I feel an awful lot like I’ve messed up, but I’m trying to not take it personally. After a long deep breath I go back into the bedroom to finish with Wyatt.
“I think we’ve got everything we need here.” Nick places a camera back into the bag he brought in. “Some of the other guys will be here in a minute. Try not to touch anything else.”
“Thanks guys.” I shake Nick’s hand. “Let me know what you get, keep me in the loop.” I direct that at Wyatt.
“You got it. And please don’t let Kane do anything else. I want to be able to nail this guy.” Wyatt slaps me on the shoulder and follows Nick back out the house.
Once I close the door behind my brother, I turn to face the house. One that's now tainted with bad memories for them. How can I fix this? It's my fault. Some way, somehow this all goes back to Nolan.
I knew I should've taken his threats more seriously. Especially after that last assignment. What my family doesn't know is that Kane's computer skills are the only reason I got out. He was able to get me fake passports and plane tickets out of a different country so my American passport didn't raise any flags. Especially since I found out Nolan got me into the country as a journalist. Safe to say, being who they thought I was, they put a massive bullseye on me and the poor unsuspecting family hosting me at their small bed and breakfast.
All that means is that I one hundred percent don't trust him and fully believe he'd do some crazy shit to get what he wanted. He used to “joke” that he had ties to the mafia. Now, I'm inclined to think those jokes were thinly veiled truth.
“Coop, the team is here to process for evidence,” Wyatt says, opening the door with three other cops behind him.
Nodding, they enter the house and start adding to the bad memories. At least Aubrey isn’t here anymore. She’ll never feel safe here again.
The best I can do for Aubrey right now is to get this place cleaned up as soon as everyone leaves. So, that's what I'll do.
As soon as the door closes again I start with the mess in her room, I gather all the photos off the bed. Opening the envelope I slip them back in but they get caught on something. Looking inside I find another envelope at the bottom. Pulling it out, I notice that there is a logo for a private investigator in Montana. I shouldn’t spy on Aubrey, but curiosity gets the best of me.
Slipping the envelope open I am met with a report on Jack. It is dated three days before his death. After a quick scan of the results, it not only confirms what she’s told me, but so much more. No wonder she didn’t want anyone to find this.
Flipping page after page and all I see are photos that no woman should ever have to see of her husband. I stop when I get to the photo of him snorting cocaine off some woman’s ass cheek. Fucking christ. If this man was still alive I’d kill him myself.
Shoving everything back in with the photos, I slip them on the top shelf of the closet to deal with later after I talk to Aubrey about it.
I'm in Lily’s room tidying up toys when Aubrey’s phone pings in my pocket and there's a knock on the door at the same time. My heart pounds in my chest. They're here, thinking they're about to find Aubrey and Lily alone. Finding my gun, I start to creep around corners, avoiding any of the windows.
The door opens and someone's hand wraps around the edge to push it open.
I get in my stance, ready to shoot as soon as they enter.
“Coop, you still here?" Wyatt steps through with Hunter on his heels. "Jesus, Coop, what the fuck are you doing?" He holds his hands up in surrender.
"Me? You! You just waltz into a house someone just broke into! Have you heard of calling out? Fuck's sake, Wy! What kind of cop are you?”
"Sorry! I was excited about a possible lead. I didn't think!” He shuts the door behind him and Hunter.
"What the hell did you drag me into?" Hunter asks.
Wyatt glares at him. "I was thinking about the photos. And I noticed two things. One, how were they in two places at once? They were getting photos of you and Aubrey in Hemlock Cove while at the same time getting photos of Lily and Emma here. There's more than one person. Two, how do they always know where you're going to be? You'd have noticed someone tailing you by now. There must be trackers or some listening devices somewhere.”
Shit. He's right. How did I not think of that?
"So, what is the plan?" I look between Hunter and Wyatt.
"We need to find them, obviously.” When we stare at him without moving, he continues, "Outside. Start with the cars. Look under the body, in the wheel wells, anywhere you think you could hide something. While you're out there, I'm going to run a sweep in the house to find any bugs planted.”
Nodding, Hunter and I go outside. “I'll start with my truck. You take her car.”
"You got it. " he takes off, laying on the ground to look under the wheels first.
I do the same. I remember hearing once that the wheels were the most common spot, away from the heat of the engine, quick to place, and typically pretty well hidden.
“Got one!” Hunter yells from the front of the car.
“Where?”
