Page 70 of The Fix
“Sure. We need to cheers to that matching DNA.”
That matching DNA.God, the words made her want to cry happy tears. She wanted to repeat the phrase again and again like a mantra to convince herself that it was real and that he was hers and no one could separate them again.
She got up and grabbed two bottles from the fridge, used an opener to flip off the caps, and then handed one to him. She extended her bottle and he clinked his to hers. “Cheers,” she said with a smile.
She sat back down at the table and made a plate for herself too. Despite the volume of food, once Cyrus had started checking out emotionally, his words and his appetite dwindling, she hadn’t been able to eat much herself.
“You could download an app to track the phone, too, just for ease of mind.”
“That’s a great idea. I will.” She didn’t want to be too much of a helicopter parent right off the bat, but ... she also figured she had good reason to be one, at least for a little while. And she didn’t think Cyrus would mind some hovering.
Rex took a sip of beer. “Speaking of which, I called a buddy earlier and asked him to pull the geolocation data for that cabin and do some research based on what he finds. I would have done it myself, but Erik has access to more technology than I currently have available, and I don’t want to miss anything.”
She squinted one eye. “What’s geolocation data?”
“It uses apps to provide data that identifies the physical location of a device or user.”
“A device? Meaning a phone?”
“Right.”
“So you can tell who was at the cabin?”
“Not necessarily, but it might provide information on where a user went in addition to that cabin.”
She nodded before tipping the beer to her lips. “Is that legal? Tracking cell phones to a location?”
“Yeah. The gathering of it is at least, the usage may or may not be. The police might use it in the investigation, too, or they might not. Also, I hacked into Hollis Barclay’s campaign website today.”
She paused, bottle at her lips. She took a drink and then lowered it slowly. “You’ve been busy. What about that? Is that—”
“Legal? No.”
“Your secret’s safe with me.”
He smiled. “I know.”
“What did you find?”
He told her about finding the email from Cyrus. And about it being read, but apparently not answered, at least not from that account.
“He might not even be the one who opened it. He probably has campaign staff manning general emails, right?” she said.
“Yes. It hadn’t been forwarded, but I’d think staff would at least alert Hollis to a message like that.”
“You’d think. And if they did print it out for him or something that doesn’t have a digital trace, I guess he might have answered from a more personal account. Or been planning to. But even if he was aware of it ... I wouldn’t be surprised if he just decided to ignore it completely.”
“It gives him a motive, though,” Rex said. “For the kidnapping. A kid that he denied and never stepped up for would be inconvenient right now. It’d take the focus off his campaign and put it on his personal life. It’d speak of character, or lack thereof. He’d want to avoid that, I’d guess.”
“Agreed,” she murmured, troubled once again by the question of Hollis’s possible involvement in Cyrus’s kidnapping. “I called the number listed on his website and left a message with the receptionist who answered, but I haven’t heard back from Hollis yet,” she said. “If I don’t, I’m going to go there. He’s giving a speech in DC tomorrow, so I’m leaving Cyrus with my dad for the day.”
Cyrus had specifically asked to spend the day with Pops, and her dad had seemed happy to do it when she’d called and asked. He’d mentioned miniature golf, and she was sure Cyrus would like that—she remembered loving it as a kid. And Cyrus needed some kid-like normalcy right now. But even more than the activity, she was glad she had her dad to offer Cyrus some male attention after he’d been deprived of a dad figure in his life for too long and obviously craved it.
Rex nodded slowly. He looked concerned and like he wanted to say something but was holding it back. She didn’t prompt him because she was pretty sure she knew—he was worried Hollis would be dismissive at best and cruel at worst. Or maybe he’d refuse to see her altogether. She was prepared for any and all scenarios, however. And her only goal was to get a feel for whether Hollis was capable of attempting to harm Cyrus. Beyond that, she didn’t hope for, nor expect, much. She’d given up on Hollis a long time ago. “Just promise you’ll call if you feel unsafe at any point.”
She was about to say she wasn’t worried about that, but if Hollis was part of the network who’d kidnapped a child, who knew what else he might do? Meeting him in a public place was important. “I promise,” she said. “And I’ll text you as soon as I’ve left.”
Rex put a roll in his mouth and chewed, appearing to have trouble getting it down. He followed it with a swig from the beer and then wiped his mouth with a napkin. “One other thing,” Rex said. “Something odd happened while I was looking around Hollis’s campaign site. It was like someone else was there.”
