“Funny. I’m happy to look into it, but knowing what you’re thinking can help me expand the search.”
“I don’t know what I’m thinking other than I need to understand the details behind all the moving parts,” he said.
“So you givemethe hard part.”
“That’s why you get paid the big bucks.” Cole chuckled inside.
“Do I?” Allison asked, but her tone was teasing.
She’d had his back before, and he trusted her. “Yes. You do get paid well.”
Probably more than Cole, but he wasn’t doing this for the money. If it was about money, he would be doing something else entirely.
“Is the ferry incident somehow related to Jo’s father?” Allison asked.
“Could be. She was looking for him, had fled and felt like someone followed her.”
“Please forgive me for overstepping, but I seem to remember you mentioning that Jo was a bit paranoid. Always thinking someone was following her.”
“And she has a right to be. She was hiding for a reason. That’s why I started investigating to begin with.”
“Okay, thanks. I just wanted to make sure I’m tracking with you. So you believe that someone could have followed her onto the ferry.”
“Possibly. I don’t know. I’ll remain in touch with the local police here too. Washington State Police Detective Hargrove is on the ferry case.”
“Which investigation do you want me to give priority to?”
“That’s a hard call.”
“I’m just kidding. I’m a great multitasker. I’ll get back to you shortly.” Allison ended the call. He’d been so fortunate to recruit her.
While he’d been talking to Allison, he continued watching for a possible tail. Jo was driving a little slower than the speed limit, which made sense with the rain and wind. She occasionally passed slower cars, and that surprised him, but he easily kept up with her. Michigan detective Rick Wilson called, and he answered again via the Bluetooth head unit.
“Cole Mercer.”
“Detective Wilson.”
“Detective, what can I do for you?”
“You mentioned tracking Jo Cattrel down since you’re looking into her mother’s death. Did you find Cattrel?”
At least one person hadn’t seen the news about the ferry incident. Jo’s vehicle swerved, making his heart jump. A deer leapt out of the way. He slowed but then caught up to her. He didn’t feel at liberty to talk about Jo, who had remained hidden away in her secluded corner of the country until this week.
“Why do you ask? What’s happened?”
“I don’t have her contact information. I can’t get ahold of her to let her know that we have a person of interest in her mother’s suspicious death. If you’ve found her, I assume you told her.”
Detective Wilson hadn’t shared with Cole about Mason Hyde when he’d spoken to him before, but the case had not been reactivated yet. Naomi Bancroft had shared about her brother when she’d hired Cole.
His gut clenched. “Can I ask you something? What took you so long to finally identify Mason? What’s tying him to Mira’s case?”
Cole had read through the reports of the cold case. Just one investigator worked the cold cases. Wilson had been deep in another investigation, and Cole hadn’t gotten the chance to ask the question he’d wanted to ask before heading to Washington to find Jo.
“It started with an anonymous tip—someone recognized the image of our freelance forensic artist, Mira Cattrel. The caller said that Hyde had murdered her. I’ll say, Mason Hyde’s sister wasted no time hiring you.”
“Can you blame her?”
“No. We can’t locate Hyde, and his sister isn’t talking. Won’t tell us where he is.”
