‘He must still be searching for Linnie,’ Deacon said. ‘We told him we were coming back. Thought he was with us.’
Isenberg dialed her cell, then held it to her ear. ‘Detective Hanson, this is Lieutenant Isenberg,’ she said crisply. ‘We are planning the Voss operation. Please join us.’ Her lips tightened. ‘I’ve already sent one of my detectives to take over the search. He should be there by now. I said, please join us. As soon as possible.’
Adam bit back a wince and saw Deacon and Scarlett doing the same. Nobody defied Isenberg when she got impatient like this. Hanson wasn’t being very smart.
Ending the call, Isenberg pointed a remote at the flatscreen on the wall. ‘It seems we have time. I’ve forwarded to the relevant parts.’ She hit play and Adam found himself in awe of Meredith’s way of making the child feel comfortable enough to talk while pushing her to reveal her secrets. Her very painful secrets. Poor Penny.
Adam swallowed a sigh when Penny started to cry. He startled a little when Isenberg fast-forwarded the video a minute or two.
‘She cried a lot,’ Isenberg said flatly, but Adam had known her long enough to know that the acerbic attitude disguised a burdened heart. A glance at Trip showed that the younger man was figuring that out for himself. She hit play to resume normal speed.
Just in time to see Penny positively identify both Jolee and Linnie as having been in Broderick Voss’s home.
Isenberg ended the video. ‘The DA’s got this file. He’s tracking down the judge on call to sign the warrant.’
‘Good,’ Adam said, pushing back from the table. He went to the whiteboard and moved Bruiser’s photo into the deceased column next to his victims. ‘Just because Penny didn’t see him at her house doesn’t mean he’s not involved with Voss.’
‘Do we have a name yet?’ Isenberg asked.
‘No,’ Adam told her. ‘But we can say that his prints match those that Chicago PD found on Tiffany Curtis’s clothing. Nothing pops in AFIS.’
‘Which,’ Scarlett said, ‘is hard to friggin’ believe. How can a guy this violent go through life without getting caught for something?’
‘Good question,’ Deacon muttered.
Adam’s phone buzzed in his pocket and he checked the incoming text. ‘It’s from Quincy. He says the bullet he found at tonight’s scene is a ballistics match to both the one that killed Andy Gold and those pulled from the van this afternoon.’
‘Which matches one found at the scene of a thirty-year-old robbery,’ Isenberg said. ‘Have you made any progress on tracking that weapon’s ownership, Agent Triplett?’
‘No, ma’am. That far back, some of the records aren’t online. Zimmerman put several clerks on it. They’re searching.’
‘Keep me posted.’ She ran her gaze down the list on the whiteboard. ‘What else?’
‘I’ve got something,’ Nash called from the end of the table.
They all turned to stare at him, like they’d forgotten he was here, Adam thought.
‘A guy could get a complex,’ Nash complained. ‘Nobody even asked me.’
‘Just tell us,’ Adam said with an exasperated laugh. Nash had always been able to make him laugh when they’d been on Personal Crimes. Until Paula was murdered in front of them all. It had broken Adam and Nash, just in different ways. And it had damaged Hanson, who’d eventually just focused on keeping them from melting down on the job.
Now they’d all taken a few steps back. At least Adam was happy where he was. He hoped Hanson and Nash were too.
‘I found Jolee Cusack’s car,’ Nash said. ‘She did drive it out to Beechmont yesterday to take the big gorilla to pick up the SUV used in the shooting at Buon Cibo. She parked it in the empty lot of a business a block from Clyde’s Place. She drove it back to her apartment and parked out front. I found it on the college’s security cams. She drove away at ten this morning. Hasn’t been back since.’
‘Do you know where she drove to?’ Trip asked.
‘No, but I know where the car is now.’ Nash turned his laptop around so that they could see the map on his screen. ‘In a used car lot off Route 4, up in Fairfield.’
‘Which is nowhere near the university or Beechmont Avenue,’ Deacon said.
‘Nor the ski slopes in Vermont.’ Isenberg picked up her phone and tapped out a text. ‘I’m having CSU pick it up and bring it in. Thank you, Detective Currie.’
‘You’re gonna need a bigger truck,’ Nash deadpanned. ‘Because there’s more. The other two license plates that Mrs Voss photographed the night they left her husband’s home? Those cars are there too. Not the same plates. All the plates have been changed out. But all three vehicles are in that same used car lot.’
‘How did you track them if the plates have been changed?’ Isenberg asked, clearly – if reluctantly – impressed.
‘Got the VINs from the registration. They’re all new cars. I can track them through the manufacturer.’
‘That is fucking awesome,’ Scarlett declared. ‘I like your friend, Adam.’
Nash chuckled. ‘That’s all I have. I’d like to go with you to Broderick Voss’s place as soon as you have the warrant. Like Hanson, bringing Voss in is why I’m here too.’
Isenberg’s phone buzzed on the table. She checked and waved them toward the door. ‘And there you are, folks. You have a warrant.’ She pulled a set of keys from her pocket. ‘Mrs Voss gave me these. The silver one is for the front door. I’ve got six units standing ready to back you up. Go get the sonofabitch.’
As a group – minus Hanson, who really should have been there by now, Adam thought with an inner frown – they headed for the briefing room door, spilling into the open office area. Which was empty.
Disappointment was his first reaction. Kate must have taken Meredith back to the safe house because the women, the dog, and the grandfather were gone.
Isenberg hesitated, then drew Adam aside, making him frown. ‘What’s wrong?’ he asked, his gut suddenly unsettled.
‘Remember when I mentioned entanglements? And that I’d boot you off this case?’
He gritted his teeth. She was going to bust his chops because he took five fucking minutes for himself? But, he told himself, he’d known the risk. ‘Yes, ma’am.’
She sighed. ‘Meredith apparently hit her head on the van’s floor this afternoon.’
His gut went from unsettled to twisted in a heartbeat. ‘She said she was fine.’
‘She may have thought she was. She may still be. Kate said she has a bump on her head. She’s taking her to the ER to get it checked out as a precaution.’ Isenberg looked him square in the eye. ‘Can you do your job, Detective?’
He closed his eyes briefly. He trusted Kate. Jerking a nod, he met Isenberg’s gaze. ‘You’ll text me as soon as you know anything?’
Approval filled her eyes. ‘Of course.’
‘All right. I’ll text Hanson to meet us at Voss’s. If you see him, send him our way.’
‘Oh, I will,’ Isenberg declared. ‘Don’t you worry about that.’
Adam nudged his worry over Meredith to the side. Not completely out of his mind, because that wasn’t possible. But far enough away that he could focus on his job.
‘Wouldn’t wanna be Hanson,’ Nash murmured as they got into the elevator.
‘Truth,’ Adam agreed. ‘I hope he’s okay. It’s not like him not to at least check in.’
‘Well, if he’s not bleeding out somewhere,’ Nash said dryly, ‘he will be once your lieutenant uses that sharp tongue of hers on him. Not that I’d blame her in the least.’
Adam opened his mouth to defend his boss, then saw the genuine admiration in Nash’s eyes. ‘Me, either,’ he said.
Twenty-one
Cincinnati, Ohio,
Sunday 20 December, 8.15 P.M.
‘Shit,’ Adam muttered, because Voss was not answering his intercom and both the front and back gates were closed and locked.