Ryan smiled at Ryleigh as she took a seat next to him.
Would she look at Finn that way again after he explained tonight? He didn’t expect her to fall for him again. No matter how much he was still into her. Nah, that was a pipe dream. But they could be friends.Friends, ugh.So not where he wanted to go. No guy liked being put in the friend zone, but that would be better than her gut-wrenching dislike.
Russ stood at the head of the table where a stack of stapled papers sat in a neat pile. “My assistant, Allison, will be recording details.” He gestured at the woman. “Allison, meet the team.” He went around the table and gave names and basic info. “Get your contact info to her before you leave. I’ll start a group for email and texts so we’re all in the loop. Don’t leave anyone out on important details.”
He took a long breath. “Goes without saying that everything we discuss is confidential.” He ran his gaze over them, locking in place with each person to gain their agreement. Seeming satisfied, he picked up the stack of pages. “Copies of the official report. Likely nothing you don’t know other than the victim’s details, but read it over carefully right now and give me any corrections or feedback you have.”
He slid the pages down the table. “You should know. My deputy who checked on Gates found the place ransacked, and you’ll see that reflected in the report too.”
“Interesting,” Ryleigh said. “Could point more to Gates being a player in the bombing.”
Finn studied the information and paused at the suspected victim section. Uri Francis Gates. Nickname Smokey. Single. Age thirty-six. Last known address before Oregon was Birmingham, Alabama. Oregon driver’s license and his truck was registered in the state.
That was basically it, and Finn had items he wanted clarified. “I remember that Gates’s work application at Shadow Lake Logging doesn’t mention any jobs in Alabama. He listed his last employment here in Oregon. As far as I know, Tobias checked references, so was Gates a logger in Alabama too?”
Russ went to the largest whiteboard and divided it into columns with the headings ofAssignment and Responsible Person. “Ryleigh, follow up with Tobias. See if he confirmed Gates’s employment and if he was employed as a logger in Alabama. If so, why he omitted it on the application.”
“Are odds good that he logged in Alabama?” Ryleigh asked. “I’ve never thought of them as a logging state.”
“Alabama, Oregon, and Washington are the top three logging states in the country,” Finn said.
“I knew Alabama was on that list from previous ecoterrorism activities. I’ll get the deep dive running on the day supervisor, Eckles, and Sovereign Earth, then I can do one on Gates. That might bring up details for Alabama.”
“That’s your first task.” Russ wrote the assignment and Colin’s name on the board.
Finn slid a business card to Colin. “Would you email a copy of your report to me as soon as it’s done, so we don’t repeat the work?”
Russ frowned at Finn. “He’ll send it to everyone at once.”
“Right.” Finn knew how to work as part of a team and could deal. He just didn’t remember how to work on a team where he wasn’t in charge. It had been far too long. Time to get with the program though, as his days of being the top dog were over. Long over.
“Any other comments on the report?” Russ asked.
He received a shake of heads in reply.
Ryleigh’s phone rang from where she’d placed it on the table. “It’s my contact at the Veritas Center calling back. I should take his call.”
“Go ahead,” Russ said. “Put him on speaker. Our future actions depend on them, so let’s find out if they want to play ball.”
Ryleigh punched the speaker button on her phone and shared the names of everyone in the room with Blake before setting the phone on the table.
“Blake Jenkins here.” His deep voice rumbled through the room, grabbing everyone’s attention. “We’ve decided to partner with you, pro bono of course, but I have a few logistics to work out before we can get started.”
Ryleigh pumped her fist, but resisted shouting out her joy. “Thank you, Blake.”
“Pretty hard to say no to helping stop a bomber.”
“This is Sheriff Maddox.” Russ planted his hands on the table and leaned toward the phone. “I can’t thank you enough for helping. If I can ever repay, let me know.”
“Will do, Sheriff,” Blake said. “Our team is packing up, and we’ll leave in time to arrive by eight a.m. tomorrow. We assume it will take more than a day to thoroughly process this scene, and we’ll need overnight accommodations. I’ll email a roster of staff who will be making the trip.”
Russ scowled. “Lodging might be tough. This time of year, motels and cabins are booked up, but we can accommodate quite a few people at our family compound.”
“We’re not opposed to roughing it in tents if that’s the only option.”
“We can take the tents if needed.” Russ looked at Ryan, who nodded.
“Okay, then next,” Blake said. “When I hang up, Sheriff, I’ll email a contract to you. If you want the other task force members to be privy to our findings, you’ll need to spell that out on the last page. What’s your email address?”
