Page 51 of Chasing the Past

Gavin’s phone chirped a message. “Looks like service is back. Excuse me.” He carried his plate to the sink and stepped from the room.

Eli called JT.

“Hey, brother. We’ve been trying to reach you.”

Eli placed the phone on speaker for Asal. “Asal is here with me. Is anything happening we should know about?”

“Yes, actually. We’ve got recent video footage of Rafiq still on the island, and get this, he’s with McDowell.”

Eli’s gaze shot to Asal. “That’s not possible. Gavin just told me his team has confirmation Rafiq was killed in New York.”

“You’re kidding? Well, Will confirmed video footage of the two driving near the boardwalk within the last hour.”

Gavin came into the room. “I heard. It’s Gav, JT. Did you have facial recognition?”

“Nothing that elaborate but I saw the footage. It sure looked like Rafiq and McDowell.”

“You’ve personally seen the footage?” Gavin asked.

“Yes. I’m here at the station with Declan. We had a break in the weather and came here to assist Will.”

“I’m afraid whoever is here on the island with McDowell isn’t Rafiq. We had positive facial recognition that the man killed in New York is him,” Gavin told them.

“Perhaps the man in the photo with McDowell is a relative of Rafiq’s. I’ll have Declan see if he can locate any male family members. Gavin, I’m glad to see you made it onto the island safely. The bridge is closed to incoming traffic.”

Gavin laughed. “Yeah, I wanted to let Eli know what I’d found out and I couldn’t reach him by phone.”

“Got it. As soon as the storm clears out, we’ll check in on you all. I’m glad you’re there Gavin. It sounds as if McDowell is searching for Asal. He’s on the island somewhere and there’s no doubt in my mind he’s part of whatever Rafiq was planning. Stay diligent everyone.”

The call ended. Eli could almost feel the fear in Asal spiraling. “We’re safe. We have Gavin here to help watch. Maybe you should try and get some rest.”

She immediately rejected the suggestion. “I can’t sleep.”

He squeezed her hand. “Well, since sleep isn’t going to be an option, I’ll put on some coffee. I have a feeling it’s going to be a long night.”

Asal seemed lost in her thoughts. Eli wondered if she was thinking about the men who wanted her dead.

He made the coffee. “Here you go.” He held the cup out to Gavin.

“Hum? Oh, thanks, buddy.” Gavin glanced up from his phone.

Eli picked up on the uneasiness in Gavin. “Anything wrong?” he asked and hoped not to alert Asal.

“No, nothing. I just haven’t heard from one of my teammates lately and I’m a little concerned. They were checking on a faction of the case.”

“Maybe the storm has cell service down where they are. Seems like it’s affecting the entire Eastern Coastline.”

Gavin forced a smile. “You’re probably right. I’ll keep trying. I think I’ll check in on the progress of my team on finding out what Rafiq and McDowell are planning. With Rafiq dead, I’m hoping it will stall the time of whatever is in the works.” Gavin excused himself.

Eli sat a cup of coffee down next to Asal who seemed to rouse herself from her thoughts.

“Everything okay?” he asked and returned to his seat.

She sipped her coffee. “I’m not sure. Ever since we talked about the abandoned building and the reality of me being held there, I’ve been having bursts of flashback memories, only none of them make sense.”

“Like what type of flashbacks?”

“A voice mostly. The person who was there, the shadow man that provided food and water, spoke to me.”

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