Emma Parker paused for a moment before answering with caution. “I was going to ask Cassidy about him.”
“Did Trevor Baker mention him?”
“Yeah, he mentioned him. He went off on a rant about the guy. Not long out of jail, struggling, coming around Trevor’s house saying Trevor owes him and he betrayed him by pleading guilty.” She paused for a moment. “Baker’s wife doesn’t like the brother. Said he’s bad news. A narcissist. Always blaming the world for his messes—but particularly blames Trevor. The wife said he’s been bothering them.”
Jake leaned in. “Did you ask when they’d last seen or heard from him?”
Emma grunted. “No. At first I thought they were trying to deflect, but the more they told me, I did start to wonder.”
Intrigued, Cassidy shot Jake a speaking glance. “How was he harassing them?”
“Phone. Texts. Emails. You name it.” Emma sighed then continued. “Mrs. Baker said they even bought new phones, but Troy—the brother—got their new numbers.” She was quiet for a moment. “We’re seriously looking at the brother for this.”
“More like staring at him,” Jake informed her. “Can you get someone to pull any information we can get on him?”
“I gave one of the guys on my team my notes. I’ll pull it all together and get back to you ASAP.”
“But aren’t you at the hosp—” Cass started to protest, but Parker cut her off.
“I’ll be back at my desk within the hour,” she announced. And then she ended the call.
“She shouldn’t be going to the office. She should be resting,” Cassidy insisted.
Jake raised an eyebrow. “Would you?”
She opened her mouth to argue further, quickly snapping it shut. Jake couldn’t help but smile when a blush deepened the pink of her wind-chafed cheeks.
“I didn’t think so,” he said. “Okay, so we have a suspect. We have people digging into his past and we have suspicions concerning his current whereabouts. Do you have any idea why he’d be coming after you so hard?”
Cass pondered the question for a moment, then shook her head slowly. “Not a clue. I mean, I was the one standing beside his car, and I placed the call to the local police, but it certainly wasn’t anything personal.” She stopped speaking abruptly, the corners of her mouth pulling down. “I mean…this feels personal,” she continued, waving an all-encompassing hand. “Ironic. His was one of what was probably a half dozen arrests I either made or assisted with that week. It wasn’t personal for me.”
“Did you testify in court?”
She nodded. “Here.” He watched her tap the phone screen until a softswooshingsound announced a message had been sent. A second later, his own phone chimed.
“I dictated everything I could think of about the stop, the arrest of AFC Baker and the charges brought against his brother.” She waited, brows lifted expectantly until he checked his phone.
Jake blinked down at the text filling his phone screen and his stomach somersaulted. “I, uh…” He winced, then pressed the button to exit the screen. “I may have to wait until I have both feet planted on the ground.” She chuckled, but there was little mirth in it. In fact, it sounded mildly derisive. His defenses up, he narrowed his eyes. “What?”
She shrugged him off. “Nothing.”
“Sounded like something,” he quipped.
“Nothing new, I guess.” Cassidy brushed his curiosity away with a wave of her hand.
He rocked back until he sat ramrod-straight on the bench. “Now I have to know. What do you want to say to me, Cass?”
“Cassidy.” She issued the correction in a tone tinged with acid.
“You clearly have an issue with me,” he argued. “Why don’t we get it out there now so we can get one with figuring this mess out?”
“One has nothing to do with the other,” she countered.
“Indulge me.” He practically growled the words at her.
She rolled her eyes, looking like the sassy teenager he’d loved so much back when he was young and had mistaken her sometimes brash behavior as confidence. Now he knew it masked the exact opposite. She was scared. Of course she was. But he was not volunteering to play punching bag for her fear.
“Say it,” he challenged.
