Page 39 of Cassidy

“Stay here for a few minutes.” She stood and pulled the door open.

“I’m coming with you.” He still had the laptop and wasn’t willing to leave it behind. His headache had gotten much worse the longer he’d worked. He was about to take a break when the bullets had started flying.

Cass shot him an annoyed glance as she strode toward the Brookland PD officers who’d responded to the 911 call. “I’m MPD tactical police officer Cassidy Sommer, and this is Gabe Melrose, our tech expert. We need to fan out and search for the shooter.”

Gabe didn’t recognize any of the cops and decided that wasn’t a memory issue, but more that he’d never been in Brookland under these circumstances before. He was impressed that the officers dressed in tactical gear did as Cassidy ordered, one pair spreading out to search the tree line and another pair going around to the back of the motel.

“Cassidy? Are you and Gabe okay?” Gabe turned toward the male voice coming from the lobby doorway. He hadn’t met the man, but he assumed he was the owner, Gary Campbell.

And from the looks of their two motel rooms, they’d once again caused significant damage to the place. Both windows of the rooms were broken, and the drywall inside was pockmarked with slugs.

He felt bad they’d brought danger to his doorstep.

“Yes, we’re fine,” Cassidy called. “Do you have video for us?”

“I do, but the perp is wearing a ski mask and was dressed in black.” Gary came out to survey the damage. “Wow. Looks bad.”

“I’m sorry, but you know we’ll pay for the repairs.” Cass patted Gary’s arm. “And we’ll put a rush on that so it’s ready by the holiday.”

“That would help,” Gary said with a sigh. “I am booked solid starting two weeks before Christmas.”

“I’m really sorry,” she said again. “We took precautions. I have no idea how we were found.”

Gabe thought back to the call he’d received from his mother. On his side, he’d used a new disposable phone. But his mother obviously hadn’t. Was it possible someone had infiltrated her electronics? Deeply enough to track her phone call to his location?

It was possible, and that made him feel even worse. “I think it’s my fault.”

“No, it’s not,” Cassidy swiftly said. “You’re a victim in this, Gabe.”

Her support was touching, but she wasn’t following. “No, I mean, I think it’s possible someone traced the call my mother made to me from her phone to this location.”

“How?” Cassidy asked with a frown.

“I’m not sure, but the technology is there and accessible for those who know how to exploit it. Everyone has their homes wired up these days. They use their wireless internet to log onto their TVs, their phones, and computers. They’ll use a central device to turn items on and off, choose songs, and that kind of thing.” He shrugged. “I suspect that somehow these guys are tapped into my mother’s home network.”

He didn’t add that Travis likely could have done that without breaking a sweat.

“Okay, now you’re really freaking me out,” Cassidy said. “If these guys can do that and shoot guns, we’re at a distinct disadvantage.”

“I told you I should have a weapon too.” Even as he said the words, though, he knew he wouldn’t find it easy to shoot at a person. Unless, of course, that person was aiming at Cassidy. He swallowed hard, and added, “But that’s not going to help us find Travis. Or understand why these guys have targeted me.”

“Clear!”

“Clear!”

One by one the officers cleared the area. Cassidy watched grimly as the four of them returned to the parking lot. It was both a relief and a frustration. He shared Cassidy’s desire to grab and arrest this guy. But he was just as glad the danger was over.

For now.

“Thanks for responding so quickly,” Cassidy said. “We’ll need the crime scene techs to get here to retrieve any slugs and shell casings.”

“There are several casings on the ground between the trees,” one of the officers said. “He didn’t bother to recover his brass.”

“I’m not surprised. He was moving too fast to worry about that.” Cassidy scowled. “I doubt we’ll find prints, but it’s worth a shot.”

Two off the officers went over to gather the casings.

Another SUV pulled up. Gabe half expected Rhy, but it was a pair of detectives who emerged from the vehicle. He could see their gold badges clipped to their belts.

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