Page 89 of Forged in Steele

“We haven’t been able to find Holloway,” Jared said. “What can you tell us about him that might help?”

“He likes to golf,” Fae said. “He spends a lot of time at his private club.”

“Do you know the name of the club?”

“Waverly Country Club,” Amelia said. “He was so proud of it, he made sure to mention it all the time.”

Katana rolled her eyes. “Not like we even know anything about it or care enough to look it up.”

“Anything else you might know?” Jared asked.

“I think he might’ve had a thing with Melissa,” Katana said. “No proof. Just a feeling.”

“I agree,” Amelia said. That gave the suggestion more credence.

The patio door opened, and Bristol’s gran poked her head out. “Can we eat now?”

Bristol looked at Jared, who nodded.

“I’ll help bring out the food.” Jared got up.

Bristol followed him to the house, her mind split between thinking what a great guy he was to offer to help and how they could use the information they’d learned to find Holloway.

Inside the house, Jared grabbed a bowl of salad but his phone rang so he set it down and gave Bristol a pointed look. He answered, and she shooed her grandparents out of the house.

He put the call on speaker.

“Glad you answered,” Reed said. “Osborne got his deal, and he’s sitting down with Kelsey Dunbar from Veritas right now to do the sketch.”

“I want a picture of it the moment it’s finished.”

“Will do.”

Jared locked gazes with Bristol, and she spotted the excitement in his eyes. “Also, Holloway’s a member of the Waverly Country Club. Could be hanging out there. Get over there as fast as you can and call me the minute you know if he’s there and have him in custody.”

18

Still reeling from Reed striking out at the country club, Jared wanted to be the one to break down Melissa Gibson’s front door. But he stood back while the SWAT team rammed the door. If Holloway had barricaded himself inside, he could be armed and dangerous. Jared and Bristol had to let the team trained for such an event take charge.

Amelia had been right. Melissa did indeed live in Arlington Heights, where homes sold in the millions of dollars. Her two-story traditional house was smaller and more modest than other homes on her street, but probably still went for more than a million dollars. But after a short surveillance of the property, they determined she either wasn’t home or was hiding out inside and unwilling to answer the door. The warrant Adair obtained while Jared and Bristol ate dinner with her grandparents allowed the team to enter.

“Police,” the team leader shouted as he and the team entered then fanned out.

Bristol’s hand drifted to her sidearm, and she took a few steps closer to the house then planted her feet. She’d put on a ballistic vest for this raid as had Jared. They couldn’t be too careful. When a criminal was cornered, even a white-collar criminal, they could turn dangerous.

“This waiting is hard,” Bristol said. “Just when I think we might be making some progress, we strike out.”

“It would’ve been much easier if Holloway had been at his club.”

“It’s starting to look like he went to ground,” she said. “Makes him hard to locate.”

“Hard but not impossible.” Jared firmed his stance. “Especially with the alert out on his and Melissa’s vehicles, and the task force digging into everything they can find about the pair.”

“He could’ve ditched his car and gotten a rental. Or borrowed one.” She ran her hands through her hair, but kept her gaze pinned to the house. “I have to admit my hope is waning. I’m trying to remember what you said, how losing everything could bring us to the end of ourselves, and we have to rely on God. Maybe I’m at that point. Maybe I have to turn it all over to Him. Let Him lead my steps and trust Him to do so.”

She opened her mouth to continue, but the commander came to the door. “Place is empty. Bedroom dresser and closets are nearly empty. Looks like your suspect has taken off.”

“Thanks for your help,” Jared said. “Secure the home and put someone on guard detail while we take a look.”

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