Page 93 of Tough as Steele

“Let me review the forensics again with that in mind. Who knows, the fresh take might spark something in my mind.”

“Thank you.” Londyn hung up and prayed they finally had a lead that would pan out.

“We haven’t heard back on Mimi’s release,” Nate said. “The kidnapper could still be watching the house, in which case, we shouldn’t go there.”

“I’ll call Zeke to check it out.” She tapped his icon on her phone. When he answered, she put him on speaker and instructed him to use proper evidentiary procedures when picking up any item he located. She held while he went to look. The sound of footfalls landing on the marble steps and striding over the wood floors came through the phone.

“There’s something here all right,” he said, the grate of furniture scraping the floor in the background. “Got it. It’s a micro SD card.”

Londyn’s heart soared. “Can you bring it to the Veritas Center?”

“Of course.”

“Text me when you arrive, and someone will come out to get it,” she said. “Any word from the kidnapper?”

“No, and Clarice is really freaking out.”

Nate sucked in a breath and fisted his hands.

“Tell her to hang in there.” Londyn hung up, wishing she could do something to help ease Clarice’s pain as she waited. “I know it’ll take some time for Zeke to get here, and he could’ve looked at the card and told us what it contains, but I don’t want to risk not following digital evidence procedures and this kidnapper skates.”

“You did the right thing.” Nate shoved his hands into his pockets, his frustration obvious on his face.

“Nick will need to handle the card after Sierra prints it,” Grady said. “I’ll get him on the phone.”

“I hate waking anyone else up,” Londyn said.

“Nick?” Grady chuckled. “He’s likely still in his lab.”

Grady tapped in a text for Nick, and his phone dinged with a return text before he set it down. “Like I thought. Nick’s in his lab and said to have Sierra bring up the card when she’s done printing it.”

“Maybe while we wait, we should help Sierra review the evidence again,” Londyn suggested.

Nate nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”

Grady stood and gathered up the bullets and rifle. “I’ll take you up to her lab, then come back and file an official report of my findings.”

“Thank you.” Londyn watched him take the evidence to lockers and secure it to maintain chain of custody.

Nate frowned and shifted a few times.

Londyn didn’t like to see his angst. “What are you thinking?”

He jerked his hands from his pockets and ran one over his head. “We should’ve heard something from the kidnapper by now.”

“Agreed,” she said. “I hate to think it might be law enforcement or military, and the worst part is that people in law enforcement have greater skills than the general public in so many ways.”

He scrubbed a hand over his face. “Makes them even more dangerous. And they have expert abilities to evade our capture.”

Nate had never met Nick Thorn, and the guy didn’t look like any computer geek Nate had known before. He was tall, built, and intense. Nate knew he was married to an FBI agent. Maybe that should’ve told Nate something about him.

His lab sort of looked like what Nate expected, although a lot smaller than he’d imagined. After failing to find prints on the card, Sierra escorted Londyn and Nate past the official lab to this one, which held only a few computers and a wall of cabinets. Sierra told them it was a Faraday room, another first for Nate. He’d used a Faraday bag made of special materials to stop anyone from remotely accessing an electronic device, but he’d never been in an entire room constructed with the same special materials.

“Take a look.” Nick tapped his screen then slid his chair back. “Photos, as is often found on an SD card.”

Nate let Londyn go ahead of him to the screen where Nick had a six-pack of photos open showing Wigg meeting with another man. Nate leaned in to get a better look. His gut cramped hard.

No way. No possible way. Couldn’t be, could it?

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