Page 36 of Cassidy

Finding Travis was the only thing that mattered.

Watchingas Gabe went back to work on the laptop, it took all Cassidy’s willpower not to kiss him again. She felt terrible for what he’d suffered at the hands of his mother. Not just today, but the way she’d walked away and traded up for a new life. One she clearly had no intention of sharing with Gabe.

God didn’t teach His children to hate, but for those moments she’d listened to Gabe’s mother shriek one accusation after another at him, she’d seethed with hate. And anger. And the acute desire to reach through the phone connection to punch the woman in the mouth.

Whoever said violence doesn’t solve anything never met Shelia McCord.

She blew out a soundless sigh and turned back to her own computer. Her search on Marcus Toller hadn’t revealed much, but now she couldn’t help but wonder if the guy was some sort of mentor to Travis.

With a mother like Shelia, she couldn’t blame the kid for searching for guidance elsewhere. And where was his father in all of this? What was his name? Paul?

Too busy defending criminals to be of any help?

On a whim, she typed the name Paul McCord into the search engine. The top hit featured his name and professional photograph as a partner in the law firm of Wendel, Baker, and McCord Law.

She clicked on the link to scroll through the website. McCord appeared to be the youngest of the group and likely the more recently added as a partner. They touted their amazing success without giving specific details as to which criminals they’d successfully represented to an acquittal. The headline “Wrongly Accused” caught her eye.

Without identifying anyone by name, there was a brief summary explaining how a man who’d been wrongly accused of murder had been set free thanks to the hard work and dedication of Wendel, Baker, and McCord. She tried to remember the story from the news but couldn’t. There was no date listed, so the trial could have been a few years ago.

Whatever. It probably wasn’t associated with Travis’s disappearance. She clicked out of the website and went back to Marcus Toller. She pulled up his DMV records to check his address. Of course, he lived in Madison, which was well over an hour away.

Call Roscoe to ask Cameron to do the interview? Or drive out there themselves? As much as she wanted to speak to the guy personally, it was a risk to head out with Gabe. Especially since they didn’t know anything about this guy.

She reached for her phone.

“Yeah?” Roscoe’s hesitant tone reminded her that she was calling from a strange number.

“Hey, it’s Cass. I’m with Gabe and Steele. We’re working the case of Travis McCord. Have you spoken to your cousin Cameron?”

“Hey, Cass, I heard about what happened to Gabe. Yes, I’ve spoken to Cam. Between you and me, Gabe’s mother is a piece of work.”

“You have no idea,” she said wryly. “The reason I’m calling is that we found a guy by the name of Marcus Toller on Travis’s social media. He looks too old to be a student, and I can’t find anything about him through normal channels. I’d like Cameron to track him down and ask him about Travis.”

“I’m on it,” Roscoe said without hesitation. “I’ll let you know what Cam has to say after chatting with him.”

“Thanks.” She ended the call and set the phone aside.

“Cass?” Steele stepped across the threshold of their connecting rooms, his expression grim. “Joe sent out an alert asking the team to respond to an active shooter at the Milwaukee Mall.”

“Go,” she said, knowing that a crime in progress had priority over their current situation. She tossed him the keys Flynn had left behind. “Take the rental.”

Steele didn’t hesitate. A moment later, he was gone.

“Is that something you’d normally respond to?” Gabe asked.

“Yes.” She shrugged. “But I’m sure the team can handle it without me.”

He frowned, holding her gaze. “I get the sense I’m both a part of the team yet separate from the team.”

“You’re the hub of our team,” she said. “In a situation like this, you would be at the helm, digging into any information regarding the incident. And once we had a name of the shooter, you’d feed us even more intel. We all depend on you, so don’t minimize your role. It’s important.”

He nodded. “That makes sense. And I can see why you wouldn’t want me to have a gun.”

Why was he was so focused on having a weapon? “Gabe, it’s nothing personal. If I knew for sure you could hit what you’re aiming at, I’d get one for you.”

“Wish I could remember that too. Among other things.” He turned back to the computer. “I haven’t found anything that resembles a virus. But there are a few anomalies that are bothering me.”

“In what way?” She had no idea what he meant. “Like maybe there was a virus, but someone removed it? Similar to the way you got our precinct system back up and running?”

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