“I’m sure it’s fine.” She touched his arm. “You’re the expert. I can’t imagine any other computer geeks are smarter than you.”
“Not sure about that.” He grimaced. “This technique I’m using isn’t necessarily new.”
She squeezed his arm. “You’ve got this.”
He nodded, then cracked his knuckles. “Let’s start with the forty-nine-year-old Lamar Mortenson.” Dom’s fingers danced along the keyboard as he spoke. “I know we shouldn’t use age as a marker, but it seems logical this guy would have been older than twenty-nine when he hired Ramsey to kill my father.”
“Agree.” She knew bad guys came in all shapes and sizes. Not to mention, gender. But in this case, it was logical to think a man had ordered the hit. She leaned in to see Dom’s screen. “You’re checking to see if he has a criminal background?”
“Yep.” He frowned at the screen. “He’s clean. Not even a minor arrest on his record.”
“Try the next one. What was his name? Ian Bartly?”
“Bartoli,” he corrected. “Ian Bartoli.”
A couple of hits popped up on the screen. “Drug possession from nine years ago.” She did the math. “That means he was arrested for having drugs when he was fifty-one. Seems old to have been popped for drug possession.”
“Yeah, but it looks like he paid a fine and that was it.” Dom sat back in his chair, his gaze focused on the screen. “A lot of rich and famous people do drugs. Maybe he’s one of those that like to party hard.”
“Maybe. But his arrest was in Jackson.” Was that significant? She couldn’t see how. “I wonder if he likes to ski. Jackson is a known ski destination for those with money.”
“The arrest was in February, so that’s a safe assumption.” He drummed his fingers on the table. “Not sure that’s enough to consider him capable of murder.”
“Maybe Raine and Griff can find a connection between Bartoli and Gunther Volter. Or Theo Le Ruiz.” It felt a bit like grasping at straws. “Or we could be on the wrong path. These guys may be innocent.”
“Too bad there’s not an easy way to find out if any of these guys have been to South Africa.” Dom sighed, then leaned forward. “I guess we should try the third guy, Timothy Platt, even if he is young.”
As it turned out, the only thing that popped for Timothy Platt was a DUI from back when he was seventeen. As a lot of kids were caught drinking and driving while underage, she didn’t think that moved him into a prime suspect category either.
Looking into these guys wasn’t working. She rose and paced the room. Their attempts to investigate this case were laughable. They weren’t cops and didn’t have access to any real criminal databases. They couldn’t even see if these guys had passports, much less had traveled to South Africa.
Other than the one lead Dominic had stumbled upon with Bartoli having a record for drug possession, they really had no idea who had ordered the sabotage. “We need something more. We may as well wait for Raine and Griff to get here. They’ll have a better idea of where to go from here.”
Dom shrugged and continued to work at the computer. As she wandered through Grady’s home, Smoky stood and followed.
“Don’t mind me, girl,” she told the dog. “I just can’t seem to sit still.”
Smoky tilted her head and continued following Kendra. She felt a little guilty over not walking Smoky or spending time training with her. The K9 was highly energetic and normally enjoyed running around the ranch. Kendra vowed to make it up to Smoky once the danger was over.
Time moved slowly. So much so that she tapped her watch, worried that it had stopped working. It hadn’t.
When her phone rang, she eagerly grabbed the device. “Hello?”
“Kendra, it’s Raine. I heard you went to Grady’s house?”
“Yes, we’re digging into a couple of possible suspects.” That sounded better than admitting she was pacing the room. “Where are you?”
“Still on the road. The reason I’m calling is because I just spoke to Andrew Levy. He’s in Cody.”
She froze, glancing at Dominic. “Why is Andrew Levy here in Cody? We never told him where we were staying.”
“I’m not sure, but I don’t think we can put off meeting him for much longer.” Raine sounded apologetic. “We’re only ten minutes away. I’ll call Levy now and let him know he can meet with us at Grady’s.”
She tightened her grip on the phone, struck by a wave of apprehension. “Okay, if you think it’s safe, then go ahead and set up the meeting. I’ll feel better knowing you, Justin, and Griff will be here with us.”
“Me too. Don’t worry. He’s not going to try anything.” Raine paused, then said, “We’ll be there soon. I’ll ask Andrew to meet us in fifteen minutes or so. That way we’ll make sure we can be there before he arrives.”
“Great.” Her tone lacked enthusiasm. “Thanks, Raine. See you soon.”
