Caitlyn shifted in the hard plastic seat as Sam continued working on Devon’s computer. “Where did you learn how to do that?”
“What?” Sam looked at her blankly, then frowned. “Computer stuff? I’ve been working on computers since I was a kid.”
She didn’t want to admit that she hadn’t used a computer until she’d started high school. And even then, she’d been behind her classmates, thanks to the years they’d lived with the Preacher and out on the streets.
Jayme had insisted Caitlyn go to school every day, even though Jayme herself hadn’t had that luxury. Jayme had obtained her GED and had then gone on to become a physical therapy technician. Jayme had also insisted she become a veterinary technician.
Not bad for two foster kids who’d lived on the streets.
“This guy covered his tracks well,” Sam muttered. “Smart and cagey.”
Great, just what she didn’t want to hear. The man who’d murdered two people was smart and cagey. “But you’re better than he is, right?”
“Maybe.” Sam continued staring intently at the screen as his fingers flew over the keys. “The ISP originated from the coffee shop, but I should be able to track it back even more to identify the computer itself.”
Sounded complicated. “I don’t see how identifying the computer will help us find him.”
“If I find it while he’s online, I might be able to track his location,” Sam said. “No guarantee, he could have routed this through a variety of servers.”
Since she knew next to nothing about what he was talking about, she fell silent. Footsteps had her glancing over to see Devon striding through the police station, his expression grim.
“Find anything?” she asked.
“The barista remembers a man who fit your description of our perp, but he gave her a fake name.” Devon hunkered down next to Sam. “Tell me you have something more.”
“Not yet.” Sam sounded a bit testy. “These things can’t be rushed.”
“Sorry.” Devon backed off and glanced around the police station. “Caitlyn? Will you come with me for a moment?”
“Sure.” She stood and followed as he zigzagged through the room. He went over to stand next to a large bulletin board covered with photos of uniformed officers. “Take a few minutes to look at these cops. Do any of them look familiar to you?”
She frowned, trying to understand what he was getting at. She shifted her gaze from one photograph to the next. “This guy,” she said, tapping one picture. “This is Officer Hill, right?”
“How do you know him?” Devon asked.
“He responded to a call back when Jayme was being targeted by the arsonist.” She eyed him curiously. “Why are you asking me about these cops?”
“Keep looking,” he said, sidestepping her question.
She did as he asked, looking at every single photograph. When she finished, she shrugged. “Some of these cops look familiar, like maybe I’ve seen them out and about in town, or maybe one of them brought a pet into the clinic. But that’s all.”
“You don’t recognize the man who strangled the woman?” he pressed.
“No.” Realization dawned. “Wait a minute, you think the killer is a cop?”
“Either a cop or military, or both,” Devon admitted. “I should have suspected someone within law enforcement before now. A cop has access to the DMV database, he could have gotten my license plate number and ran my information to find my address.” He stared at the sea of faces on the wall. “I was really hoping this guy worked here in Sevierville, but if you don’t see him, he might be with another police force nearby.”
A cop. The memory of the man’s cold hard face as he strangled the woman to death flashed again in her mind. The thought that the same man who’d brutally murdered a woman was also a guy who’d taken an oath to serve and protect made her feel sick to her stomach.
“Is there a way to get photos like these”—she waved a hand at the bulletin board—“from other police departments nearby? Knoxville? Or even Pigeon Forge?”
“I hope so.” He drew her back to Sam. “Stay here, I’m going to make a few calls.”
“Wait, I think I have something,” Sam said. The guy’s eyes gleamed with anticipation. “He’s online right now, and I’m close to pinpointing his location.”
“Where?” Devon leaned down to look over his shoulder. “I really need to know where he is.”
“Hang on,” Sam muttered. “Okay, here. Looks like he’s using the Wi-Fi at a place called Cooper’s Town.”
Devon used his phone to plug the information in. “That’s a restaurant in Knoxville.”
Caitlyn swallowed hard. “You can’t call the Knoxville police to get him, not if he might be one of them.”
“A cop?” Sam gaped in surprise but then nodded. “Makes sense.”
Devon lifted his phone to his ear. “Detective? We have reason to believe our guy is at a restaurant called Cooper’s Town in Knoxville. I want you to meet me and Caitlyn there.”
She shouldn’t have been surprised Devon intended to take her along since she was the only one who could identify him. She knew it was important to get this guy behind bars where he belonged. Still, her stomach did a little flip at the possibility of seeing him again.
Doubts assailed her. What if her memory wasn’t as clear as she’d portrayed? What if she didn’t recognize him?
“Good. We’ll see you soon.” Devon lowered his phone and took her arm. “Let’s go.”
They only took two steps when Devon suddenly stopped and turned to face Sam. “Hey, what do you drive?”
“Me?” Sam looked surprised by the question. “I have a Chevy Tahoe that’s like ten years old. Why?”
“I want you to switch with me.” Devon went over and set his keys on the desk. “Take the dark gray SUV with the muddy license plate if you need to go.”
“Okay.” Sam readily dug his keys from his pocket. “It’s rusty but runs pretty good despite the high mileage.”
“Did you park out back?” Devon asked. When Sam nodded, he turned to take her arm. “Time to hit the road.”
She wasn’t sure why Devon had wanted to swap vehicles, it seemed overkill, but she didn’t argue. She accompanied him outside and easily found Sam’s Tahoe. It was a messy disaster inside, but she gamely pushed the fast-food wrappers off the seat and onto the floor so she could get in.
“Bring up the address for Cooper’s Town on your phone and use the map function to give me the route,” Devon directed. “This car doesn’t have a built-in GPS.”
“Okay, the restaurant is sixteen minutes away.” She began rattling off directions from her phone. “Turn right at the next intersection.”
The roads were fairly deserted this time of the evening on a Sunday. Devon glanced at her. “Once we get to the restaurant, I want you to stay behind me at all times.”
She gave a jerky nod. “I’ll try, but I’m sure you’ll want me to look at all the restaurant customers to see if I can identify him.”
“Yes.” Devon’s expression was grim. “But I also don’t want you to be in danger, Caitlyn. So the minute you spot him, I want you to get someplace safe.”
“It’s strange to think of him sitting there, eating dinner,” she said as a way to distract herself from the gravity of their mission. “I mean, he’s been coming after us nonstop.”
“I know.” Devon pushed the Tahoe’s accelerator. “I wish I’d thought of the possibility of his being a cop sooner. He had the audacity to give the barista my name for his drink order.”
She sucked in a harsh breath. “He did?”
“Yeah. As if he knew I’d track him there.” Devon shook his head. “I’m concerned that as a cop he might be able to cover up any report of a missing woman. Especially if she happens to be his girlfriend.”
Horrible thought. “It also may be too early for anyone else to know she’s gone,” Caitlyn said. “But maybe tomorrow things will change. If Jayme was gone and didn’t answer my phone calls or text messages, I wouldn’t just stop at the police station. I’d use every media source I could find to blast her photo everywhere.”
“Good point,” Devon agreed. “Although if he has her phone, he could respond to text messages, pretending to be her.”
“True.” Caitlyn dragged in a deep breath. She couldn’t fail in her task of identifying this guy.
Please, Lord, grant me the strength and wisdom to find him!
Devon arrived at the restaurant a few minutes early. The place wasn’t anything fancy and didn’t offer live music the way so many of the pubs and taverns did in Tennessee. She watched Devon scour the parking lot. “I don’t see Detective Ernest.”
“I’d like to go inside right away to get started,” she said, trying to sound confident despite her trembling fingers.
Devon hesitated a moment, then nodded. “Okay, but remember the plan to stay behind me.”
“I’ll try.” She’d do her best, but Devon was hardly invisible. She’d need to have an unobstructed view of the restaurant customers.
Devon led the way inside. There was a small entryway with a hostess stand where guests were expected to wait to be seated. Devon tried to push her behind him, but she stayed near his side as she glanced from one group of occupants to the next.
She took her time, scared she’d make a mistake and identify the wrong man. But after a few minutes, she felt certain he wasn’t there.
“See him?” Devon asked in a low voice.
“Not yet.” There was a cluster of tables off around the corner that was outside of her vantage point.
“Dinner for two?” the hostess said as she came forward with two menus.
“Ah, we’re just looking for someone.” Devon moved over to the side, which only made it more difficult to see the corner of the room.
“Oh, who are you joining?” the hostess asked.
“If you don’t mind, we’re just going to check and see if our friend is here.” Caitlyn smiled at the woman and tugged Devon’s arm. She tipped her head to the side. “He might be in the corner back there.”
Devon swept his gaze over the room, then went around the hostess stand to a spot where the corner tables were visible. There was a foursome sitting back there, two men and two women.
Caitlyn’s heart sank. “I was wrong. He’s not here.”
Devon grimaced and nodded. “I was afraid of that. Let’s head back outside to meet with Detective Ernest.”
Caitlyn nodded, knowing it wasn’t her fault the murderer wasn’t there the way Sam had told them.
Still, it was a setback in the investigation. She found herself wondering if the murderer had been there but already left.
Or if he’d never actually been there at all.
Devon quickly escorted Caitlyn to Sam’s Tahoe. He called the computer guru, who answered on the first ring. “He’s not here, Sam. Are you sure you didn’t give us the wrong place?”
“I’m telling you, he was using the Cooper’s Town Wi-Fi,” Sam insisted. Then he added, “I guess he could have accessed their free internet from outside the building rather than being inside.”
Devon gripped the steering wheel tightly, realizing he should have thought of that. He disconnected from the call without saying anything more and began looking at the vehicles around them.
“Write down as many license plates as you can,” he told Caitlyn. He twisted the key in the ignition and shifted the truck into drive.
With her phone in hand, Caitlyn began tapping in license plate numbers. Maybe this was a futile effort, the killer may have seen them drive up and took off while they’d been inside.
Then again, if that was the case, why hadn’t the perp made another attempt to kill them?
Maybe his last-minute idea of borrowing Sam’s Tahoe had caused some confusion. The killer wouldn’t have expected them to show up in a rusty old truck.
Score one for the good guys.
He tried not to let the loss of nailing this guy get to him. Finding him at the restaurant hadn’t been a sure thing. The twelve minutes it had taken for them to get there was ample time for the guy to have escaped.
“So close,” he muttered, taking the Tahoe around the parking lot to get all the license plates.
“I know.” Caitlyn’s tone held regret. “I wish we’d have found him, too, but don’t worry. I’m sure we will get him very soon.”
He was ashamed of his attitude. Caitlyn had the most to lose, and here she was consoling him. His phone rang, and he saw Ernest’s truck pull into the parking lot. “He’s not here,” Devon told him. “We’re taking down license plates, just in case. But he’s not inside as a customer.”
“What if he’s a staff member?” Ernest asked.
“We can check, but my theory is that this guy has a background that includes either military or law enforcement training. Not a bartender or dishwasher for a restaurant.”
“A cop?” Ernest whistled. “Makes sense, especially the way he cleaned up both crime scenes, the one in the woods and the one outside the veterinary clinic. But I feel like we should check the employees anyway.”
“Okay.” Devon understood the detective’s need to be thorough. In fact, he should have considered that too.
Maybe he wasn’t detective material. It seemed he’d done nothing but underestimate this guy from the very beginning.
“We’re going back inside?” Caitlyn asked, looking up from her phone.
“Yes.” He parked the Tahoe and shut down the engine. “We’re going to check the kitchen staff and the other employees.”
“I don’t think he works here,” she said. “But I guess it can’t hurt to check.”
“Agreed.” Then he frowned. “I’m going to wait here while you go inside with Detective Ernest. I think it’s important to make sure there isn’t another attempt to sabotage our vehicle.”
She hesitated, a flash of fear darkening her blue eyes, before she nodded. “Okay. That makes sense.”
It was the smart, logical thing to do. So why was he so loathe to let her go off without him? They were going into a restaurant, not a pit of viper snakes. And while Ernest wanted to be thorough, he agreed with Caitlyn.
No way did a killer this smart work in a dive restaurant.
But he’d been there. Either inside or lurking around outside the place.
“Rainer.” Ernest startled him by rapping on the window. “You ready?”
He lowered the window. “Take Caitlyn inside with you. I’m going to keep an eye on things out here.”
Ernest turned to glance around, then shrugged. “Okay.”
Caitlyn slid out of the passenger seat and went around the Tahoe to join Ernest. It took all of his willpower to let her go inside the restaurant without him.
He scrubbed his hands over his face. This was not good. He was more than a little emotionally involved with Caitlyn Weston.
Ernest and Caitlyn would be in and out within ten minutes. Maybe less. He forced himself to sweep his gaze over the area, looking for any sign of their killer.
A flash of light through the trees snagged his attention. Headlights from a car on the road? His heart pounded in his chest as he tried to imagine the layout of the area. He wasn’t very familiar with Knoxville, but it couldn’t be that much different from Sevierville, where he lived. The roads often twisted and turned through the mountains.
He pulled out his phone and used the map app to bring up the restaurant. From there, he zoomed out to get an idea of the nearby highways and roads.
There was no road in the area where he’d seen the light. Only woods.
Was it possible there was a house tucked back there? Maybe. A long driveway wouldn’t show up on a map.
The light winked again, taunting him.
He told himself to get a grip. That a light in the trees didn’t mean the killer was out there, trying to draw him out.
Then again, what if it was?
Reaching up, he removed the dome light cover and bulb. If he was going out to investigate, he didn’t want to broadcast his intentions. He slid out from behind the wheel, softly closing the door. He pulled his weapon and lightly ran into the woods, using the evergreen trees and large tree trunks for cover.
Deep down, he almost hoped the killer was out there, waiting for him. He wanted this guy arrested and tossed in jail as soon as possible.
And if it wasn’t? Some might say he’d look like a fool for traipsing through the woods searching for some distant light, but those same people hadn’t had their house searched or been shot at outside a veterinary clinic.
In his humble opinion, the killer’s taunting him by sending an email and using his name at the coffee shop meant he was growing desperate.
As if the guy knew that he’d have to go through Devon in order to get to Caitlyn.
He was about twenty yards into the woods when the light flashed again. Definitely closer this time. Devon dropped down behind a large tree, wishing he had night vision goggles to see who or what was up ahead.
The clock ticking in his head told him he didn’t have much time before Ernest and Caitlyn would be finished inside the restaurant. He darted out from behind the tree to another, and yet another, each time making his way deeper into the woods.
He felt certain he was getting close to the source of the light. Unless the killer had seen him and was also moving away.
The possibility was sobering.
Devon ran for another ten yards before dropping behind another evergreen tree. The air was growing cold enough that he could see his breath.
“Devon!” Caitlyn’s shout had him snapping his head around to the parking lot. “Where are you?”
Just then, he heard the snap of a tree branch. Swinging back around, he saw the light bobbing in the distance.
The killer was getting away!
Ignoring Caitlyn, he jumped up and ran after the bobbing light. It quickly vanished, as if the killer suspected Devon was close by.
He couldn’t let this guy get away. Rather than using the trees for cover, he simply ran through the woods as fast as he could, which wasn’t quick enough given the fallen logs and thick brush obstructing his path. He couldn’t see anyone up ahead, but that fact didn’t cause him to slow down.
If anything, he pushed himself harder. And once again found himself praying for strength and guidance.
Show me the way, Lord!
He tripped over a fallen log but managed to stay on his feet. As he pushed deeper into the forest, he grew convinced the killer was out there.
Crack!
The echo of gunfire was so loud he tripped again, this time hitting the ground hard. Instantly, he was up on his feet, darting to the closest tree to use for cover.
“Devon!” Caitlyn’s cry held a note of panic. He wanted to call out to her, but he couldn’t give his position away to the gunman.
Get her out of here, he silently urged Ernest. Keep her safe!
For long moments there was nothing but silence. Devon knew he couldn’t hide behind the tree forever, so he edged around it and dashed toward another tree.
But there were no more flashes of light. And oddly enough, no more gunfire.
Where had he gone? Was he lying in wait for Devon to come closer?
Pulling his phone from his pocket, he used his jacket to cover the light the best he could as he called Ernest. “Is Caitlyn safe?”
“Yes, I have her in my vehicle,” Ernest said calmly. “Did you find the shooter?”
“No.” His shoulders sagged in relief at knowing Caitlyn wasn’t hurt.
“I’ll call the Knoxville PD for backup,” Ernest said.
“Don’t do that, there’s a chance this guy is part of the Knoxville PD.” Devon drew in a deep breath. “Just stay where you are, I’ll join you shortly.”
“Got it,” Ernest agreed.
Devon carefully turned and went back through the woods the way he’d come. Soon he was back at the Cooper’s Town parking lot. He rushed over to Ernest’s car and climbed in. He grimly met the detective’s gaze. “I lost him.”
“At least you’re not hurt,” Ernest said. “You shouldn’t have gone after this guy through the woods without backup.”
Devon ignored the rebuke. Ernest was right to a certain extent, but these were hardly usual conditions.
And this perp wasn’t your average killer. He forced back the bitter taste of failure at knowing he’d lost him again.