“Let’s get back to the house,” Griff said, interrupting his thoughts. “The local police will be there soon. And we’ll need another place to stay.”
“We’re running out of options,” Kendra said dryly. “At this rate, no one will want to rent to a Sullivan.”
“I’ll use my FBI resources to obtain a safe house,” Griff said. “Remember, we rented this specifically to draw the shooter out.”
“You did?” Levy looked surprised.
Dom nodded. “Yep, that was when we suspected you were dirty. Obviously, we were wrong about that. But the other factor here is that I rerouted the ISP address to use the computer. The same way I have been each time we found a place to stay. From the hotel to one safe house and the next.”
“So?” Levy lifted his hands. “I don’t understand your point.”
“I think we need to consider the possibility Bartoli has a hacker on the payroll.” Dom held Levy’s gaze, then turned to look at Kendra. “You know that it wasn’t long after we got to the safe house that we didn’t even rent through legal channels that we were found there. The more I think about it, the more I think there’s a hacker out there feeding the gunman our location.”
There was a moment of silence as the group absorbed his theory.
“Okay, we’ll consider ways to narrow down who Bartoli may have hired. How, I’m not sure. For now, we need to update the local police. Let’s go.” Griff turned and led the way back to the rental house. Everyone else followed. Dom fell into step beside Kendra and Smoky.
“You really think a hacker is involved?” she asked in a low voice.
“Yeah, I do.” Dom grimaced as he considered for the first time that maybe someone within Data Intelligence Services could be involved. It was the largest computer technology company in the quad state area, covering Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and Idaho.
Not that his employer was the only one who hired geeks like him for their technical expertise. The truth was that the computer industry was growing, and there were companies like Data Intelligence Services popping up all over the US and worldwide.
The dark web had tentacles that reached to every corner of the world. Their hacker could be from anywhere. Even overseas. Yet Dom didn’t think so. He wasn’t a cop, but in his humble opinion, digging into the employees within his company, Data Intelligence Services, would be the best place to start.
But first, they needed a safe place with internet access that wasn’t likely to get them all killed.
Kendra noticed Smoky continued to sniff their surroundings with interest. Almost as if there was something about the GMC Sierra that had caught her K9’s attention. But that didn’t seem possible. Despite being highly trained, even a K9 couldn’t sniff through glass and steel.
The warmth of the house enveloped her when they walked inside. She sighed in relief as her fingers and toes thawed out. But then she glanced at the shattered front window that was clearly allowing cold air to seep in. The warmth wouldn’t last for long, making her wish, and not for the first time, that she had a coat as warm and fluffy as Smoky’s fur.
The sirens were loud enough now that they couldn’t hear each other speak. Griff headed out the front door with Levy trailing behind him to meet the Cody cops.
Justin and Raine were off speaking in low voices. Kendra glanced at Dom, who set the computer on the kitchen table, then headed to the counter.
“Need more coffee,” he muttered.
“What if this is about the Krugerrand coins?” Kendra spoke softly as she joined him in the kitchen. “I was going to mention this earlier, but your father obviously had some from prior to his being relocated into witness protection. Stuart Ramsey had one, either from being paid in Krugerrand or having found one when he messed with your father’s plane. And then Stuart gave his to Helen, who also ended up dead.”
After finishing with the coffee, Dom turned to stare at her. “I get where you’re going with that thought, but keep in mind, my father doesn’t have any Krugerrand at the house. I would have found it if he did. And if Bartoli thought my dad had Krugerrand on his plane, wouldn’t he have taken the coins first, then killed him?”
“Maybe Stuart Ramsey found the Krugerrand on the plane just before he sabotaged the plane’s engine.” She warmed to her theory. “He could have told Bartoli about what he found only after your dad took off with my parents to fly back to Wyoming. Could be that Ramsey secretly kept some of the coins for himself.”
“Okay, but then why come after me now? Six years later?” Dom crossed his arms over his chest, propping his lean hips against the counter. “This danger now has to be connected to Stuart Ramsey’s deathbed confession.”
“Yeah.” Kendra nodded slowly. “I can see how that could be the catalyst here. But I still think the Krugerrand coins are significant.”
Before Dom could respond, the front door opened. Griff and Levy were accompanied by two Cody police officers, Burt Jones and Heath Anderson.
Burt eyed her grimly, then relaxed when he saw Justin and Raine standing nearby. Thanks to her older siblings, Burt Jones was overly protective of her. She had to smile when Stone and Smoky wagged their tails in greeting.
Burt bent to pet each of the dogs before addressing her. “How did this gunman find you again?”
“We’re not sure.” She glanced at Dom, not sure that it was worth going into detail about their hacker theory. “Did Andrew Levy tell you that he verified the vehicle was a black GMC Sierra truck? And that the license plate was covered with snow or something similar?”
“He did.” Burt nodded. “We’ve updated the BOLO accordingly.”
“Great.” She stepped back when Dom approached with two cups of coffee for the two officers. “The sooner the officers patrolling the street find it, the better.”
