Chapter Fifteen #2
“His interest is specifically in Sedona. The question is why? Second, when we track him down and question him, will the danger to her stop?”
“What does your gut say?”
He scowled. “I’m missing something vitally important. I don’t know what it is, but I’m positive we’re missing a key piece of information that will turn what we know or believe upside down.”
Isaac’s expression darkened. “Then we better get busy because I think your instincts are right on the money.”
Dread grew in his gut. Not good at all. His men had good instincts, honed in the crucible of war. If they said something wasn’t right, you could take that to the bank.
“Where and when did you see this guy?” Rhys asked.
“I noticed him the first time a month ago at the town festival.”
“You would recognize him if I found recordings of the crowd?”
“Of course.”
“Where were you specifically when you noticed this guy at the festival?”
He thought about that for a moment. “Outside the bank. That’s where the hot apple cider vendor was set up. I bought Sedona a cup of cider near dinner time.” He’d timed their unofficial date that way so he would have a natural excuse to ask her to have dinner with him.
He smiled slightly. It had worked like a charm, too. If only he’d known that he didn’t have to come up with excuses to ask her out, his stress level would have been considerably lower.
“Give me a minute.” Rhys’ hands flew over the keyboard for a minute, then two, then three. “Got it. Come see.”
Cam joined Sedona in looking over Rhys’ shoulders at his laptop screen.
He tapped a key, and the crowd on the screen shifted into motion.
Seconds after the crowd’s movement began, Rhys pointed to Cam and Sedona walking through the crowd toward the apple cider booth.
When they reached the booth, Sedona placed her order and conversed with the vendor.
Cam split his time between watching Sedona and scanning the milling crowd.
He noted the exact moment when he spotted Sedona’s watcher for the first time.
He leaned closer and pointed to one man on the screen. “There. That’s the guy who’s been showing up all over town wherever Sedona is.”
“Let’s see if this guy is in the system somewhere.”
“I didn’t hear that,” Cam muttered. “So don’t get caught.”
Rhys chuckled. “You got it, sir.”
“Do you remember seeing him, Sedona?”
“Yes, of course. That’s Nick Stephens. We run into each other at least once or twice a week. He’s a nice guy.”
“That’s what the neighbors always say about serial killers,” Dario said.
She shook her head. “He’s no serial killer, that’s for sure.”
“How do you know?” Cam prompted. “Can you prove it?”
“How can you prove a positive?” she countered. “I just didn’t get any strange vibes from him during our conversations.”
The ball of ice in his stomach grew larger. “How well do you know this guy?”
“We’ve shared a table at The Carafe a few times.”
“You’ve gone on dates with him?” How did he not know this? Usually, people in town were good about keeping him informed if someone showed signs of interest in Sedona. They’d let him down this time.
“Not dates, just sharing coffee and tea, maybe a muffin or something.” She pointed at him. “Stop that. It’s not a date if it’s not planned.”
“He may not have asked you beforehand, but he knew your schedule and planned the dates. He planned them, all right. You just didn’t know about it ahead of time.”
“Got a hit, sir.” Rhys’ grim expression told Cam this wouldn’t be good. He turned his computer so they could see the man’s mugshot on the screen and his list of priors.
Holy smoke. Cam grimaced. The man had a list of priors as long as Cam’s arm. “Let me see that.” When Rhys handed over his computer, Cam led her to the couch and sat down beside Sedona.
“Nick Stephens’ real name is Dominic Simpson.
” He studied the list of priors, growing more concerned as the list went on.
Assault, assault with a deadly weapon, conspiracy to commit murder, vehicular assault, and many more.
The list was bad enough. What concerned Cam the most was the fact that he’d never been convicted of anything, only charged.
He frowned. Who was this guy’s attorney? Cam scrolled down until a very familiar name was listed as his attorney. How did Dominic Simpson afford an attorney as expensive as Ivan Rollins?
“Dominic Simpson?” Her cheeks drained of color. “But he told me his name was Nick Stephens.”
“He lied.”
“Why? He never pressed me for information or for a date.” She flinched. “At least not obviously.”
Isaac studied her a moment. “I’d say he accomplished his goal. Simpson wanted to ease his way into your life in a manner that wouldn’t alarm you. When did you first see him?”
“Like Cam said, about a month ago.”
“And nothing else out of the ordinary happened that might raise your suspicions?”
She shook her head. “No, nothing.”
“What about your student, Julio? Did he mention seeing this man hanging around the school or other places he went?”
Sedona remained silent for a beat, then said, “Not that I can recall. He usually tells me everything.” She smiled. “They all do. Just a word to the wise when you get married and have kids. They tell their teachers absolutely everything.”
Isaac grimaced. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“What do you want us to do, Cam?” Dario asked.
“Find this guy. I want to talk to Dominic Simpson. He has to be staying somewhere in or near Maple Valley to keep track of Sedona.”
“Copy that, sir,” Rhys said. “Anything else?”
“Track his movements for the past week. I want to know where he’s been.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Got something on your mind, Cam?” Spencer asked.
“I have a feeling Julio is involved in this somehow. We need to talk to him.”
“He’s still at the hospital. I checked a few minutes ago.”
“Please tell me that boy has a guard on him,” Dario said. “The sheriff was a SEAL. He has to know what he thinks is an accident might be something more.”
“Either the sheriff or one of his brothers is always with Julio and one of the other experienced deputies.”
Thank God. Cam breathed a little easier. Seconds later, his phone vibrated with an incoming call. He glanced at his screen. “It’s the sheriff.”
He swiped the screen and tapped the speaker button. “It’s Cam. You’re on speaker with Sedona and my team.”
“Understood. We have a problem.”