Chapter 5 #2
Interesting…although she could pass off the license plate, claiming the vehicle was a rental. Unless she was a suspect in the murder case, who would question it?
Since Grant knew she wasn’t the real Agent Hart, he would. He made a mental note of the plate number and hurried to his own rental car.
As he approached, his heart skipped several beats. Avery’s head wasn’t peeking over dash as he’d seen it when he’d walked away.
He sprinted the last few yards and yanked open the door.
Avery stared up at him from where she crouched low against the floorboard, her eyes wide.
When she saw it was him, she let out a whoosh of air. “Oh, thank God, it’s you.”
He shook his head and slid into the driver’s seat. “When I didn’t see you looking over the dash, I thought you’d left the vehicle.”
“I didn’t dare,” she said and scooted up into the seat, still slumping low. “That reporter was snooping around, heading toward the car. So, I hid as low as I could. Since I didn’t know if she’d passed, I stayed down.”
“Good. I don’t think now is the time to confront the other Agent Hart.”
“I don’t like it,” Avery said. “Even if she’s not working with the killer, she could jeopardize the case when we do find evidence.”
“It’s uncanny how much she looks and sounds like you,” Grant said as he started the engine and turned the car around. “I understand why Agent Bradley assumed she’s you.”
“But she’s not an FBI agent.”
“No, but she seems to know enough about murders to be convincing.”
Avery snorted. “Tell me what you learned.”
“First, call in her license plate.”
Avery frowned. “Seriously. You think she’d be sloppy enough to be driving her personal vehicle?”
Grant shrugged. “It’s a Nebraska plate.”
“It could be a rental that was returned at destination,” she said, taking his cell phone from him. “I really hate that I don’t have my own cell phone with all my contacts.”
“Look up the number for Swede.”
“Swede who?”
“I have him listed as just Swede.” Grant sped up, not wanting to lose the Jeep. The woman drove faster than the speed limit. Once he was close enough, he would see if she turned off. For now, he slowed and matched her speed at ten miles per hour over the posted limit.
The sheriff and his deputies had enough on their hands; he doubted they’d pull him over.
Avery found the number in his contact list and called, then put it on speaker.
“Hayes,” Swede’s voice filled the interior of the car. “How’s Agent Hart?”
“Doing better,” he said. “She’s with me, and this call is on speaker. Avery, say hello to Swede, my boss’s tech guru. If it’s in a database, he’ll find it. He’s a genius with computers, the web and the dark web.”
Avery smiled. “Hello, Swede.”
“I don’t know about the genius part,” Swede said, “but I find things.”
“Then maybe you can find the owner of a Nebraska license plate,” Grant said and gave Swede the number he’d committed to memory.
“Got it,” Swede said.
“While you’re looking it up, I have more requests.”
“Shoot,” Swede said.
“Agent Hart lost everything when her car was swept away in a flash flood, including her laptop. Do you have access to the National Crime Information Center?”
“I do,” he answered.
Grant gave Swede a description of the victims. “The San Antonio Field Office is looking for similar cases, but it doesn’t hurt—”
“—to have more eyes sifting through the data,” Swede finished. “I’ll poke around and let you know what I find.”
“Swede,” Avery spoke up, “you might also tap into the dark web. I recently participated in a two-year undercover operation that shut down a major crime syndicate in Florida as part of Operation Orchid. We got the major players, but there might be some minor ones bent on revenge.”
“And along those lines…” Grant glanced at Avery.
“Could you trace the 911 call made the day Avery was delivered to the Baylor Scott & White Hillcrest Medical Center in Waco? Have them look for her car based on where they found her. When they locate the car, have them check the brakes. Avery said that when a deer jumped out in front of her, she hit the brakes, and they didn’t work.
One of the victims was from San Antonio, close to the time Avery left for her assignment in Shadow Valley. ”
“You think whoever took the victim from that area might have tampered with my brakes?” Avery asked.
Grant gave a brief shrug. “Doesn’t hurt to check. Plus, maybe whoever did it was part of the crime family you and your team carted off to jail.”
“I would like to know if the brakes were deliberately cut.” Avery’s lips twisted. “We won’t know unless they can find my car.”
“I’ll work on that,” Swede said. “Oh, and I have a match on that license plate. It’s a rental. I’ll dig deeper to find out who rented it and from where. I’ll get back to you.”
“Thanks, Swede,” Avery said.
“Glad you’re doing better. You had Grant scared.”
“Tell Hank thanks for getting me down here so fast,” Grant said.
“Roger,” Swede said. “Out here.”
“Out here,” Grant said.
Avery ended the call. “Should I ask how Swede has access to everything?”
“Probably not,” Grant said with a grin. “All I know is he’s one of the good guys and he makes things happen. He was also a Navy SEAL.”
“Good to know,” Avery said. “Or not to know. Whatever gets us the information we need to solve this case before he hurts anyone else.”
“Something you need to consider,” Grant glanced her way, “is that the victims are all in their thirties and about your height and have long black hair.”
“Okay, so he has an M.O. when choosing his victims.”
Grant shook his head. “Sweetheart, I just described you.”
Avery frowned. “You think he’ll come after me?”
“You fit the description. All the more reason to stick with me at all times until we find the bastard.”
“You think he was in San Antonio to cut my brakes when he found his victim?” Avery stared out the window. “Why cut my brakes but take another woman?”
“He might have wanted to slow you down on your way to Shadow Valley.”
“So that my doppelganger could get in place before me?” Avery’s lips pressed together. “Are we doing the right thing by not blowing her cover?”
“I really hope she leads us to him.” Grant slowed as they neared the outskirts of Shadow Valley. “She’s turning into the Good Night Motel.”
He slowed even more as he approached the hotel and passed it.
“She’s going into one of the rooms on the bottom floor... I think it’s room 21.” She lifted Grant’s phone.
“What are you going to do?”
“Call the hotel.” She looked up the phone number and placed the call. “Please connect me to Avery Hart in Room 21.” She waited a moment and then ended the call. “The operator didn’t hesitate. That’s the right room number, and she did use my name to secure it.”
“She had to use a credit card.”
Avery cocked an eyebrow at the motel. “I bet this place takes cash as well.”
“Agent Bradley and the sheriff were heading back to the sheriff’s department. We could go there or...”
“Stake out the imposter. If she is in cahoots with the killer, she might try to get to him.”
Grant’s lips pressed into a tight line. “We could use some listening devices about now. She might just call him.”
“True.” Avery tapped a finger to her chin. “I don’t trust her. It’s all too coincidental that she showed up in my place after I had an accident that might not have been an accident.”
“What I’m hearing is that we’re going to hang around and see where she goes next. She’s supposed to meet with Agent Bradley at TJ’s Bar and Grill at seven this evening, I assume to discuss the case.”
Avery’s eyes narrowed. “In order to stay one step ahead of the investigation, while feeding the killer everything they’ve discovered.” She glanced at the cell phone display. “That’s an hour from now.”
“Do you have anywhere else to go?” Grant asked.
“I’d like to get a cell phone. And if I’m going to sneak around town, I need different clothes, a hat, a wig or something. A change of underwear would be nice, too, since all I have are the clothes on my back.”
“Let’s wait until she meets with Agent Bradley. That should keep her busy for at least thirty minutes to an hour. Then we could skip over to the big store we passed on the way into town. They’ll have everything you need.”
“One problem,” she said. “I don’t have money or credit cards.”
“I’ve got you covered.”
“I’ll reimburse you when I get my life back.” She shook her head. “Right now, I feel like I don’t exist—like I’ve been erased, and the imposter is now me.”