Page 48 of Flynn

“I don’t know,” Brady admitted. “I’m trying to think of someone we know well enough that would pay for a place under their name but who also wouldn’t be obviously connected to us.”

“My younger half sister can do it,” Doug said. “She lives out of state in Jackson, Wyoming, and her last name is Sanders. Emily Sanders.”

“Really?” Flynn stared at Bridges. “You don’t mind asking her for a favor?”

Doug shrugged. “Of course not. She won’t mind and knows I’ll pay her back once this is over.”

“We’ll pay you back,” Flynn swiftly added. “Don’t worry about that. This isn’t your fight, it’s ours. And thank you, I really appreciate the offer.”

Brady’s phone rang. He glanced at the screen. “This is Rhy.” He stood and moved to a quiet corner of the room. “Hey, bro. How did it go?”

Flynn thought about Doug Bridges’s half sister arranging a rental house for them. Unless Rhy could get them into the MPD safe house, that was their best option. He glanced at Taylor who looked encouraged by the plan too.

Although keeping Taylor safe was only half the battle. They really needed something more than just the gunman to connect the three murders of Steve and Robin Miller and Roman Paulson.

The house on Peabody Lake was key. If they could figure out who owned it, then they’d be one step closer to unraveling the case.

Or so he hoped. As much as he hated to admit it, police work was rarely that easy.

“Okay, Rhy is parking in the back of the hotel,” Brady announced. “I’ll go let him in.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes until Rhy and Brady returned. Rhy looked on edge, and Flynn had a bad feeling his meeting with Michaels didn’t go as well as Rhy had hoped.

“Everything okay?” Flynn asked.

Rhy grimaced. “Yeah, nothing new.” He waved a hand as if the meeting with the upper brass was nothing to be concerned about. “I’ll survive.”

“We’re here for you,” Flynn said. “I know you stick your neck out for us on a regular basis. Whatever you need, we’ll do our part.”

Rhy managed a smile as he dropped into the chair Brady had vacated. “I know, thanks. Okay, on to bigger issues. How on earth did our gunman, Yurgis, find you outside the FBI building?”

“There are only two viable scenarios,” Flynn said. “Either someone within the FBI is a part of this mess and on the payroll or the gunman assumed the feds would want to talk to Taylor, so he camped out there and waited for us.”

Rhy scowled. “I don’t know if this guy is smart enough to stake the place out.”

“We spoke to SAC Donovan; he doesn’t think any of the agents are involved,” Brady said. “But you know how that goes. He’ll need some sort of evidence indicating that before he’ll take that possibility seriously.”

“Even though he already knows what happened back when Roscoe and Libby were hiding from the cartel?” Flynn asked. “That someone high up in the DEA was involved?”

Brady frowned. “You’re thinking Donovan is the mole?”

“I didn’t say that,” Flynn protested. “But after what went down back in July, your boss should be more open to the possibility of someone operating against us from the inside.”

There was a moment of silence as everyone considered that. Then Doug spoke up. “If you want me to call my sister to make the arrangements for another rental property, I need to do that soon. She’s a nurse and sometimes works night shift. If she’s sleeping, she won’t answer the phone, but she’ll return my call when she wakes up.”

“Your sister?” Rhy looked surprised. “All this time we’ve been working together, and I never knew you had family in the area.”

“She lives in Jackson, Wyoming,” Doug said. “Her last name is different from mine, which should give us the anonymity we need.” He held up his phone. “I’ll make some calls if you’re on board with that plan.”

Rhy nodded. “Unfortunately, the MPD safe house is still in use. And after hearing about the shooting at the FBI office, I’m loathe to use anything with MPD or FBI connections. A rental property secured under your sister’s name sounds like a good option.”

“Great. I’ll see what I can do.” Doug moved away to make the calls. Thankfully, it didn’t take too long. “Thanks, Em. If you can find a house in the Brookland or Greenland area, that would be great. Talk to you soon.” He turned back to face them. “Emily is searching for viable options.”

“Why did you tell her to focus on Brookland and Greenland?” Cassidy asked.

Doug shrugged. “I keep going back to how the president and CEO of the Brookland Bank was shot and killed. He must be the key to all of this.”

A strange thought occurred to Flynn. “Even if Taylor hadn’t been at the house as a witness to the murders, a bank president shot in his bed at night is sure to garner attention. Specifically from the feds if they think there’s international money fraud involved.” He glanced from Taylor to Cassidy, back to Rhy and Brady. “I don’t understand why the killer didn’t at least try to make their deaths look like an accident.”

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