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“I feel responsible,” Steele said in a low tone. “I watched for a tail, but maybe I missed something.”
“This guy has a scope, maybe even a set of binocs,” Joe said. “Brady is going to meet us at the FBI offices where we can swap rides. The safe house he’s arranging for us is only three miles away from that location.”
“I’m surprised the FBI is giving us a safe house.”
“I’m not.” Joe glanced back at her. “For one thing, you’re an FBI agent’s sister. For another, the feds are treating this guy as a domestic terrorist.”
Thinking of the man she’d bumped into as a terrorist made her shiver. Yet she knew Joe was right. After killing so many innocent people, every law enforcement agency in the state wanted him apprehended.
“I guess the good news is that he’s only targeting me, not other innocent victims.”
“That’s hardly good news,” Steele said in a dry tone. “Having him in custody would be good news.”
She shrugged. “Better me than taking out more innocent lives at another public event.” She abruptly straightened. “Wait a minute, what about the Milwaukee Performing Arts Center? They’re featuring live performances of the Christmas Carol every Thursday through Sunday from now until Christmas. What if we’re wrong about him not looking to take more innocent lives? What if he’s just buying time until the next event?”
Steele and Joe exchanged a look. “I’ve been wondering if there shouldn’t be a shelter in place order, but that’s not my call to make,” Joe said. “Truth is, he’s been following you. If he’d wanted to take out a bunch of visitors at the theater, he could have done that by now. They had a matinee performance today and another show tonight. But he showed up at the hotel instead.”
She wasn’t convinced. In some ways she hoped this guy was only interested in her.
They arrived at the FBI offices faster than she’d expected. Seeing Brady in his SUV waiting for them eased some of the knots in her stomach.
When Steele pulled up next to him, Brady and Joe lowered their respective windows.
“Ready to jump in?” Brady asked.
“Let’s do it,” Joe agreed.
Both Joe and Steele got out first, then crowded around her until she was situated in the back of Brady’s car. Joe crawled in beside her, leaving Steele to take the front passenger seat.
“You’re going to leave the other SUV here?” she asked.
“For now.” Brady met her gaze in the rearview. “Marc Callahan will get us another rental in the morning.”
“Callahan?” Steele asked.
“Our cousin,” Brady and Elly said at the same time. If the situation wasn’t so dire, she’d have laughed.
The safe house was a nondescript tan brick home located on a half acre of land. A few minutes later, they were all crowded in the kitchen.
“You still think this is related to the ice skaters?” Brady asked.
Joe lifted his hands. “The only thing I know for sure is that this guy is determined to kill Elly. And that’s not typical behavior from an active shooter.”
“True,” Brady admitted. “Ian has still been searching for the missing kid. I hope to have him switched over to working on the facial recognition sometime tomorrow. There’s a lead that Callahan is following up on related to the kid. If he’s found, that will free up more resources.”
Elly was secretly glad that a missing child had taken priority. God had kept her and Joe safe so far.
She felt certain the local police and the FBI would have the shooter in custody very soon.
The guys huddled together at the kitchen table, discussing theories. Elly did her best to pay attention, but her mind kept replaying those moments at the City Central Hotel. She’d been about to confront Joe about her feelings, but the shooter firing through the window, nearly killing her and Joe, had put an end to that plan.
She couldn’t help feeling as if she was living on borrowed time. There wasn’t a single doubt in her mind that this guy would try again.
Having faith in God, and in Joe and the rest of the team, didn’t mean she wasn’t prepared for the possibility of being hurt.
Or worse.
All she needed was a few minutes alone with Joe. She wanted to let him know how she felt before it was too late.
