Page 28 of Outlaw Ridge: Reed
She gathered the rest of her things, including a bottle of water that one of the CSIs had given her at the crime scene, and they started out of radiology, making their way down a back hall toward the exit to the parking lot.
“Are we any closer to catching the person who tried to kill us?” she asked as they walked.
Reed really hated to admit it, but he wasn’t going to sugarcoat something this important. “No. But a lot of people are working hard so someone will come up with something. Oh, and Owen called and said to let you know he’s behind you a hundred percent.”
She glanced at him, the doubt right there for him to see.
“It’s the truth,” Reed assured her, but he might as well have been talking to the air because he knew that it didn’t sink in with Hallie.
And that was even more reason for him to want to catch the bastard killer.
Keeping watch around them, they stepped aside and went to the cruiser that he’d parked as close to the door as possible. He hadn’t wanted Hallie out in the open any longer than necessary when he’d taken her in for those x-rays, and that was still the case now. With the gunman at large, there could be another attack.
Definitely not something to ease the knots in his gut.
But Reed knew the possibility of an attack couldn’t stop them from doing their jobs. As long as the killer was out there, innocent people were in danger.
Reed put the address of the storage unit into the GPS. It was only nine miles away, and it was in a relatively busy area squeezed in between other businesses. That was both good and bad. Good because the killer might be less likely to strike when there was the risk of him being seen. Bad though because of the potential for a lot of bystanders to perhaps end up in the middle of a gunfight.
He drove out the parking lot, stealing glances at Hallie to make sure she was managing. As promised, she did take some meds that she got from the glove compartment of the cruiser, washing them down with the rest of the bottled water.
Their phones sounded together with a text, and Reed saw the number for the crime lab pop up on the dash screen.
“The two photos don’t appear to have been altered in any way,” Reed read aloud, and that sent his mind spinning with a repeat of the questions he’d already asked himself.
Why hadn’t Corman mentioned that he’d known Hallie’s parents? And did that picture mean anything like some kind of collaboration or insider knowledge of what Tami and Kip had been doing?
“I’m having Jesse contact Corman to demand he come in this afternoon for another interview,” Hallie insisted, firing off a text to the deputy. “Now that we know the pictures are real, Corman needs to tell us about them.”
Reed agreed. And he had another idea about this. “My suggestion is we forward the pictures to Griff Abrams. He’s the guy who unraveled the info about your mother’s secret offshore account. Griff can maybe identify when and where the photos were taken, and he can use facial recognition to try to ID anyone else at that party.”
“I’ll do that,” she was quick to say, and she sent another text.
Maybe they’d have more info about those pictures before Corman’s interview. Too bad they couldn’t question Elenore,too, but with her dead, that meant either verifying the identities of the others in the background of the photos and speaking with them.
Or talking to Tami and Kip.
No way would Reed suggest that right now though. For one thing, they probably wouldn’t get the truth from the pair. And for another, it would put Hallie through another level of hell just to have to see them.
Reed took the turn into the Easy Store which looked pretty much like any other self-storage facility. Row after row of units with garage-style doors fitted with keypads. There was a small office in front with a Closed sign in the window and an emergency contact number. So, the place wasn’t manned, and considering the layout of the units, it would be an easy place for an attacker to hide.
He drove around, looking for the number of the unit so he could park as close to it as possible. When he found it, Reed groaned when he saw the other vehicle. And the man.
Luther.
He was standing right outside the unit door, and he appeared to be waiting for them.
Reed lowered his window, his gaze firing over the man, looking for any signs of a weapon. He didn’t see any, but that didn’t mean Luther wasn’t armed.
“I didn’t go back in,” Luther was quick to say. “I didn’t think you’d want me back in there.”
“You’re right. So, why are you here?” Reed demanded.
He opened his mouth, closed it, and seemed to rethink what he’d been about to say. “If you find something that’ll help your mother, I’d like to see it.”
“No,” Hallie replied. “And you’re leaving now.”
Luther shook his head. “But I haven’t had a chance to go through everything, and your mother wants me to look through it.”
