Could the man in that room help them trace back to the root of the growing web of drugs and crime?
Todd started doodling on a sheet of paper. He tried to remember what he’d learned from Sydney and her time in Tyler. And what he’d picked up from Wayne. It was the thinnest of outlines like the filaments of a spiderweb. Fragile yet somehow holding together. If Travis hadn’t called Todd over to find Eliza, Todd would have stayed clear of the mess, but that wouldn’t make it go away. Maybe this was how he understood unique intersections.
Caleb set a box on the desk in front of him. “Here’s what we have. It isn’t much.”
“Let’s see what’s there.” Todd opened his top desk drawer and pulled on a pair of gloves. Then he stood and spent five minutes carefully sifting through the contents with Caleb. The end result wasn’t much. A wallet with ID, two credit cards, and a gas receipt. A cell phone with one call in the log. “Get this to the forensics team. Maybe they can use it to backtrack to who hired him.”
Caleb nodded. “It’s probably another burner, but worth trying.” He stared at the box. “Wish there was more.”
Todd wrote down the number then entered it in the search bar on his computer. A name popped up. But it wasn’t one in Nebraska. He frowned and then opened another database and entered the name. “This isn’t a known criminal.”
“Looks like we have our starting question.” His phone rang, and he looked at the screen before accepting the call. “Westmont.”
“This is Agent Rathers with the FBI. You left a message last night.”
Todd quickly put the call on speaker. “Thanks for calling me back. I’m here with my partner Detective Caleb Jamison with LPD. We have a situation where we’ve arrested a man who has made two attempts on Eliza Brandenberg’s life in the last thirty-six hours.”
There was a pause. “You have Eliza.”
“Yes.” The man had keyed on that and not the man in custody?
“Is she under protective custody?”
“She’s in the hospital where she’s undergone surgery to relieve pressure on her brain.”
The man swore, then apologized. “We’ve been searching for her, but she’d essentially vanished.”
“I would too, if my parents were murdered in front of me.”
“You figured that out?”
“We’re pretty good at our jobs. Now we’re looking for her biological parents.”
“You’ve been active.” The man was silent a moment. “I can have her father there this afternoon. I can also send agents to take the man you have into federal custody. He’s wanted by us for the murder of her parents and brother.”
“Don’t you need more to make sure it’s the right guy?”
“If he was after Eliza, it is. Where are you?”
Todd gave him the information.
“I’ll have a team there within the hour.”
“All right.” Todd would let the attorneys and management handle who got the man. “What about Eliza?”
“Tell me where she is, and I’ll get marshals there immediately.”
“I think this guy’s the only one who was involved but will be glad for the help.” Whatever it took to ensure Eliza was protected.
CHAPTER 21
As Bridget sat next to Eliza, the caffeine couldn’t keep her alert anymore. Eliza had been stepped down to a regular room, and she was now settled and dozing. With the pain medication, the nurses thought that best for her body as she continued to recover. Bridget also didn’t know what to tell her.
Would it be better to surprise her with her biological father?
The man had already filed emergency guardianship paperwork in the Lancaster County courts and arranged a short-term apartment in Lincoln while the various petitions navigated through the courts. The man was stationed at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, but had been granted emergency leave to sort out the situation. It turned out he had not signed away his rights, so his rights had never been terminated. With the Brandenbergs not having close family, Leticia was prepared to not have the state stand in the way if his home study was clear.
This wasn’t ideal.
