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“That’s not a stretch,” Sami agreed. “The Finnegans are well known in the area. And the cop grapevine is always alive and active.”
Joe should have forced the issue of the entire team using disposable phones. But he’d honestly thought they’d have this guy in custody by now. It was highly unusual for a high-profile killer to evade law enforcement like this.
“Ach, there’s Quinn and Sami!” Rosie set another plate of turnovers on the table. “Would ya all be having breakfast, too, then?”
“Not me,” Elly said. “The apple turnover was more than enough.”
“I’m good too,” Joe said. “But the others probably need to eat.”
It only took a minute for Steele, Quinn, and Sami to place their breakfast orders. When they were alone again, Joe leaned forward. “We really need to find this guy. Any ideas?”
Sami grimaced. “Every squad on the street has the sketch and is searching for him. The stolen truck didn’t give us any viable leads either.”
“What about that one guy, Peter Colton?” Steele asked. “He’s a terminated cop with a face that’s a pseudo match for the sketch.”
“A pseudo match?” Sami asked.
Elly frowned. “His picture doesn’t match the sketch as well as I would have liked. It also doesn’t match the memory fragment in my mind. Although my encounter with him was brief, so it’s possible Colton is our guy.”
“Raelyn and Brock were supposed to go to his last known residence to find him,” Joe added. “But we haven’t heard anything since.”
“That’s good to hear,” Sami said. “I’d think you would be the first to know once they have him in custody.”
Joe wasn’t as convinced as she was about Assistant Chief Michaels’s intent to keep him in the loop. His boss had demanded Joe keep the assistant chief informed on what was happening, but that didn’t mean communication would flow both ways. “Maybe. I’ll check in later.”
“This place is nice,” Elly said, glancing around. “I can see why Colin likes it.”
“Colin likes to eat, period,” Quinn said with a grin. “You ask me, he’s a frustrated chef working as a firefighter.”
Joe nursed his coffee, wishing Tarin would get back to him about the safe house. Granted, the guy was probably working, but still, his sister’s life was on the line.
A few minutes later, Rosie returned with a large tray laden with plates of food. Joe shook his head at the heaping portions placed in front of Quinn and Steele. Sami’s was a normal-sized breakfast.
“You guys are acting like you haven’t eaten in months.” He gave them an exasperated look. “And here I thought you’d chosen this place because it was best for Elly.”
“It is,” Quinn insisted. Then he scowled. “Why aren’t you two eating?”
“I already cooked breakfast for me and Joe,” Elly said. “Hurry up and eat. We’re waiting on you to get out of here.”
Quinn sent him a level stare at the cooking breakfast comment, which Joe immediately interpreted as a warning not to cross the line with Elly. He wondered if Brady had already told the rest of the siblings about his kissing their sister.
Then he dismissed the idea. For one thing, he would have heard directly from Rhy himself if that was the case. And besides, there hadn’t been enough time for the rumor mill to have churned through that information.
But it would get through to the rest of the family at some point. It was only a matter of time.
Quinn said grace, then dove into his meal. Sami caught his gaze. “What happened to the SUV?”
Joe quickly filled them in on the SUV that Steele had noticed driving past the rental property twice in ten minutes, minus a front license plate and a covered rear plate. Then the shadow in the tree, followed by gunfire.
“Dude managed to plant a bullet in the fuel tank, so we abandoned it and covered the rest of the ground on foot,” Steele said. “Elly has been great through all of this.”
The compliment had Joe grinding his molars together. Not that Steele had so much as flirted with Elly, but still. He didn’t like it.
“I hate being this guy’s target.” Elly frowned. “I’ll feel awful if anything happens to any of you.”
“It’s our job to keep you safe,” Joe said as his phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen, expecting to see Tarin’s number, but it was Brock. He lifted the phone to his ear, plugging his other ear to hear better. “What’s going on?”
“We have Peter Colton in custody.” Brock got straight to the point. “We’d been watching his place, and he just showed up, making it a little too easy for us. Even better, we found a rifle and a handgun in his residence. No assault weapon, though, so he probably ditched it.”
