jack blew out a long breath. “Tell me again what happened when Sarnes questioned Owen.”

“They stopped by the ranch and found him home. It looked like he’d been asleep. He didn’t want to wake Robert, so he spoke to them on the porch. We have no reason to believe he’s involved at this point. Owen was recovering in a hospital in Germany and has been back, what, two months now? He hasn’t had dealings with Morrisey in a year.”

“So, the guy just shows up this week. A plane crashes. Jim and Neva are murdered. We need to find out when Leif got into town.” Nathan drew circles on the empty space of the whiteboard.

“The very first event that we strongly believe is connected, and perhaps even the catalyst—the plane crash. We need to find the pilot,” Jack said. “Last night, he met with Leif at Bar Wars. Did he say something to set the guy off? And if so, what? Did Leif have PTSD? And have we found Blevins yet?”

“Yes on Blevins,” Nathan said. “He took a road trip out of town. His vehicle showed up in Louisville, Kentucky. Cops there caught up with him. We’ll question him, so maybe his answers will shed some light. I get the feeling he was skipping town because he was afraid for his life.”

Jack nodded. “Smart man, considering what went down last night. I can’t wait to learn more about his dealings with Neva. But the pilot . . .” Jack pointed at the whiteboard. “Our identity thief, Chance Carter, he stuck around to meet with a dangerous man. And we need to know why.”

“Where do you think Leif was heading after he left the bar?” Nathan asked. “Just throwing you off his tail?”

“Maybe he was going to meet someone, and then because he was tailed and made a mess of things, he was murdered.” Jack pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes.

“And that murderer had to have been close and somehow took out Morrisey while cops were combing the area.” Nathan frowned. “You want me to search again?”

“Did you talk to the people who live in the farmhouse?”

“Sure did. A widow claimed to have been asleep.”

“Then let’s go question her,” Jack said.

“You’re on desk duty, remember?” Nathan capped the marker and put it aside.

“Like the sheriff said, he needs all his resources on this. I’ll stand idly by while you do the questioning.”

“Why do you want to question her again?” Nathan asked.

“She’s lying.”

“Maybe you should have stayed home to rest today. You can’t be serious.”

Jack scratched his jaw. “Dead serious. Nobody could have slept through that.”

FIFTY-NINE

ASAC Dan Murphy, Terra’s superior, called early this morning and wanted her in for a debriefing of last night’s events when he returned from a conference in three days. Unlike Jack, Terra never actually fired her weapon in the incident with Leif. Still, she was much too close to the investigation given Owen’s relationship with Leif. She almost laughed at that. But until her superior said