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Peter grinned. “I like a challenge.”
Bob said, “So, who is this dirtbag?”
Roxie found the police file they’d requested from Seattle PD. “Brad Mills was questioned in the disappearance of Mark’s wife. Though he was never officially arrested, they talked to him at length. A friend of his provided an alibi, and they had to drop it for lack of evidence of any other possibilities.”
It wasn’t much, but it also wasn’t nothing.
If the police there had reason to talk to him, that meant he’d been under suspicion. She was waiting for one of the officers to get her message and then call her back so she could ask why they suspected him. She needed to hear it right from the officer rather than read into what he wasn’t saying in this report.
“He also had a juvenile record we got into,” Peter said. “He set a fire in a shed at the high school and did some time in youth detention with mandatory therapy afterward. They tried a brand-new, innovative program designed to steer him onto a better path.” He made a face. “I’m not sure it worked.”
Bob snorted. “And we have reason to believe he’s local right now? Any idea where to find him?”
Roxie said, “There are no properties listed under his name or his brother’s, rented or owned. No vehicle registered to him. His driver’s license is valid, but we have no idea how he’s getting around.”
“And you were hit by that Hummer when you were in Liam’s truck?” Bob asked.
She nodded. “I have to conclude that since it’s the most straightforward answer. Until we can confirm paint transfer from the truck to the same vehicle that pulled up outside, it’s not definitive.”
At this point, it was a mystery how it all connected.
Maybe they’d thought she was Liam in his truck. Maybe Brad had hired those people to try and kill her, and then Liam. But when his attack connected—most likely—to dirty cops, then she had to wonder if Brad might not be connected to that as well.
“We found a link between Brad and Matvei Obolensky, the old guy who died in the limo bombing,” Peter said.
Bob nodded.
Roxie pushed away the mental image of Tessa looking like she’d been dragged across asphalt. Her friend, and K-9 trainer, had soldiered on the way Roxie was trying to do. Tessa had stayed standing, holding firm when all kinds of craziness exploded around her.
If only Roxie could have half of that class in the face of all this.
Bob said, “What’s the connection between Brad and the Russians?”
Peter had that information. “Looks like he did some work in one of their clubs after high school. Bouncer, then bartender. That kind of thing. He could’ve been pulled in on the family stuff as well. It’s a short step to being one of the guys that goes out and breaks the legs of people who won’t pay.”
“But we can’t prove that,” Roxie pointed out. Her laptop messenger app for their internal network pinged. “Simon has something. Hang on.” She clicked it. “Looks like after Mark went missing, he rented out the house they shared fully furnished. The family still owns it since Mark’s property went to his brother.”
“Whose name is the house in?” Bob asked.
Roxie shook her head. “Looks like it was still listed under the wife. Her family is going to court to get it turned over to them. It’s not clear who is living there, but it’s about half an hour away.”
“Take a team.” Bob stood, glancing between them. “Go check it out. We need to find this guy.”
THIRTY-ONE
The whole SWAT team had been on eggshells all afternoon. Now, in their van, Jasper leaned forward and patted Liam’s shoulder. “You good?”
They’d agreed it would look odd if he wasn’t driving since he was the only one who had ever driven this particular vehicle. “Yeah. My side doesn’t hurt too bad.”
“No double vision?”
The bleeding on the back of his head hadn’t lasted long. They’d suggested figuring out what it was on Gage’s center console that he’d hit, but this was time to work, not think about what had happened. “I’m good.”
“Let’s just get to my house, yeah?” Gage sat in the passenger seat. He hadn’t rolled out with them much in the last couple of months, so having him here was good. Nostalgic.
“You think breaking up SWAT back to part-time is because of what’s going on?”
Gage said, “Russ will tell us. He wouldn’t have signed off on something that was about targeting you and hamstringing your career.”
