here.” He looked up at both of them in turn. “We still pool resources on this. Track the Huntsman’s movements. The deaths of multiple police officers should be enough to start a manhunt for him, so send a tip to the local authorities.”
“If the heat’s on, he might skip town without taking out his target.” Belladona sounded doubtful but nodded anyway.
“Right. It’s worth a shot. Benji, go through communications not just by the Hartleys but anyone associated with them. If they were smart, they used a middleman for the hire. It might require some footwork, so that’ll be on you,” he looked at Belladona, “but be careful.”
“The Huntsman’s probably not working cheap, either,” she said. “He tortured and killed four people in two days—he’s probably on the clock. The longer you can keep Liliana hidden, the better.”
Mike nodded. He preferred, personally, to be a bit more proactive and on the offense in a situation like this, but waiting out their opponent might be better.
“Second problem.” Benji nodded at the file.
Right, Mike hadn’t entirely been through it yet. He turned the photos over and set them aside, then looked at the next stack of papers. Beyond the autopsy and police reports from the recent murders, he found surveillance shots of a man identified as Jimmy Hartley dated two days ago.
“That is the last time one James Leonard Hartley was seen,” Benji said. “He’s disappeared.”
Mike looked up sharply. “What?”
“Gone,” Belladona said. “Hasn’t been home, hasn’t been to his mother’s, hasn’t been by any of the family businesses. He’s a ghost. Slipped police surveillance before we got there ourselves. Not at any of his usual haunts. Benji can’t even track him online—we think he dumped his cell phone. His car hasn’t moved from the lot.”
That was not a good sign. Although a contract killer had been sent after Liliana, Mike figured that was the mother’s doing—Jimmy seemed more the type who would want to do the dirty work himself. Probably enjoyed the violence.
Now not only did they have a vicious hitman to worry about but this idiot, too.
And the problem was that Mike couldn’t entirely dismiss him as an idiot because while he might be brash and not as overtly threatening as the Huntsman, he had something the hitman didn’t.
Jimmy knew Liliana.
He knew the people connected with her. He knew her habits. He knew how she thought. And that made him just as dangerous if not more so.
While part of his mind pondered the implications of Jimmy Hartley on the run, the other part weighed the immediate plans he had. “We’re booked for two more days here but I was planning on moving her today to somewhere else. Reserved our room yesterday, it’s on the other side of the city.”
“But...” Benji filled in, obviously sensing plans had changed.
“But I don’t like being in this area. I know it, but not as well as I do other towns, and there are a lot of variables in the city to be accounted for.”
“Home turf?”
“You’d both stick out more in Midsummer,” Belladona said warily.
“ In Midsummer, yes. Outside of it, not necessarily.” There were dozens of roadside motels, bed and breakfasts, and other vacation spots that were virtually deserted in winter. Send someone from his team to book the room and sign in, slip him the key so he and Liliana weren’t seen, and stay there. Order food for delivery rather than room service so anyone checking hotels wouldn’t know they were there. They might be able to stay four or five days rather than move after three. It would mean keeping entirely confined to the room the entire time, which would mean possibly securing the room so Liliana definitely couldn’t leave.
He could admit to himself, just barely, that he felt badly at the thought. Her trust in him was already pretty low over the forcible confinement and this would take that to a whole other level. Curtains closed all the time. Windows
“If the heat’s on, he might skip town without taking out his target.” Belladona sounded doubtful but nodded anyway.
“Right. It’s worth a shot. Benji, go through communications not just by the Hartleys but anyone associated with them. If they were smart, they used a middleman for the hire. It might require some footwork, so that’ll be on you,” he looked at Belladona, “but be careful.”
“The Huntsman’s probably not working cheap, either,” she said. “He tortured and killed four people in two days—he’s probably on the clock. The longer you can keep Liliana hidden, the better.”
Mike nodded. He preferred, personally, to be a bit more proactive and on the offense in a situation like this, but waiting out their opponent might be better.
“Second problem.” Benji nodded at the file.
Right, Mike hadn’t entirely been through it yet. He turned the photos over and set them aside, then looked at the next stack of papers. Beyond the autopsy and police reports from the recent murders, he found surveillance shots of a man identified as Jimmy Hartley dated two days ago.
“That is the last time one James Leonard Hartley was seen,” Benji said. “He’s disappeared.”
Mike looked up sharply. “What?”
“Gone,” Belladona said. “Hasn’t been home, hasn’t been to his mother’s, hasn’t been by any of the family businesses. He’s a ghost. Slipped police surveillance before we got there ourselves. Not at any of his usual haunts. Benji can’t even track him online—we think he dumped his cell phone. His car hasn’t moved from the lot.”
That was not a good sign. Although a contract killer had been sent after Liliana, Mike figured that was the mother’s doing—Jimmy seemed more the type who would want to do the dirty work himself. Probably enjoyed the violence.
Now not only did they have a vicious hitman to worry about but this idiot, too.
And the problem was that Mike couldn’t entirely dismiss him as an idiot because while he might be brash and not as overtly threatening as the Huntsman, he had something the hitman didn’t.
Jimmy knew Liliana.
He knew the people connected with her. He knew her habits. He knew how she thought. And that made him just as dangerous if not more so.
While part of his mind pondered the implications of Jimmy Hartley on the run, the other part weighed the immediate plans he had. “We’re booked for two more days here but I was planning on moving her today to somewhere else. Reserved our room yesterday, it’s on the other side of the city.”
“But...” Benji filled in, obviously sensing plans had changed.
“But I don’t like being in this area. I know it, but not as well as I do other towns, and there are a lot of variables in the city to be accounted for.”
“Home turf?”
“You’d both stick out more in Midsummer,” Belladona said warily.
“ In Midsummer, yes. Outside of it, not necessarily.” There were dozens of roadside motels, bed and breakfasts, and other vacation spots that were virtually deserted in winter. Send someone from his team to book the room and sign in, slip him the key so he and Liliana weren’t seen, and stay there. Order food for delivery rather than room service so anyone checking hotels wouldn’t know they were there. They might be able to stay four or five days rather than move after three. It would mean keeping entirely confined to the room the entire time, which would mean possibly securing the room so Liliana definitely couldn’t leave.
He could admit to himself, just barely, that he felt badly at the thought. Her trust in him was already pretty low over the forcible confinement and this would take that to a whole other level. Curtains closed all the time. Windows
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