Where the Blame Lies(61)

Shit. That was a lot of manpower. Manpower they didn’t necessarily have. Putting a tail on Reagan Hutchison might be overkill, but Zach understood the scale of the investigation, knew how vital it was that they not leave one stone unturned. Maybe they could request a few officers from surrounding townships.

As though the sergeant had read his mind, he said, “As far as Josie Stratton’s protection, the Oxford PD can’t spare us any officers right now. They’re understaffed, some flu going around. I could send a couple of our officers, but I’m not going to do that because we need everybody we have working this case right now, in addition to extra officers patrolling the UC campus and surrounding areas. We’re stretched paper thin.”

Zach stilled. No way was the sergeant about to suggest that Josie not be given any further protection. “Sergeant, with all due respect, you yourself just said you had a feeling this guy was gearing up to do something—”

“I do. That’s why I want you to get her out of here, temporarily.”

“What do you mean, get her out of here?” Zach glanced back to the house. Josie moved in front of the window, shifting the curtain aside and looking out. Their eyes met.

“I know Jimmy told you about the name he pulled from the old report dating back five years—the woman Ms. Merrick mentioned who showed up at their house causing a disturbance?”

“Yeah. She moved to Tennessee? In with her parents apparently? Jimmy hasn’t been able to reach her.”

“No, but listen, we have a safehouse very near there. I want you to interview the parents in person, see if they can tell you where to find their daughter. Take Josie with you and stay at the safehouse. She’ll be able to get outside, not feel like a prisoner again, and we won’t have to worry about her safety for a few days at least. Just get her out of here.”





CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN


“What do you mean, you have to get me out of here?” Josie asked, her eyes wide.

“I mean, this guy is getting bolder. He’s made contact with you, threatened you. My sergeant feels strongly he’s going to escalate things and I agree. We have a lead in Tennessee, which is only a four-hour drive away, and he suggested you come with me.” Zach ran a hand over his hair. “Listen, Josie, the department simply doesn’t have the manpower to give you the protection you need while also working this case to the best of its ability. In addition to putting a security detail on Reagan, something is likely to get dropped, and it could cost someone’s life.”

“Mine?” she asked, her voice bland, emotionless.

“I’m not going to let that happen. But we don’t know what this guy’s next move is.” They couldn’t do anything about protecting a woman—or women—they didn’t know were on his radar. But they could do something about protecting Josie. Frankly, he’d felt relieved when he’d been ordered to spirit her away while also following a lead. Get her out of the town where this maniac still freely roamed the streets.

Josie nodded, but she still looked troubled. “I’ll go pack.”

An hour later, Zach and Josie met Jimmy at one of the districts where Zach’s partner gave him a burner phone, cash, and verbally gave him the address to the safehouse. Josie turned over her cell phone as well. It would be monitored by a female officer who would answer it in the event the suspect called again, and they’d attempt a trace. Zach left Josie in Jimmy’s care at the station so she could give Jimmy her statement about the phone call and what specifically had been said, while Zach made a quick trip to his apartment, threw some clothes in a bag, and gave the lone plant on his windowsill some water. It had died six months before but maybe it would rebloom? What the hell did he know about plants? He wasn’t ready to completely give up on it just yet. Zach headed back to the station and picked up Josie.

Zach felt a small amount of tension releasing from his shoulders as he drove out of the city limits, south toward Tennessee with Josie beside him. He glanced at her, saw her take in a deep breath and got the feeling she was suddenly able to breathe more easily too.

“Do you know where this safehouse is?”

“I only have an address. But I think it’s pretty remote.”

The burner phone in the middle console rang and Zach glanced at it. Jimmy. He picked it up.

“Hey man.”

“Yo. You out of the city?”

“Yeah. Just crossing into Kentucky.”

“Drive safe. Like Sarge said, the professor’s still dragging his heels on giving us any kind of list to work with. Do you think Josie might be able to help with that?”

He glanced at Josie’s profile. Some hair had escaped her ponytail and had fallen around her face. She looked young and vulnerable, and his foot pressed harder on the gas, eager to put as much distance between her and any possible danger. “I doubt it. I’ll ask.”

Jimmy was silent for a moment. “Listen, I’m sitting here going over this case. Going through the case file, the information on Landish . . .”

“What is it, Jimmy?” Zach knew his partner, knew when he was hedging.

“Well, listen, it’s just strange. This new guy knowing about those burns on Josie, the rats. I know we talked about potential explanations for both of those things. But Josie said the guy who called her on the phone earlier today did a pretty convincing impression of Landish, correct?”