The seamstress finishes pinning the dress up and stands. “I want pictures of you and this nerdy cowboy you told me about.” She turns to me. “Eat the cake or else I will.”
Ava steps down. “Look, if you want to get rid of some of her stress from the case”—she lowers her head and gazes at me from under her brow—“so you two have time to talk about how much you love her”—she winks—“why don’t you just see what GhostEye can do? Enzo and I are happy to run whatever she needs. We’re a lot faster than the internet.”
GhostEye tools can search deeper and faster than any department database on the planet. Where Ingram only gave Freya the date, time, and bodycam photo of the man driving the red truck, she’s not searching with much data.
But if Freya starts getting involved at both the station and with the madness that is Ava Scott, she’ll be workingdouble time. Maybe Ava and Enzo should have a look but not reel Freya in yet?
How can I be thinking that?
I only just made Gabriel and Rio know how important it was that they loop Freya in to the other quarry case from ten years ago.
And that has me circling back to how much work this case is becoming…
“What are you thinking?” Ava asks.
“I’m thinking…that maybe I don’t want her working double shifts. If you start digging, she’ll be at the ranch offices after an eight-hour shift at the station.”
“Why don’t we just do a little digging and not say anything unless there’s something to talk about?” Ava proposes. “You’ve got enough intel to get us started, right?”
This is both a good and bad idea rolled into one. I don’t want to go behind Freya’s back because she might feel disenfranchised, but equally, at the pace her search for Red Truck Man is going, Freya might be working on this case into her third trimester. Or not even finish before having the baby.
I want her stress gone now. Urgency makes it feel like the right move.
Grabbing my cell from the table, I slide it open. “There is a bodycam photo you might be able to help with. Using your image recognition?”
“Do you have it on your cell?” She points to my phone.
I asked Freya if she’d send it to me on the off chance the guy rolls back into town.
“Yeah.” I find it and forward it to Ava’s email address. “Just sent it to your inbox.”
Ava’s eyes light up, the way they do every time a new puzzle comes into her life. She shuffles over, swathes of fabric rustling around her as she heads to her backpack andgrabs her cell out. She dials a number. “Hey, babe. If I send a photo over to you in a few minutes, could you run it… I know you’re busy, but it’s for Anton.” A beat. “Love you, too.”
She texts the photo, then throws her cell back in her backpack. “Let’s see if we can speed things up then, shall we?”
She lifts the gown and rushes back into the changing room.
Ava takes just as long undoing the buttons as she did doing them up, and I tap my foot, thinking about this call so many times, I’m surprised I don’t end up in the basement.
Ten minutes later, Ava is out and discussing bridal accessories with the shopkeeper.
Buzz.
Enzo
Something popped on first pass. Not done yet. Come to the office when you’re back.
A cold pulse hits my spine.
Me
Can’t leave me hanging like that, brother.
The typing bubble appears…disappears…comes back.
Enzo
Nothing concrete. Just…I found a match. The guy pulls up noise in old social feeds. I’ll keep digging for contact details.
