Page 18 of Chasing a Kidnapper

“I know how that goes,” Raina said with a smile. “You’re always welcome.”

A shadow clouded Trish’s gaze, and she shot him a quick look. “Actually, there’s been some trouble at my place. A masked intruder broke in, tied Laurel up and searched the house, apparently looking for some sort of key.”

“What?” Raina’s eyes widened in alarm. “That’s terrible. Are you and Gabriel, okay? And what about Laurel? What are you going to do?”

“Laurel is fine. She’s in the hospital until tomorrow, as the thug hit her hard in the kidney.” Trisha looked down at her son for a moment, then added. “I—we’re staying with West for a couple of days until this guy has been caught.”

“That’s a relief,” Raina murmured. “I know you’re a cop, Trish, but I’m glad you’re not staying at your place.”

“I would never put Gabriel’s life in danger,” Trisha said. “West has been very kind.”

“West is right here,” he said dryly. He understood why Trisha hadn’t mentioned the kidnapping attempt. No point in worrying Raina when she already had so much on her plate. “And it’s no trouble. I hate the way this guy has lashed out at you and Gabriel.”

Peanut frolicked with Chewy and Austin. Beacon was off on the side, coloring in a picture book. The little boy appeared very intent on his task, reminding him of how focused Kenyon could be when he was faced with a problem.

Once Gabriel had been fed, Trisha repacked the diaper bag. “Thanks for allowing us to drop by. We’ll get out of your hair now.”

“It’s truly no problem,” Raina assured her. A frown furrowed her brow. “Be careful, okay?”

“Always.” She gave her sister a hug, hoisted the diaper bag over one shoulder then picked up Gabriel. “Take care.”

“Come, Peanut,” he said firmly. The beagle instantly turned from Chewy and followed him outside. As he lifted his K-9 into the back, his phone rang. Seeing his captain’s name on the screen, he quickly answered. “What’s going on, Captain?”

“I heard you found a gun at the Fitness Guru Gym,” Ross said without preamble.

“Peanut did, yes.” He quickly explained about why they’d been at the gym in the first place. “I have the list of members. I’ll scan them to you and the rest of the task force as soon as I get to my place.”

“It’s our first break in the case,” Ross agreed. “Unfortunately, there were no useable prints found on the locker. It appears to have been wiped clean after the Glock was placed inside.”

“What about on the Glock itself?” West asked, sliding into the SUV and transferring the call to the speakers. It was only right that Trisha be up to speed on the case, too.

“No prints on the gun, but Dan Slater is working with a ballistics expert from the ATF to see if they can raise the serial number, and to test the gun to see if it’s been used in other crimes. Our new task force is fast tracking the evidence, which is helpful.”

“That sounds promising.” Bullets fired from a gun and retrieved from crime scenes could be matched to the weapon if the slugs were uploaded into the system. “I’ll touch base with Dan, too.”

“Later.” His boss ended the call. With Trisha and the baby settled into their seats, West backed out of Raina’s driveway, then turned toward his place.

Between the Glock and the list of gym members, he felt as if they were finally on the right track in finding these guys. The fact that Trish’s ex had a locker at the gym so close to where they’d found the weapon, made him wonder if the cases were connected in some way.

It would be interesting if they were, although he wasn’t sure how. Things were getting complicated, that was for sure. He needed to keep Trisha and Gabriel safe, while seeking justice for Kenyon’s murder.

It would be icing on the cake to accomplish both missions.

Relieved Gabriel had quieted down with a full belly and a lulling car ride, Trisha glanced at West. “I wish we knew more about the masked kidnapper, but I’m glad you and the task force have something to investigate related to the gun trafficking case.”

“Me, too.” He flashed a rare smile. “And we’ll keep digging into this ski mask guy, as well.”

“Thanks.” She understood how the task force felt about nailing these gun runners. After the way they’d lost Kenyon in that explosion, she couldn’t blame them.

Yet the incidents surrounding the masked man nagged at her. She decided to begin with digging into Seth Blakemore as a possible suspect. Even if he wasn’t involved, Seth may know more about what Bryan had been up to.

“Do you mind if I borrow your computer? Once you’re finished scanning the names of the gym members?”

“Sure.” He nodded thoughtfully. “I remember we discussed looking into Seth Blakemore. As a friend of your ex-husband, he’s our best lead as to what Bryan may have been up to.”

“Agreed.” She glanced at Gabriel, who was happily babbling in his car seat. “I can work on Seth Blakemore, to free you up to deal with task force stuff.”

“We’re in this together.” West waved a hand. “I’ll help with Seth, although I may have to head out to follow up on other leads, as they arise.”

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