Vindicate (Recovered Innocence #1)(36)

“Only the government can track burner phones. We’d have to know where the phone was purchased to have any hope of surveillance catching him on camera. If he’s smart—which I’m betting he is—he’s already ditched the phone or phones he used to call your parents.” Wow. I just impressed myself there with how much I know about investigatory stuff.

“So it’s a dead end.”

“Pretty much.”

She lets out a frustrated noise and pulls away from me to start her pacing again. “How did he know to call my parents? Is he watching me? How much does he know about the case? How is he getting his information?”

Her questions are good and valid. If only I had answers for her. “We need to bring my dad in on this. He might have some answers.” Or create more questions.

She hangs her head out into the hall, then pops back in. “He’s still in his meeting.”

“Come here.” I hold my arms out.

She looks like she needs a hug. Or else I’m projecting. This shit just got real. I’m scared for Cora in a way I’ve never been scared before. To my surprise, she walks right to me and hugs me hard.

“It’s going to be okay,” I tell her.

“I know it is, because we’re going to track that * down and put him in prison where he belongs. Nothing’s changed here except that he outed himself. He’s exposed himself in a way he never has before and I want to know why. Something we did triggered him to walk out of the shadows. We’re going to keep doing what we’re doing and draw him out even more.”

“That’s not a good idea.”

“Yes, it is.”

“No, it’s not.” I push on her arms to see her face. “There’s more at risk here than freeing Beau. He knows who you are and what you’re doing. He knows who your parents are and enough about them to call them. He probably knows the same or more about you. You live alone. Do I have to say it?” I sound desperate, because I am. She wants to taunt a rapist and murderer.

She blinks up at me. I can see that she’s not listening to what I’m saying or else she heard me and is rejecting it. Either way, I don’t like it.

“That cat didn’t protect Cassandra and it can’t protect you.” I lay it out bluntly. “She’s dead and now the man who killed her could be after you. Is this what Beau would want?”

She jerks away from me. “Don’t you dare use Beau against me.”

“I’ll use whatever I have to to get you to listen to me. You’re not thinking this through.”

“What do you expect me to do? After all this time I finally, finally, have a possible lead on this *.”

“We’re taking this to my dad and whatever he decides is what we’ll do. We’re out of our league here, Bluebird. Don’t you see that?”

“Of course I see it. I’m not an idiot. I’m also not going to tuck tail and run. I’ll hear what your dad has to say and then I’ll decide how to proceed.”

“You’re not putting yourself in jeopardy.”

“Yes, Dad.”

It’s my turn to growl in frustration. Half the time I want to kiss her and the other half I want to punch a wall.

I stalk past Cora to the reception area. “When is my dad’s meeting going to be over?” I ask Savannah.

“It should wrap up soon. Why?”

“Does he have another appointment after that?”

“No.”

“We need to talk to him. Can you make sure he doesn’t leave before we get to?”

“Sure.”

“Thank you.” I stomp back into Cora’s and my office. “He’ll be finished soon.”

We glare across the room at each other, our arms folded across our chests. I’m not sure I can out-stubborn her any more than I can talk her out of doing whatever it is she’s planning. Because I know she’s planning something. I can see it in her bold blue eyes.

A door down the hall opens and my dad’s and a couple other guys’ voices drift into our office. His meeting is over. Savannah tells him we want to see him. He comes in to find Cora and me still in our standoff, glaring at each other.

“What’s going on here?” he wants to know.

I fill him in on the phone call to Cora’s dad, the burner phone, and the conclusions we’ve come to about the whole thing. I want him to tell Cora…Oh, hell. I don’t know what I want him to tell Cora. We can’t stop looking for the real killer. She has me over a barrel there. She won’t ever give up on searching for the real killer and he’ll likely do anything not to be found. Catching him solves the problem, but it also leaves Cora exposed.

“He’s revealed himself,” Cora tells my dad. “He’s never done that before. Somehow we drew him out. We have to keep doing what we’ve been doing and draw him out further. He’ll make a mistake, and when he does we’ll catch him.”

“We’re not cops,” Dad points out. “We have no jurisdiction to do anything to him. The only thing we can do is keep working the case.”

“What if he goes after Cora?” I ask. “She lives alone just like Cassandra did.”

Dad contemplates this. “Do you have someone you can stay with or who can stay with you?”