Page 33 of The Doctor

“It’s federal, actually. There have been about fifteen up and down the coast, always the same MO, always something left behind.”

I narrowed my eyes at Lilly. “Do we have any idea of what happened at the Bayers’ house?”

“We’re not sure.” She pulled her chair closer. “The Marshals are sending over someone to talk to us about what happened at the safehouse. The FBI and the State’s Attorney will want to speak to Dom again, as well.”

I sighed and rolled my eyes. “Tess recommended a family lawyer and Nick made it known that both the lawyer and I will be present when anyone questions him.”

She nodded. “If you want, I can do a cognitive interview with him. It will be hard as hell, but it could end all of this sooner.”

It wasn’t a bad idea, but I needed to talk it over with Logan. “I’ll let you know.”

“I think Drake Wilder is the Marshal assigned to your case.” Lilly raised a brow. “At least for the moment, since the case has now traveled down here.”

Bex smiled. “That should make things easier. Having to deal with a local.”

“Yeah, his last case in San Diego wrapped up and he was reassigned here. I think his boss figured it better to have a local deal with the Salingers. It's not like you lot are easy to handle.”

“Us lot?” Bex laughed. “You married into this. I didn’t have a choice but to put up with the craziness. You chose to be a part of it.”

“And I wouldn’t have it any other way.” She straightened in the chair. “Anyway, Drake is meant to be here soon. He couldn’t give me a time since he was headed from San Diego and wasn’t sure what traffic would be like.”

“I’ll be waiting for him.”

Once Lilly left, Bex got to work sorting through the case she had. Basic research taught her more than she expected, but she needed the police reports on each of the robberies. They were across state lines and the FBI should have collated each report so they could look at the case as a whole. Still, she wanted to see each case individually. How were they different? Those differences were likely the mistakes and that was where she would start.

A knock at the door had her looking up. She smiled at the tall man with a US Marshal’s hat in his hand. “Drake. Hi.”

He took her outstretched hand and smiled. “Little Rebecca Salinger. Look at you all grown up.”

“Please. You act like you haven’t seen me in ages. We saw each other at Jason and Skylar’s last competition.”

Skylar was the daughter of my co-worker, Noah Moore, and Jason was Drake’s son. The two teenagers were dance partners and had entered a local competition a few weeks back. They were also grounded along with Dom over the weekend.

Drake nodded. “Maybe, but that was personal. I can deal with the fact you’re all grown up and even have a teenager of your own, apparently. But I’m here in a professional capacity to assist you. And that takes some getting used to.”

The reminder Drake had a job to do had the moment turning serious. “You’re here about Dom?”

“I have two cases on my docket at the moment.” He took a seat in the chair opposite me. “Dominic Bayers and Julie Dawson. But the Dawson one we’re not stirring too much yet.”

Which meant he was definitely coming to me about Dom. “Do you have any news?”

“Well, the State’s Attorney is Samantha Lang. She has relented on the kidnapping aspect. But I think that had more to do with not pissing off your family than anything she thought was fair. She knew the kid was only trying to keep his family together. It helped that you let them know within twenty-four hours as well. You played everything right. Everything went the way it should.”

I frowned but controlled my annoyance. “She wanted to charge him. What is wrong with her? She is aware she is not allowed to go anywhere near where Dom is if she wants to keep him protected.”

“She has no idea where Dom is actually staying, just that he is in your custody. As far as everyone is concerned, including me, Nick arranged for you all to be in a safe house.” Drake was warning me of what the situation was. His kid was part of the debacle in the PaintBall course. He knew where Dom was. But he wouldn’t say anything “She knows what is at stake. She won’t get her conviction if she meddles too much.”

“So, she and the FBI know who they’re dealing with?”

“They have an idea. I don’t think your son has any idea how much he actually saw.” Drake leaned back. “He saw the men get out of the car, and I believe him when he says he can’t remember much. He told us all he knows. Consciously.”

“You also think a cognitive interview is a good idea, don’t you?”

“Not my call.” Drake shook his head and I could tell he had an opinion on the matter. “I’m just the muscle in this operation.”

He went on to explain what had happened at the safe house and how Dom had escaped in the early morning. All things I already knew.

“I don’t want him traumatized any more than what he already is.” That was my big concern. “You’ve got to understand that. What if it were your kid?”

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