Page 32 of Cassidy

“I forgot to ask you to call Rhy for Gabe’s mother’s number,” Cassidy said.

“Hang on.” A minute later, Steele was jotting down the number on a notepad. “Thanks Rhy. We’ll stay in touch.”

Gabe stared down at the number for a moment. She wondered if he was having second thoughts about contacting her, but then he dialed the number and listened. He frowned, glancing at her. “Leave a message?” he asked in a whisper.

“Why not?” she asked.

“Hi, uh, this is Gabe. I’m working on tracking Travis down but need to talk to you. So, uh, call me at this number.” He rattled off the new phone number. Then without saying anything more, he disconnected.

“I’m sure she’ll call back,” she said reassuringly. “You reached out from a strange number, which most people assume is spam. I’m sure that once she realizes it’s you, she’ll get in touch.”

“You’re right.” Gabe set the phone aside and then rose to his feet. “It’s so hard to stand around doing nothing when Travis is in danger.”

They didn’t know for sure Travis was a victim, but she held her tongue. The smashed phone did lean that way. Yet she still believed Travis had been the one to lure Gabe out to the isolated location in the first place. Maybe Travis was asked to do that by someone else, but she felt certain Travis had made the call. Gabe was too smart to follow orders issued by a stranger.

Rhy was planning to retrieve Travis’s phone records, which may provide more clarity. If the device hadn’t been wiped clean the way Gabe’s had been.

The code on the USB drive was the key. But even then, there was no guarantee that would help them find Travis.

“Hey, do you know a guy by the name of Marcus Toller?” Steele asked, glancing up from his phone. “He’s in several photographs with Travis on social media.”

“Doesn’t sound familiar,” Gabe said. “I’d like to see the pictures.”

Steele handed over his phone. Gabe stared at the image for a long moment. She leaned forward to see for herself. The guy was a stranger to her. But she understood why the guy had caught Steele’s attention.

He wasn’t a teenager, like Travis or his high school friends. For one thing, he dressed nicer and was clearly in his mid-thirties.

Roughly Gabe’s age, if she had to guess.

“I don’t recognize him.” Gabe reluctantly handed the phone back. “When we get the computers, we can do a deeper dive on him, though. He doesn’t look as if he has a criminal record, but it’s worth checking out.”

“Yeah.” Steele went back to scrolling on his phone. “Travis has several friends his age, but this guy seems off. And the only photos of them are together, without any of Travis’s other friends, so I don’t think he’s a high school coach or counselor.”

“I agree. He stands out as someone my half brother wouldn’t normally hang around with,” Gabe said thoughtfully. “But it could be that he’s a boss or a coworker. I have no idea where Travis works.”

“If he works,” Cassidy felt compelled to point out. “I’m getting the impression money isn’t an issue, and if so, there would be little motivation for Travis to get a job.”

Gabe frowned as if that thought hadn’t occurred to him. “If he’s not working, then how did he get involved in this?”

A rhetorical question, as no one had an answer.

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Gabe fidgeted in his chair, glancing constantly out the window.

Finally, Steele’s phone rang. “It’s Jina,” he said, before answering it. “Yep, I see you.”

Jina arrived at the motel first, after dropping Flynn at the rental agency to pick up the new ride. Steele let her in.

“Hey, Gabe.” She set two computers on the table and gave him a quick hug. “Heard you got bonked on the head and lost a few marbles.”

Gabe reluctantly smiled. “Sounds about right.” He reached for the top computer. “Thanks for bringing these.”

“Yeah, it sounded urgent.” Jina exchanged a concerned glance with Cass. “Several attempts of being shot at is not good. And I have no idea what you sent to my email, Gabe. It looked like something from NASA.”

“I’m not sure what it’s related to yet either.” Gabe opened the first computer, pushing the other to the side, then quickly logged in. For the first time since they’d been at the precinct earlier, he looked comfortable with the task before him. “But I plan to find out.”

“Let’s let him get to work.” Cass gestured for Steele and Jina to follow her into the adjoining room. Out of Gabe’s earshot, she said, “I’m worried his half brother isn’t an innocent victim in this. Finding Travis’s phone at the spot where Gabe was assaulted makes me think Travis lured Gabe there for some reason.”

“I’m with you on that,” Steele said. “The phone was damaged on purpose, as if a heel had stomped on it several times.”

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