Page 78 of Shadow Sabotage
“No.” I shook my head.
I would not be weak again.
“We need that phone and laptop,” I said. “Otherwise, we’ve got nothing but a suspicion about Sheriff McGrath and a suspect you’re convinced didn’t do it. And there’s no way Judge Barrington is going to give us a warrant to searchanythinghere without more than that. You have to go.”
I almost asked if I could go with him but thought better of it. I needed to start putting some emotional distance between us. His leaving was already going to hurt like hell.
He studied me, then nodded. “You’re welcome to stay here at the cabin if you aren’t ready to go back home. It’s no problem.”
I shook my head again. “Thanks. I appreciate it—really. But I might as well start practicing that mask now, huh?”
“Don’t ever lose the real you,” he said quietly, with a look of pain on his face. Like he regretted even asking me to hide my emotions for the sake of the case.
I flashed him a fake grin that was convincing enough to ease the worry in his eyes.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Vance
The driveto Laramie and back gave me a great deal of time to think.
The problem was that I kept thinking about the wrong things.
All my focus needed to be on Katelyn’s murder investigation. On tying up the loose ends of my life here in Wyoming so that I could start making plans to move back to New York.
Claire was right. There was no reason for me to keep hanging around here, hoping my father would see my worth and want a real relationship with me. That had been nothing but a waste of time—except for the fact that my attempts to prove myself had built a solid career that was starting to pay off. There was nothing left for me in Wyoming.
Except Claire.
But I couldn’t let myself think that way. I’d told her I wanted more and she’d said no. I understood and respected it. Who’d want to be in a long-distance relationship with someone working unpredictable hours at the FBI? That kind of thing was hardenough if you lived in the same house—my parents were proof of that. Being seventeen hundred miles apart added a whole new level of difficulty.
For a moment, I’d actually considered staying in Wyoming just to be with her. I knew DCI would let me withdraw my resignation. And if they didn’t, there was always the job working for my dad.
But then Claire had said the kiss wasno big dealand turned her attention back to the case.
I’d spent a decade in law enforcement, and I’d never once kissed a coworker or even flirted with the idea. I’d always kept strict boundaries between my work and my personal life. For me, letting Claire in on such a personal level and crossing those lines had felt monumental.
But for her, it had been no big deal.
I shook my head, irritated at myself. This was nothing more than an infatuation with a woman that, for some reason, I found entirely too bewitching. So bewitching that I’d actually considered turning down the most important job of my career.
No distractions.I understood now. There was a reason my father had always held that line, had never allowed even my mother to distract him from his life’s work. You couldn’t give everything to an investigation when your energy was split in two different directions.
The truth was that had Claire asked me to, I would have delayed getting Katelyn’s cell phone and laptop to stay with her until she’d recovered from her meeting with Sheriff McGrath. There was no excuse for that. Not when the clock was ticking. DCI couldn’t justify keeping me on this case full-time if it stalled. We needed solid leads to keep moving forward; otherwise, they would turn it over to the locals and stay on only as consultants. I didn’t trust Sheriff McGrath enough to turn it over to him.
No, I had to stay focused. Katelyn Brown deserved it.
So I avoided texting Claire while I was in Laramie. And when I pulled back into Falcon Ridge Ranch on Sunday night, I forced myself to eat dinner alone in my cabin. Then I dove into Katelyn’s laptop, hoping it would reveal her secrets.
Monday morning broughtphone calls and red tape, so I didn’t make it to the office until after eleven. When I arrived, the bullpen was empty. So was my personal office. I frowned, having seen Claire’s truck in the parking lot, and headed down the hallway to look for her.
Sheriff McGrath’s office door was closed, but I could hear his muffled voice. Probably having another meeting with Claire, I thought, tensing.
I started to walk back to my desk but stopped. A clanging noise came from a storage closet down the hall, like something had been knocked over. I backtracked, moving noiselessly toward the door.
Someone was inside, their voice deliberately muted. I put my ear to the door, straining to listen. My eyes narrowed when I realized I was hearing what sounded like a heated one-sided conversation between Collins and someone else. His voice was low, barely carrying over the sound of the footsteps that grew louder then faded away, like he was pacing the floor in the small space.
“I told you I’ll take care of it. She won’t be a problem.” He sounded pissed.
