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“I don’t teach class on Thursday. Let me know if that works.”
“Will do. And Alex? Just drop this case. It’s not worth it. The FBI can pursue it, but I don’t want any harm coming to you. Cassandra would not want that. Can you let it go? Just plan to be here for Sophia. She thinks of you as her aunt.”
“Of course.” The lie comes easily. I don’t touch my mouth or scratch my nose. I would probably pass a polygraph. Because it’s a partial truth. I will be there for Sophia.
“She’s not ready for visitors yet. But her doctors think by next week, so Thursday could work.”
“Is she still going through withdrawals?”
“Somewhat. But she’s getting stronger.”
When I end the call with Jack, I settle back into Ryan.
“I can only imagine what Sophia has gone through.” He cups my elbow and caresses my arm.
“What about you? How are you doing? You had a dramatic day.”
He’s right. I did. And the spike in adrenaline followed by a slow, winding decline has misted my eyes at times as emotions welled up. But I’m okay. Perhaps growing up with a father who worked on cases and hearing about tragic situations steeled me for this. I can’t say I don’t feel it, that I don’t tremble when the memory of my panicked climb up the stairs hits. But I’m okay. And when I think back on it, the man in the stairwell didn’t have a well-thought-out plan. He didn’t shoot at me as I ran. He followed me, attempted to catch me, but he was careless. It’s almost like he lifted that arm so I would see his gun. To give me a head start running.
“Do you think it’s possible that someone just wanted to scare me? That today wasn’t about actually catching me?”
“If the FBI wasn’t on the case, I might say yes. But scaring you off doesn’t make sense. The FBI hasn’t closed the case. There’s a team of investigators still looking for the man who escaped. And now they’re looking for this guy.”
“Right. It just feels too easy. And now Jack is telling me to drop it.”
“Jack doesn’t want you hurt. And his focus is on his daughter.”As it should be. “You feel like it was too easy because you escaped. You are observant. Your gut told you something was off about him. You noticed his eyes, his body posture. You froze long before you saw the gun. And then you reacted and ran. You survived. There’s nothing easy about what you did. Some people would have remained frozen on the stairs. Some wouldn’t have been able to comprehend the danger. You ran, protected yourself, and called for help. You’re also lucky. If he had broken into that office before campus security scared him off, the results of today could have been very different. Nothing about today was too easy.”
CHAPTER28
Alex
Outside my house, a man sits inside a nondescript sedan. From the wall near my front window, I watch him. A mix of frustration and annoyance simmer. Agent Ryland contacted Ryan and informed him facial recognition of the man who held Sophia, based on her descriptions, has identified him as a person connected to the Morales cartel. The suspect has been on DEA’s watch list and is part of a separate ongoing investigation. The man from the stairwell may also be connected to the cartel.
Agent Ryland didn’t say the FBI was closing the investigation, but Ryan’s take is that the DEA case will take precedence and priority. They will prosecute those entangled with the kidnapping, but attacking a woman in a stairwell is a low-priority crime. They know these men do bad things. They aren’t out to arrest them for crimes that will land them in prison for a year or two. No, they are looking to bring down an operation. Between the DEA and ATF, Ryan suspects they have multiple deep undercover operatives in place. Given the ATF monitors arms sales, and Sullivan’s company sells weapons, everyone suspects that ultimately there will be a connection between illegal arms sales and Sophia’s disappearance.
But kidnapping for ransom isn’t the cartel’s modus operandi. And the DEA enforces controlled substances, or drugs, which has me wondering if the kidnappers were communicating with Jack and requesting something other than money. It’s conceivable the counter-ransom broke up the criminal faction. Maybe some of the low-ranking employees weren’t paid well enough to inspire staunch loyalty. Here’s the problem with criminal investigations. You can theorize all day, but ultimately, you need evidence.
Five days have passed since the attack at my office. Twice I have driven to the office, parked, then put it in reverse and returned home. That first day, the police tape for the investigation turned my stomach. The university wasn’t allowing employees in the office anyway. Now, the tape is gone. The dean notified our floor we can return to the building. That email led to my first fight with Ryan. I refused to have a security detail accompany me to the office.
I haven’t fought harder on the topic because my preference is to work from home. Or it has been. I have taught my classes, but I haven’t been up to my office. Both the elevator and the stairwell provoke uncomfortable nerves I can’t quell.
This coming weekend, Ryan and I will return to San Diego. He’ll visit his sister, and I’ll get to finally see Sophia. I am very much looking forward to getting out of Santa Barbara.
The man in the sedan flicks his fingers in a half-wave. My position by the wall must not conceal me as much as I hoped. I lift my coffee mug to him. The Arrow employee is not trying to hide. Ryan wants anyone watching my house to know he’s there. But Ryan’s also striving to give me privacy, hence the reason he’s sitting in a vehicle and not in my home.
Ryan and I have spent every night at his place since the attack. I’m essentially using my home as an office. Each night, it’s assumed we’ll stay together. Last night, he unpacked my suitcase and hung up my belongings in his closet.
Against one wall in my den is the standing whiteboard from my office. Ryan brought it back to my house for me. I haven’t touched it since the attack. I haven’t had anything to add to it as the investigation has essentially concluded. But my hope is that I might uncover something more when I spend time with Sophia and Jack this weekend. Even if we never locate her abductors, the case will be an interesting one to review, given we countered a ransom with a reward.
The university would love for me to produce something publishable from this incident. A review of the case or a criminal profile. Larry Reyes is dead. We may never find out who he was working for, but it seems reasonable he may have been working for the cartel. As the head of sales, it would be logical for the cartel to be one of his clients. We already know he had been responsible for greatly increasing international sales.
Wayne Killington claimed to know the man well. He’d been a mentor and hired him right out of college. He’d said he would talk to me.
I pick up my phone and jot out a quick text. I haven’t seen Wayne since we returned to Santa Barbara.
Me: Hi, Wayne. This is Alexandria Rolfe. I hope all is well. I’ll be in San Diego this weekend, if by chance you have time to get together. If not, I completely understand.
I send it off before I can second guess it. All I really want is to ask questions about Larry Reyes, to gain a deeper understanding of his personality than the company bio provides.
