Page 50 of Tough as Steele

Wendy, who Londyn now needed to call Jessica, might’ve been difficult when questioned, but Londyn struggled to believe she’d committed murder too. “Not a great idea to use a false identity to begin with, but stealing her former cellmate’s identity? Not very bright. Jessica had to know she’d have a background check on any job application she turned in. It was likely why she chose the false identity. So why go through all the work of assuming a false identity only to choose someone who also has a criminal past?”

Nate shrugged. “Guess when we find her, she can give us the answer.”

“But will she answer?” Londyn asked, not expecting him to respond as her phone chimed, signaling an email. She looked at it. “Email from Ryleigh with details of the manslaughter. Seems as if Jessica used to tend bar, and she was known for hitting on other women’s boyfriends. She got into a knife fight one night with a woman who attacked her. Jessica killed the other woman.”

Nate shook his head. “That life’s a far cry from her job with Mimi.”

“Since she served time for manslaughter, she probably wouldn’t hesitate to kidnap Mimi for ransom. Maybe kill her. We need to find Jessica and find her fast.”

“We can start with the address on her forged driver’s license and search for vehicle registrations.” He returned to his laptop and opened the database. His fingers flew across the keyboard in a combination of fluid strokes and the hunt-and-peck method. “She drives a green Honda Civic.”

He called dispatch to issue an alert on her vehicle, and when he said the plate number, Londyn recorded it in her notebook. He finished his call and moved to Mimi’s desk to pull open a desk drawer.

“Bingo.” He shot up his hand. “Employment file under the name Wendy, of course.” He scanned the items in the folder and called out her phone number.

Londyn recorded that as well. “We don’t have enough on her to get a warrant for pinging the phone yet.”

“Yeah. And even if we did, she seems smart enough to disable it so we can’t ping it.” He slapped the folder closed. “Our best bet right now is to head out to her place. See if we can find a solid connection so we can request that ping.”

“She’d have to know we would find her address, and I doubt she’s holding Mimi there. She probably won’t be there either, but like you said. We could find a lead.”

“I’ll bring the address up on a map.”

Londyn sat and sent a thank you text to Ryleigh.

On to my deep dive on Charles,Ryleigh replied.

Nate looked up from his computer. “Address is for a mobile home park. Division Street.”

“Centennial Neighborhood on Portland’s east side,” Londyn said, fully aware of the area. “She could afford rent in that part of town. Probably even do a week-to-week rental there.”

Londyn didn’t have Nate’s memory so she recorded that address. She stood. “We should head over there. I worked this area in my patrol days, and it’s sketchy at best. We’ll need to take extra care.”

He frowned but stood. “You can request a warrant on the way in case she’s not home and we need to enter the premises.”

“Sure thing.” She headed for the doorway, her mind spinning at the news that they’d talked to and let a woman who’d served time for manslaughter go without pinning her down on her potential involvement in the kidnapping. Because with the information on the assault charges for Charles, Londyn thought Jessica could potentially be in cahoots with him, but they had no evidence to bring either one of them to hold them or for a formal interview.

Zeke stood in the entryway, talking on his phone. She crossed over to him, and he cupped a hand over the device. He appeared alert and sharp, even after an all-nighter, when she probably had dark circles under her eyes.

He looked at her. “Everything okay?”

She explained while Nate stood behind her.

“Something seemed weird about her, but this?” Zeke shook his head. “Good thing Ryleigh got the info to you in time to take action.”

Londyn wasn’t sure about that. “We’re headed out to her place. Anything you need before we go?”

“I’m good.” Zeke held up his phone. “I’m about done lining up guards for the next seventy-two hours in case we need them.”

“Thanks, Zeke.” She squeezed his forearm. “I owe you one.”

“No worries.” He blushed bright red and glanced at Nate.

“Thanks for the help, man,” Nate said too gruffly for as polite as Zeke had been, and Londyn had no idea what Nate’s issue was with Zeke.

“Call me if anything comes up.” She left the house and waited for Nate to catch up outside.

He marched past her into the morning sunlight. After unlocking the car, he rested his arms on the roof to look at her. “The guy has a thing for you.”

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