Chapter 18
The precinct was quiet when Todd and Caleb arrived. They quickly went to their spots in the pod of desks and pulled out their chairs.
Caleb sat and swiveled to watch Todd. “Where do you want to start?
“Why don’t you start with tracking down whether the family was in witness protection while I look through the video?”
“Sure.” Caleb picked up his phone. “I’ll call an acquaintance in the marshals. Not sure I’ll get much.”
“Tell them we’ve got a lone survivor in the family, and we need help keeping her safe. That should catch someone’s attention.”
“Do you think that’s a good idea?”
“They’ve got to wonder where she is.” In fact, if she’d been in protection, he’d have some choice words about how they’d lost her. “I’d like to know how she’s been wandering around Eastern Nebraska by herself for the last week or two.”
“It does seem like a thirteen-year-old should be hard to lose.”
“Yeah.” He turned on his computer and pulled up the link to the security footage Ben had sent him. “While you do that, I’ll see what I can learn from the videos.”
He spent the next twenty minutes watching the footage on repeat. It looked like the same guy. And he seemed to know exactly where the cameras were again, even though this time Eliza was in the ICU rather than the ER. “How does he do it?”
“Huh?” Caleb looked up at him.
“Come look at this.” He slid to the side to make room for Caleb, then hit play. He was silent while Caleb watched.
“The guy is dancing in and out of the cameras.” Caleb frowned as he pointed at the screen. “We never get a good look at his face.”
“Exactly. There’s no way to identify him. So he’s about six feet and has a dark crewcut. How many men does that describe?” Todd bit back his frustration. “Please tell me you had better luck.”
“Marginal. My buddy confirmed that the Brandenbergs were taken into protective custody, but needs clearance to say more.”
“Great.” Todd stood and went to the Keurig to brew a cup of black coffee. He needed something to keep his eyes open. As he waited for the machine to warm up, Caleb’s phone rang.
His partner put the phone on speaker, and Todd hit brew, then hurried back to eavesdrop.
“Hey, Chuck. I’ve got my partner, Todd Westmont, with me. Thanks for calling back. What can you tell me?”
“I can confirm what you told me. Ryan Brandenberg had launched his own investigation after his friend died of a drug overdose. Supposedly, his friend had purchased oxy from a dealer, but it was laced with street fentanyl. No one had Narcan on hand, and the friend died because everyone thought he was napping. Ryan insisted twenty-year-olds don’t have heart attacks, but you know how rare autopsies are in Nebraska unless a crime is suspected. ”
“Yeah.” It remained a highly controversial feature in Nebraska that county attorneys often served as the coroners.
Lawyers could be great—Tricia and Sydney were good examples—but they didn't have the medical training to determine the cause of death like Nebraska law asked them to do.
“So how did the Brandenbergs get involved?”
“After Ryan died of a drug overdose, his parents took up his investigation. They found his notes and connected the dots to the drugs that have pushed in from out of state. You may have heard about what happened in Tyler?”
Caleb nodded. “Our friend was part of that investigation.”
“Well, the Brandenbergs had proof that gang was moving into Wayne. The college kids were too appealing a target for their product.” Chuck rustled some pages. “The Brandenbergs brought what they learned to the FBI, and we put them in protective custody until the trial.”
“When was that?”
The man sighed. “Supposed to be next month.”
“Ouch.”
“Yeah. All the work, gone.”
“So what happened?”
“We’re still trying to figure that out.” There was a noise like he was stacking his papers. “They were supposed to be driving to Omaha for an appointment with the US Attorney. Basic trial prep. They never made it.”
There was a gap in what Chuck was telling them. Todd spoke up. “Car accident?”
“When we found the car, Bill and Odette were dead.”
Caleb frowned. “Injuries from the accident?”
“No. Gunshots to the head.”
Todd quirked an eyebrow at Caleb. “Where was Eliza?”
“No idea.” The man sighed. “We’ve searched for her since. Part of me hoped she wasn’t in the car and had a head start, but there was evidence someone had been in the back seat.”
How would she have gotten away? Or did she only break away later? He had so many questions that Eliza was probably the only one who could answer.
“Any idea who did this?”
“Two ideas.” Chuck’s voice was heavy. “I don’t like one.”
“Corrupt law enforcement?”
“It’s possible. Like Deputy Daniels in Tyler, it’s possible the drug ring has gotten to someone close to the case, and that’s how they knew where the Brandenbergs would be.”
Caleb took some notes. “The other option?”
“Someone from the drug ring. Cleaning up the mess.” Chuck sighed. “I hope it’s that one, but then how did they find the family?”
“Eliza was texting with a friend from Wayne.” Todd let the words fall to see what kind of reaction they generated.
The marshal swore. “What? How?”
“She had a phone. I’m not sure her parents knew. They never talked, but she would text about once a day to let her friend know she was okay.”
“Maybe that’s how they found her.” He groaned. “Why don’t people believe us when we tell them the only way that people get caught is when they don’t do what we tell them?”
Todd rubbed his forehead, pressing against the building pressure. “She’s thirteen… she was lonely and scared.”
“And she might have gotten her parents killed.”
Caleb stepped back into the conversation. “Did you know she was adopted?”
“Yes.”
“Do you know who her birth parents are?”
“We found one.”
Caleb’s head jerked up. “Who? Did she know that?”
“I don’t know if she knew. And her dad.” The man shifted the phone, causing more noise. “Look, that’s about all I can tell you.”
“There have been two attempts made on Eliza in the hospital.”
“Now that I know where she is, I can get marshals there to protect her.”
Todd shook his head. “If you think a leak came from inside, I’m not sure that’s a good idea. We’ll keep a close watch on her.”
“Doesn’t sound like that’s working since there have been two attempts, in what, a day?”
Todd snorted. “But she’s still alive. Unlike her parents.” He leaned back, but didn’t apologize for speaking.
“I don’t appreciate that.” Chuck did not sound excited to hear Todd interject again.
“My partner is the one who found Eliza.” Caleb leaned forward on the desk. “He feels invested.”
“I’ve kept her alive for six months.” Chuck sounded spitting mad. “I’m invested, too.”
“I’ve got an armed, off-duty officer assigned to her door.” Todd crossed his arms and tried to keep the fight from his voice. “She’ll always be guarded.”
“Is she right now?” The man sounded intense. “You’re on the phone with me.”
“She’s in surgery, but the officer is still at her room.”
“I’d have someone watch the surgery, too.”
Todd looked at Caleb and shrugged, then started texting more friends who were off duty.
“I’ll give you two days. And then we’ll either have the man who’s after her, or I will make her disappear.”
Caleb nodded. “Fine.”
Todd didn’t think Bridget would like it, but keeping Eliza safe had to be the main priority.
Bridget and Dani waited in the lounge, Brianna resting peacefully in her car seat.
“I think I’m jealous of her.” Bridget laughed as she watched the infant’s peaceful breaths.
“It is amazing how she can rest anywhere.” Dani gently rocked the seat with her foot.
“I shouldn’t have longed for Eliza to be my daughter so much.
I placed her for adoption because I knew I couldn’t parent when I got pregnant.
I was too young, and Caleb and I were not at a place where we could be together.
” She sighed as she studied Brianna. “Now we are, and I wonder what we’ve missed. I hope she’s okay.”
“You must trust that you made the best choice for her. Did you leave paperwork that you are open to contact?”
“Then, no. I wasn’t strong enough. I needed it to be a closed adoption. Now? I want to see her so much it physically hurts. It’s crazy how much it hurts.” Dani sighed. “I need to talk with Caleb about completing the paperwork now.”
A vibrating sound grabbed Bridget’s attention, and she looked at the side table. “Huh. Whose phone is that?” She picked it up where it charged and flipped it over.
Dani looked at it. “That looks like Todd’s.”
“Would he have left it?” She held the phone up and read a partial message but couldn’t unlock the screen.
Travis left early. I’m worried…
“Can you call Caleb? Let him know that Todd left his phone and there’s a message he may need to see?”
Dani nodded and called Caleb. “Hey, Hon. Can you check with Todd? We think he left his phone here.” She waited a moment. “There’s a message that Bridget thinks he needs to have.” Dani handed the phone to Bridget.
Bridget waited for Todd to come on. “I can’t get your phone open, so I can only see part of the message. It says that someone called Travis left early. And the sender is worried.”
Todd gave her his password. “See if you can give me the rest of the message.”
“It’s from Doris. And that was it.”
“Is the off-duty officer still there?”
Bridget thought for a minute. “I think so. He’s got to be bored because Eliza is still in surgery.”
Todd seemed to think about what she said. “That means the assassin can’t really go after Eliza right now. If he’s been watching, he knows she’s protected for now.” He made a tapping noise. “But he has another loose end.”
“What do you mean?”
“Travis told me that he knew there was someone else in the alley. The killer might know Travis was aware he was there. But he might think Travis saw more than he did. If that’s the case, then Travis is a loose end for the killer.”
Bridget didn’t like that thought. “Do you think Travis is in danger?”
“I do. But I don’t know where he would go. Can you give me Doris’ number?”
Bridget rattled it off.
“Thanks. Pray that I can find Travis before the killer does. That kid doesn’t deserve to be in his crosshairs.”
“Get that man behind bars where he can’t hurt anyone else.” Bridget looked around the waiting room and down the hallway. Could the man be up here or around the corner, and she wasn’t aware of his presence? “Do you think he’ll come after me again?”
“Stay near people.”
“Dani and the baby are here. I don’t want them to get caught in anything.”
“I think you’ll be okay. Promise you won’t go anywhere alone.”
“All right.” She could do that. She’d elevate her alertness to make sure she didn’t do anything dumb. “There’s the nurses’ station outside the ICU. I think a nurse is stationed there all night.”
“I’d feel better if you were in the ICU where Jon is.”
“The off-duty officer?”
“Yes. He can keep an eye on you.”
“But Dani and Brianna can’t go back there. I won’t leave them out here.” Not when they didn’t know where the killer was. “It’s not safe.”
“We can send them home.”
“We won’t know if he’s the Uber driver.”
There was a pause. “Wow. That’s distrustful.”
“I’ve been attacked twice in twenty-four hours. I’ve earned the right to be protective of my friends.”
“I guess so.” There was a mumbled conversation, then Todd came back. “Caleb will come get Dani and Brianna, while I go find our witness.”
She didn’t like the sound of that. “Should you do that alone?”
“We have to pick and choose. You make a valid point about not knowing where the killer will show up, so Caleb will protect his family, and I’ll go with officers to find our witness.”
“Please be careful.”
“I will, but I need to know you’re safe. You’re all that Eliza has, so she needs you to do everything you can to stay protected. That’s why I want you with Jon the whole time.”
“Does that mean you confirmed her parents. . .”
“Are gone? Unfortunately yes.”
She could hear the sorrow in his voice but also knew she didn’t have time to linger on that. “Okay, you go do what you need to.”
“And that means from the moment Caleb gets there, I want you behind the ICU door.”
“Yes, sir.” She could do that. And she’d pray that this time, the killer stayed on the other side.