Chapter Sixteen
The moment they ended the call, Jake radioed the colonel and asked him to meet them at the entrance to the RV lot. Minutes later, the man came striding down the hill, an assortment of uniformed techs following in his wake. “Tell me everything we know,” he demanded as they approached.
Jake smirked. “Not a tall order at all.”
But Cassidy didn’t hesitate. She launched right into “Troy Baker was the older brother of Airman Trevor Baker, the gentleman Agent Parker interviewed this afternoon.” She didn’t need to add anything about the attack.
“I encountered the brothers one day when I was on duty at the base. We had the usual Sunday--afternoon backup at the gates to the base, so they called in extra Security Forces officers to help with clearance. I had a trainee working with me that day. I don’t recall his name, but I know he was green.
Baker’s car was six or seven cars back from the checkpoint, but I could see one of the occupants was in uniform, so likely active duty coming back onto base.
I thought it would be an easy pass, but I was wrong. ”
The colonel nodded. “How did it go sideways?”
“They were arguing when we approached the car. Airman Baker wanted to get out and walk in, but for some reason his brother, Troy, was not having it.” She frowned as she cast her mind back. “I don’t recall his reasoning, but when we engaged with Airman Baker, it was apparent he was impaired.”
“Drunk?”
“We could smell alcohol, yes. But it was more his demeanor tipped us off. He was cagy. I’d even go so far as to say paranoid. He produced his identification and paperwork showing he had leave, but it ended at noon, and it was well past two when we spoke to him.”
“He was AWOL,” Aronson concluded.
“Technically, yes, he was. When I informed him of his status, he became defensive and belligerent. I asked him to step out of the vehicle. His brother finally spoke up, telling him he didn’t have to do what I told him to do, et cetera.
” She waved a hand as if the rest of the exchange was not important.
“We eventually placed Trevor Baker under arrest for various violations. When we patted him down, we found he was carrying narcotics onto base. The brother, Troy Baker, made noises about leaving, claiming we had no jurisdiction over him, he was on a public street, the whole nine yards. Jacksonville PD keeps a unit nearby for exactly these types of circumstances. I took Trevor Baker in. They took Troy, who was transporting a much more impressive array of drugs.”
“And you testified against Troy Baker in court,” Aronson confirmed.
“I did. But I think his beef with me may have more to do with the fact I recommended to the Advocate General’s Office that Airman Trevor Baker be given time served and a discharge if he testified against his brother as well.”
She met Aronson’s gaze then his. “Trevor took the deal, but Troy Baker blamed me for his brother’s betrayal.”
Jake scowled. “How do you know?”
Cass shrugged, then gave him a lopsided smile. “Because he told me as much that day in court.”
The colonel gave a short, jerky nod. “There you go.” He turned to survey the officers milling around them. “Let me digest this for a minute while I talk to the men.”
Cassidy sat with her eyes fixed on something in the distance. She was clearly deep in thought, no doubt trying to slot all the information and speculation into a narrative that made sense. Bitterness coiled inside him. She didn’t deserve this. She hadn’t done anything wrong—not then and not now.
“You okay?” He nudged her to rouse her from her reverie.
She startled, then flashed a sheepish little smile as she took the phone back from him. “Yeah, sorry, trying to see if there’s any other way to fit the pieces together.”
“Seems pretty cut and dried,” he reassured her.
Cass nodded quickly and turned her attention back to the screen.
“Yeah. Maybe too much.” She tapped to open an email.
“Oh, good. Bud sent a copy of the rental agreement from the amusement company.” She scanned the information.
“Class C motorhome. Make, Windward. Model, Enterprise.” When her head popped up, she was smiling. “Says here it’s black.”
Jake turned to survey the lot. The majority of the vehicles parked there were beige, white or silver. When he met her eyes again, he returned the smile. “Excellent.”
They watched as the colonel’s teams were dispatched to other areas of the grounds. When the older man turned back in their direction, Jake held up his phone. “We have a description of the RV the amusement company rented. We’re going to see if we can spot it.”
The colonel turned to look out over the sea of parked vehicles. “Locate and report back.”
Jake raised a hand to acknowledge the order. Aronson turned to head back up the hill before Cass had even disengaged the parking brake on the cart.
Over the piercing beep of the backup warning, she called to him, “You take the right side. I’ll take the left.”
They whizzed along the lane, heads turned away from one another as they scanned the packed lot. At last, Jake pointed. “Up ahead on the right.”
Cass let off the gas and they rolled to a near-silent stop two spots away from the vehicle.
Jake gave Max the signal to stay as he climbed down from the seat.
Cass elbowed him sharply, then pointed to the model badge on the driver’s side of the hood.
A sleek chrome emblem proclaimed it to be an Enterprise.
Cass tipped her head to indicate she’d take a frontal approach. He gestured back, letting her know he’d circle from the rear and meet her at the door on the passenger side.
The coach’s dark paint job sparkled in the slanting afternoon sunlight.
He noted two good-size bump-outs on the driver’s side.
A matte-black ladder provided access to the roof from the rear of the vehicle.
He placed a foot on the bottom rung and pulled himself up to check it.
The vents, A/C unit and what appeared to be a satellite receiver were all camouflaged by the same matte-black finish.
Moving slowly to keep from rocking the camper, he lowered himself back to the weedy gravel.
When he came around the corner, he found Cass waiting for him, eyebrows raised. “You wanna kick the tires, too?”
“If I wanted to hide, I’d catch some rays up there,” he explained in a harsh whisper.
She shook her head. “He’s not hiding. He’s gone. And he left the door wide open for us.”
Jake frowned and the hairs on the back of his neck rippled.
“Wide open?”
She stepped back and made a grand sweeping gesture toward the entrance to the RV. He grasped her arm and gently moved her behind him as he pulled his gun from its holster. “Let me go first.”
“The colonel said to report back,” she said.
“It’s clearly been abandoned.”
She rolled her eyes. “Brawn before brains.”
He reached back to his academy days for a comeback. “Never backtalk a guy with a Glock.”
At the edge of the door, he stopped and took a cautious peek around the edge. Then, leading with his weapon, he called into the camper, “Police! Come out with your hands in the air.”
There was no movement within. Glancing over his shoulder, he said, “Let me make sure we’re clear.”
“Oh, I insist,” she said, giving his back a gentle push with her fingertips.
Shaking his head at her ability to maintain her sass under all circumstances, he swung into the open doorway with gun extended. He took a step up into the camper, and Cass turned to press herself against the side.
“There may be a sleeper up front and bedroom in back.”
Jake didn’t answer. His focus was as locked and loaded as his weapon. He checked the high bunk over the captain’s chairs, then made his way to the rear to be sure no one lurked in the bedroom, closet or the tiny toilet.
“We’re clear.” He jerked his head for Cass to come in but made no move to holster his weapon.
Cass hopped up into the RV and stopped short when she saw the setup inside.
The U-shaped dinette area was filled with computer monitors and peripherals.
Each of the screens was divided into eight tiles.
Each tile provided a live feed to various cameras placed throughout the midway and carnival games.
The feed to the monitor on the far right appeared to be frozen.
Cocking his head to the side, Jake realized the camera seemed to be pointed at an angle of what appeared to be asphalt.
“Jake, look,” Cass said, sounding breathless as she pointed to a second monitor. Some of the tiles showed security camera footage of the livestock barns. “They’re monitoring the barns? They have no equipment set up there,” she noted.
He leaned closer, then pointed to one of the squares. “The Swine Barn.”
“He’s been keeping an eye on all the locations we’ve identified. And on me.” Then she indicated to a third monitor. There, stacked one window atop another, were multiple screenshots of Cassidy seated on the carousel.
Jake hung back as she bent forward to squint at the blurry still shots.
He turned in a slow circle, mentally cataloging everything of interest. Discarded boxes from pay-as-you-go mobile phones.
Random lengths of wire or possibly fuse cable.
A hunk of misshapen C-4 plastic explosive material. Multiple photographs of Cassidy.
Judging by changes in her apparel, Baker must have been watching her for several days at least. He did a quick scan of the kitchenette behind him and spotted a laptop sitting open.
He swiped the trackpad with a knuckle, and it sprang to life.
A spreadsheet filled with random phone numbers filled the screen.
A small window at the bottom right corner prompted him to compose a text message.
“Why would he leave all this?” Cass cast about as if the answer might be lying out in the open with the rest of the evidence. “It’s mean. I’m glad he did, but—”
She was reaching for the computer mouse when Max let out three commanding barks.