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Craig’s eyes never left my phone, stunned into silence. “Earth to Craig. Are you alright?” I asked, attempting to get his attention.

“Uh, this is unbelievable,” he finally said. “This… I knew I recognized that voice outside that office at Bally’s.” Craig kept tapping the screen on my phone aggressively as he continued. “I knew his voice sounded familiar because I’d been to Wynn’s parents’ house many times in the past. He never talked much, but I remember the voice after seeing his face. He’s grown a goatee, but it’s him.” He paused briefly. “He got away after Wynn’s kidnapping. I-I never would have guessed he’d end up in Lake Tahoe, let alone back here.”

“I’d never seen him before yesterday and had no idea what he even looked like,” I replied, taking my phone back. “We never saw him after rescuing Wynn.”

“Well, I have to say this is rather serendipitous. Call it luck or fate, it gives you the chance to take the fucker down after all these years,” Craig said with enthusiasm.

The more I thought about it, the angrier it made me. “And I’ll bet he’s here to oversee getting more women for this supposed sheik. It’s either to finalize everything and ship the young women off, or he plans on escorting them to their final destination, which might be somewhere in Europe.”

I could hear Craig’s excitement rise as he talked, and his neck always flushed when he got this way. It made sense. Oliver had experienced the thrill of kidnapping Wynn years earlier, and that sense of control and power could have pushed him to traffic young women for money. Blood money. He had a dead woman’s blood on his hands already. We could only hope the other contestants were still alive and unharmed.

“Let me make some phone calls and get this information to the captain and Sean. They can coordinate efforts for surveillance starting tonight,” I said as I dialed Captain Davis’s number.

When Davis answered, Craig walked into the kitchen and braced his elbows on the counter, his cast thumping on the granite countertop. He stared into space, lost in thought.

“Captain, we know who this Oz Sheffield is in the photo I took on the ballroom stage. His real name is Oliver Callahan, a fugitive wanted for years here in San Francisco for a prior kidnapping.” I glanced at Craig. “Craig identified him. He knew immediately who it was when I showed him his photo,” I said softly, acknowledging my boyfriend across the room.

He told me he’d immediately reach out to the FBI and Lieutenant Anderson in the shared command post. I told him I’d contact Sean to help coordinate surveillance on the five suspects—Oliver Callahan, Sheriff Chet Landon, Sami, Luca, and Boris—if they were still in the hotel.

Craig still hadn’t moved when I hung up, but I watched his eyes darting from side to side. He did that when his brain was hatching a plan. I wasn’t about to let him get involved any further, though. He’d done his job, and I was proud of him. He’d become invaluable to the abduction case. But beyond that, he was invaluable to me.

He spoke before I could say anything. “I knew something was off, not getting returned calls and hearing he was making a hasty trip here. Simon also said he was leaving for Europe next week. Probably to get out of the country.” He looked me dead in the eye. “I wanna be there when they’re taken down.”

I dropped my head and sighed. “No way. It’s too dangerous, and there might be more than just the five we know about. You’ve already been injured, and there’s nothing you can do when we take them down, Howler.” I threw my hand up at him when I saw him about to argue.

“Fine,” he replied grudgingly.

I huffed playfully, wrapping my arms around his waist. “Baby, you’ve done more for this case—actually, both cases—than you realize. You identified Oliver, and you and Chloe found information in the Chandler case. We can handle the rest.” I rested my hand on the back of his head and brought our foreheads together. “I love you for helping, and you did. Just take the rest of the week to relax.” He nodded. I pulled my hand back and tipped his chin up, giving him a soft kiss. He moaned quietly, and I hoped common sense had won out.

“Now, I need to call Sean. Go sit and relax. I’ll join you in a bit.”

He shuffled off quietly to the sofa, and I could tell he wasn’t thrilled about not being able to join me at the hotel in the morning, but he agreed.

Hoping today would be the last time I’d need to play the undercover charade, I felt confident. We had the mystery of Oliver figured out, thanks to Craig. Chet and Sami had already been identified as cohorts, but we still needed more on Luca and Boris. Before I left my condo, I reiterated to Craig that he wasn’t needed at the hotel. He did his best to convince me otherwise, but the risk of him being hurt if things went sideways kept me from backing down.

Sean was in the van when I arrived. “We have solid evidence from the recording the other day between Sami and the other guy,” Sean said gleefully. “Forensics cleaned up the recording, giving us clear audio of their voices.”

“I’ll bet that other guy is Oliver Callahan. We’ll know more once he’s caught. It was fortunate that I had photos of him on my phone that Craig identified,” I added. “As I told you last night on the phone, Craig knew Callahan years ago when he worked for his best friend’s parents.”

“It’s such an odd coincidence that Craig still remembers him, don’t you think? I mean, it’s great for us to know who he is.”

“After what his best friend, Wynn, went through, I don’t think Craig will ever forget the man.”

“When you pointed out Callahan’s face pic, we distributed it to the entire team. Everyone will be on the lookout for him.”

“So, you said Callahan, Sami, and Landon couldn’t be found at the hotel last night?” I asked.

“No. My gut tells me they’re not staying here because this is where they’re executing their plan. We’re hoping the other missing contestants are wherever they're staying. Probably a cheap hotel nearby where they can come and go easily.”

“I expect to see Sami today working with the contestants, plus they’re still working on the rehearsal for the production. I’ll keep my eye on him as best I can,” I said, putting my earpiece in place.

“Sheriff Landon hasn’t been spotted, other than when you saw him, and he’s probably keeping low with Callahan,” Sean said, checking the video from the jewelry camera on my chest.

“I noticed the sheriff had his weapon, so we’ll need to take them down without him drawing his gun. I’m sure they have routes figured out within the hotel to stay out of sight. There are numerous service entrances, hallways, and corridors the staff uses. Landon may slip in and out of his uniform as needed, too.”

“We can’t afford to miss anything out of the ordinary… or even if it looks ordinary. Make sure everyone from the FBI to the special events security team is synced in on their comms, and they're keeping a sharp eye out.”

“Ten-four, partner,” Sean replied. “I’ve got your back if anything goes down.” I gave him a thumbs-up as I exited the van.