Not that she wanted to believe what she’d found—something that had no business being in a run-down estate in the middle of nowhere that didn’t even have Internet access. It would be easier if she could close her eyes and imagine she was again seeing things that weren’t there.
Instead, she stared at the tiny object.
“What the—” She reached up to grab it from its nest behind the molding. She was betting there was something similar in every room in her house. “Oh my God.”
…
“Are you certain?” Dawson said.
“That we have an on-site unsub, yes.” Cole had double-checked the damage to the staircase. Then, for what it was worth, he’d once more ensured that every entrance to the house was secure. Afterward, he’d headed through the kitchen and the storage room, straight through to the backyard.
If Shaw’s stalker was somehow tracking what was happening in the house, Cole was going to do his best to keep him from overhearing this conversation. He once again cursed the sophisticated technology he wasn’t in a position to challenge.
“But you have no idea who it is?” Dawson asked.
“There’s no way to know.”
“Or he doesn’t exist.”
“He exists. I doubt there are any fingerprints besides mine, and I don’t have the equipment to scan for whatever electronics he’s using, or to even know if he’s listening in to what I’m saying now. And I can’t tear the place apart looking for how he’s tracking us, without tipping him off that we finally know he’s here. Once we do, we’ll lose our shot for a strategic strike to nail the bastard. But I’ve seen his handiwork for myself. Shaw’s not imagining this. He’s gone quiet again. If my hunch is right, she’s safe for now while he enjoys his latest victory and regroups. But he’ll resurface. And then, if we play this right, he’s mine.”
Dawson grunted. It was quite possible he smiled. Cole could almost imagine the marshal rubbing his hands together with glee. He heard what sounded suspiciously like a match being struck and a long drag being taken from a cigarette.
“So we finally have our break,” the chief inspector said, exhaling slowly.
“Only because the guy’s getting reckless. He could have set up the other accidents when she was in the woods with me, or even before. But I was in the house this time. He knew it, and instead of staying away, he waltzed in right under our noses and made it look like I caused her fall. If Shaw hadn’t remembered about us and the barn fire when she did, if she hadn’t instinctively accepted that she could trust me, he might very well have gotten his wish.”
“You keep saying he,” Dawson pointed out. So far, he hadn’t asked how Shaw’s memory had been jarred so miraculously, after a month of nothing. Or where Cole had been, precisely, when he’d missed his check-in after the unsub had outsmarted him again. “Is there anything tangible to base your gender theory on?”
“Instinct.” Cole ran a hand through his hair, then along his chin. Damn, he needed a shave. “This is obviously personal. Maybe it’s always been personal. It feels like anger to me. A man’s anger. Rage. Maybe even revenge. If it was a woman who was that pissed off, hell, we’d both be dead by now.”
“That’s a very scientific analysis, for one of your garden-variety hunches.” Dawson laughed.
Cole was happy to entertain.
“Look into Shaw’s past,” he said. “For someone with an ax to grind. Someone who’d know the ins and outs of her corporation and the manor house. And also the best ways to screw with her mind.”
“She’s had no long-term relationships that we could find. The woman’s a workaholic loner, and her family’s gone. There are no spurned lovers panting to even an old score, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“Look for ties to the crimes at Cassidy Global. The illegal sales of research. The timing of all this is too much of a coincidence for everything not to be linked. Our unsub is somehow involved in the treason and espionage, not Shaw. He’s setting her up to take the fall for his crimes. Making her look crazy is just part of his game.”
Actually, it raised the hairs on the back of Cole’s neck to realize just how long this situation had been going on, while no one had believed a word Shaw was saying—exactly as the asshole had planned. Well, Cole believed her, and he’d have her back from now on.
“I’m going to tell her about the task-force investigation, and that she’s been the prime suspect until now,” he said. “And about the security leaks at Cassidy Global and the pending charges against her.”