Page 47 of No Man Left Behind

He pulled on gloves and then took some pictures of the room on his phone. He looked behind the dresser and cursed. “This window is broken. The dresser is so tall, I didn’t see it earlier. This is how he got in. How many drawers did you and Rachel open? Did you go through anything else?”

“This is the first one we opened. Owen went under the bed to grab Flups. He didn’t say anything, so I think it’s clear there. What if Owen had opened the drawer? I could have exposed him to that.”

Marcus shook his head. “Not your fault. We’re going to get this asshole.”

But would it be before he hurt someone?

Chapter15

Left Behind

Fury and helplessness rippled through Marcus in equal measure. He should be able to protect Elina. He should be able to safeguard his town. And he sure as hell should be able to defend his own police station.

In hindsight, he should have set up some temporary alarm stuff. Troy had ordered a new system in for him but it wouldn’t come in until later today.

He could have even done patrols on the property throughout the night. Except he’d made love to Elina countless times, and he wouldn’t trade that for anything.

Except her safety.

Word spread quickly, and soon his entire team, and many of his new friends from town and Midnight Security, were on site. They gathered in the soon-to-be squad room.

He synopsized for the group. “After having an experience where Finch, Elina, and I all had the feeling of someone malevolent watching us, we found a trail of butchered animals along the back path, leading right up to the door. This morning, Elina found another one in a drawer upstairs. The back window had been broken enough for someone to shove up the window and get inside.”

“Yesterday, we found an Afghan cigarette stub out in the woods. The feeling of being watched came from that direction as well. I’d like to search the woods more extensively than we did last night and this morning. I’d also like to get the security system installed here at the station as soon as it arrives. I hate imposing on everyone.”

A bunch of people in the group laughed, and Marcus frowned in reaction. He hadn’t said anything funny. He really didn’t like to impose.

Heath spoke first. “Youneverimpose, Arrow.”

Garrett nodded. “You didn’t even ask us to come here today.”

Sam from Midnight Lake spoke up. “You’ve helped every single one of us in the room. Repeatedly. Without question. You’ve put your life on hold and in danger, time and again, for everyone else. We’re here for you. Always.”

Marcus had to swallow hard at Sam’s words and at the nods and confirming words from everyone around him.

Troy nodded at the crowd. “Okay, let’s figure out how to divide and conquer all the shit we need to do. And let’s figure out where this bastard is hiding.”

As the one with the most experience with the electronics, Graham stayed to organize the others to get the security system installed once it arrived.

The rest of Marcus’s team, along with the Midnight Lake group, gathered around the large table where Tansy Cheveyo pulled up a map on her tablet. She and Tessa Flores had a lot of experience with analysis, and they’d helped coordinate several operations in and around Phail. They offered to do it again today. Elina pulled up a chair beside them and offered to help.

Relieved that she would be safe inside the station, Marcus headed out. He and his guys would start where they’d found the cigarette butt. Sam and the Midnight Lake crew, along with their dog, Jetson, would go into the trail system from the other side of the park.

Once in the woods, they followed the trail until they were near the spot where they’d found the butt. Using hand signals, they made a quick plan, but Marcus already knew no one was there. Maybe they’d find more evidence in the daylight.

A trail would be perfect. If the asshole had been careless enough to leave a butt behind, he might not be experienced in keeping himself hidden. That would be good news.

The leaves were changing, but few had fallen. The ash trees always dropped theirs early, but most of the others were still on the branches. Once the leaves dried out more, it would be impossible to move without alerting anyone nearby. For now, the leaves weren’t much of an alarm system.

There was nothing new to find from where they’d found the cigarette. They spread themselves out from there and looked for any clues. About ten minutes in, Marcus spotted a piece of rope, so he made a partridge call. His entire team was skilled in calls for birds that were common around the world. The partridge call let everyone know he’d found something, but it wasn’t an emergency.

Nothing in the immediate area reacted to his call, and he didn’t sense any other humans. His gaze roved the space. The rope was frayed on the end he could see. The rest was hidden beneath the leaves.

The fragment was near a large sugar maple. The abundant leaves would provide good cover if anyone was able to scale the trunk. Had the asshole hidden out in the tree overnight? Tied himself to the trunk to allow himself to sleep.

Vermont was free from large poisonous snakes or any predators that would attack someone in a tree, so it was a good cover.

With his prosthesis, Marcus wasn’t the best choice for climbing, so he’d wait for the others to gather. They’d converge slowly in order to check for more evidence.

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