Page 10 of Crossroads of Innocence
“I understand your reluctance to go back to the station where this man was,” Cruz continued. “Let me ask some questions. See what’s going on.”
“You’d do that?”
He nodded. “Do you know his name?”
“I do.” Wade plucked a business card from his wallet and offered it to Cruz. “He left this with me and Chet at the bar. Told us he was a detective and looking for Jude.”
“And you think this was the same guy sitting in the parking lot in his SUV when you took Macey outside?”
“Yeah. I’ll pull up the security footage and see how long he was out here. It’s not a coincidence he came here. Detective or not, he knew how to find you, and figured out exactly where you’d come once in town.”
“What about other friends? Family?” Cruz asked. “Is there anyone else in town this guy would talk to? Anyone who would know where to find you, or accidently give him information that could be used against you?”
Her throat went dry, and she slid her palm around her mug and took another sip. Wade mentioned he was friends with this policeman, but he didn’t mention how much the officer knew about who she was or her connection to the town. “I grew up here. Almost anyone would have something to tell him about me.”
“And family?” Cruz pressed.
She forced herself not to flick her attention to Wade. “My brother lives one town over in Elm Ridge but would be easy to find. We’re in contact from time to time. My parents and sister still live in town, but they wouldn’t have much to say. I haven’t spoken to any of them in twelve years.”
Cruz raised his brows, unspoken questions clear on his face. “So they don’t know you’re here? Couldn’t lead anyone to you?”
She shook her head.
A beat of tense silence filled the air. Cruz finally studied the cardstock in his hand. “Can I take this?”
“Yeah, go ahead,” Wade said.
Cruz stood. “I’ll start by making some calls about him. Find out if he’s really on the police force in Mill Harbor. Can you bring up that security footage before I take off? I’d like to see if I can get a look at the guy’s license plate. If he’s impersonating an officer, the name on this card might not be real. I’ll need another way to identify him.”
Wade crossed over to a laptop on top of his dresser and flipped open the lid. He pressed a few buttons and carried the computer to the coffee table, angling it so they could all see the screen. “I’ll start the tape from the time I went outside and rewind to see how long he was out there.”
A black and white image played on the screen. The SUV parked in the corner of the lot.
Cruz picked up his pen. “Pause and zoom in so I can write down the license plate.”
Wade pressed a key, waiting for Cruz to jot down the information, then resumed the video. He sped up the feed, nothing but the time stamp and occasional swinging branch moving in the frame. Then the driver’s door opened and the man hustled from the SUV and moved at an unnatural speed to an old shed behind the bar then back to the SUV.
“What’s he doing?” Wade asked. “All that’s in that old thing is a bunch of junk.”
Alarm rattled her insides. “I stashed my motorcycle in there. He knows I’m here.”
5
Cool air whipped through the dilapidated shed and brushed against the side of Wade’s face. Not like it fazed him. Hell, he welcomed the rush of cold wind. Staring at Jude’s wrecked motorcycle boiled his blood. He had no doubt the man who’d messed up her bike would do the same—and worse—to Jude if he got his hands on her.
Something he would never let happen.
“I’ll dust for prints,” Cruz said, circling the destruction. “It’s clear who did this. We have the guy on camera coming into the shed and leaving, but I doubt we have his real name. I’ll make sure the area is safe before we let Jude come down and verify her motorcycle was not in this condition when she stowed it inside.”
“No way this guy is a real detective. I mean, what kind of an idiot would destroy private property while working a case? This type of destruction doesn’t make sense,” Wade said. “Even if he was unaware cameras were set up in the parking lot, he took a hell of chance. And now, any story he’s concocted to gain information about Jude is blown.”
“The fact he didn’t show you or Chet a badge last night when he was at the bar was a dead giveaway for me. If I’m on an official investigation, I want everyone I speak with to know who I am and why I’m there. Anyone can manufacturer a business card, put whatever name they want on it.”
Wade studied the mostly abandoned structure to make sure nothing else was tampered with or ruined. “Glad I didn’t say anything when he asked if I knew her.”
“Chances are high the guy already knew the answer.”
Something tightened in Wade’s gut. If the phony detective knew exactly where to find Jude, what else did he know?
