The sergeant snorted. “I suppose his civic activism is good for the law firm.”
“Oh, I imagine his partners consider it part of his contribution to the firm’s profits.”
More thoughtfully, Hammond said, “I’m assuming there’d be some record if he didn’t attend a meeting he was supposed to be at.”
“I’d rather know in advance when he’s out of town.” Seth rested his elbows on his desk. “And then there’s the problem of his hired help.”
“Since you can’t be sure Winstead has ever been in Lookout, that’s the bigger problem, I’d say.”
“Ms. Hollis hinted at the possibility of offering herself as bait. I don’t like it, but I might find a way to make it appear she’s back home at the rental.” His department didn’t have any female officers, but the county and a neighboring town or two did. He might be able to borrow a stand-in.
He frowned. What were the odds he’d find one who bore any resemblance to the woman who was currently giving him sleepless nights?
“If she’s willing to testify,” the sergeant said hesitantly, “we could bring him up on the abuse.”
“Even if he were convicted, he’d be out of jail in the blink of an eye and mad as hell.”
“How did he find her? Twice?”
Seth pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. “It’s harder to disappear than it used to be. We both know that. Doesn’t sound like she had any professional help, either.”
“And he can afford to write a blank check to a PI.”
Seth gritted his teeth. “If I can find out who that is, I’d like to have some words with him.”
Hammond agreed, and promised to let Seth know what he learned about Winstead’s plans in advance.
A report half an hour later that shots had been fired at the high school pulled Seth away from his desk. Over the next hours, he interviewed dozens of students and the baseball coaching staff before finally arresting a young idiot who appeared shocked at the official response and insisted, “If I’d really wanted to shoot someone, I would have! All I did was...”
Get himself in some serious trouble. But at least there were no victims. Thank God.
Of course, writing reports killed the rest of Seth’s working day. He didn’t know when he’d been so glad to leave work. If that’s what he was actually doing, he mused. Cops had been known to blur the relationship line between professional and personal, but not him. With Robin and Jacob, though, he’d crossed right on over. In fact, he wasn’t sure he could find the line again, unless and until they walked out of his life.
Halfway to his father’s house, Seth was still brooding. That was also the moment when he realized he hadn’t been paying any attention to the traffic around him. Usually it was instinct. Given that he could lead someone right to Robin and Jacob, he’d been even more careful than usual in the past few days.
A silver sedan and a black crossover were behind him. He took an abrupt turn at the next intersection. The crossover kept going, the sedan stuck behind him. Both roads were well-used, so that didn’t necessarily mean anything. Two more turns, and he’d lost the sedan, too. Still, he zigzagged the rest of the way to his father’s, and remained uneasy when he got there, watching for any traffic passing on the quiet country road at the foot of the driveway.
He went in and said hello to everyone, changed into old clothes he kept here for the times he helped his father with yard work or maintenance and went back out. He knew where to find the crawler for sliding under cars, and used it and a flashlight to examine the underside of his Ford F-150 pickup truck. He slid his fingers inside the bumper and beneath the license plates, failing to find anything.
When he sat up, his father and Robin both stood over him.
“Car problem?” his father asked.
“Where’s Jacob?” He turned his head.
“Watching TV.”
“Nothing wrong with the truck. I just got to thinking how easy it would be to plant a tracker.” It was Robin he looked at when he said, “I’d be bound to lead someone to you eventually.”
“What a wonderful thought.” She whirled and hurried back into the house.