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“Yes. Yes, the one down the hall.” I spat out. “Everyone needs to know that he’s here, and in full uniform with a weapon in his holster.”

He immediately opened his mic. “Attention, all joint task units. Suspect Sheriff Landon was just spotted in the men’s room down the hall from our command post. Be advised that he’s in full uniform and has his service weapon on him. We show him leaving the men’s room from the hallway camera just now, headed toward the lobby and the administrative offices.”

I quickly put on my headset and heard acknowledging chatter. Sean’s voice came through a few seconds later. “This is Detective Lopez. Is Craig Bannon there in the command post?”

“Yes, he was the one who spotted the suspect when he went to the restroom,” the agent replied.

“Put him on,” Sean ordered. The agent motioned for me to use the mounted mic next to him.

“Sean, it’s Craig,” I said, pushing the com’s button.

“Craig…I’m sure you’d like to talk to Jonesy, but he’s backstage. He is aware of what’s going on, though.”

“That’s fine. I felt it was important to let everyone know.”

“Glad you did. Did Landon see you?”

“I don’t think so. He never looked in my direction, from what I noticed.”

“Alright. Have you seen Callahan yet?”

“Not yet. My gut tells me Callahan would want Landon as protection, considering the sheriff has a gun.”

“We’ll put a detail on the offices,” Sean replied. “Keep your eyes out for Callahan.” I acknowledged him before sitting back down.

Turning to the agent seated next to me, I asked, “Is there a hallway camera on those admin offices?”

“I’m pretty sure, especially if they deal with money for the hotel,” he replied. “Hold on.”

He picked up the landline and dialed an extension. It was clear he’d called the hotel’s security office and asked how we could see a feed outside the admin office. Within a minute, one of the larger monitors flickered and switched to a view from a ceiling-mounted security camera aimed at three doors. Two were closed, but a third was propped open.

I focused my attention on a handful of monitors; my eyes flicked from one to the next, trying to do my part. “Where in the hotel are these administrative offices?” I asked, trying to get my bearings of the hotel’s layout.

“We did a run-through of the floor plans earlier in the week. You can go to the tables back there and look at the blueprints,” he replied, pointing with a thumb over his shoulder. When I stood up to go look at them, the agent got up as well and stretched.

“I guess it’s my turn to hit the little boys’ room,” he said with a smirk.

I chuckled and told him I could relate. I found four tables displaying numerous blueprints. One showed the ballrooms, conference rooms, and the access areas behind them. Our command post was labeled, as was the Ralston Ballroom, where the pageant was taking place. Another laid out the retail shops, the fitness center, and the spa. The third showed the lobby, registration, and the concierge desk. Behind those was what I was looking for—the admin offices. The fourth blueprint and beyond covered the nine guest room floors.

With the layouts committed to memory and knowing where the offices were behind the registration desk, my attention was drawn back to the monitor wall. I watched a uniformed registration agent walk behind the long check-in desk and back through a side door. The larger monitor picked her up as she returned to the admin office, the one with its door propped open. Between the two monitors, I could see how they related to each other.

My gaze was drawn to the screen showing the Ralston Ballroom’s stage area. It looked like Sami had finished coaching, and I no longer saw him on stage. My mind wandered to where Jonesy was. I knew he wasn’t thrilled I was there and hoped he’d gotten over it. Hell, I’d already spotted that fucker of a sheriff and let everyone know. Deep down, I knew I could be helpful. I hoped he finally saw it that way.

The FBI agent hadn’t returned from the restroom yet, and when I looked around, I was the only one in the command post. Granted, there were only two agents on duty at a time, but it didn’t seem normal for both agents to have left their posts. Perhaps they didn’t realize the other had left the room, or were comfortable with me being there.

As my gaze flicked between the monitors I’d been watching, something caught my attention on the screen in the admin office area. Coming from a different entrance with his back to the camera, Sami sashayed to one of the closed doors. He looked left and right before opening the door and walking in. What the fuck was he doing back there? He was part of the pageant, not the hotel staff. It made no sense.

Knowing they recorded security footage, I was the only one who could see what was going on, since no one else was in the room, unless the hotel security team was watching as well. Not more than a minute later, I saw the door open, and Sheriff Landon had a vice-like grip on Sami’s upper arm. As he escorted him out of the room, Landon looked pissed and shoved him, making Sami turn and give him a defiant glare like a Chihuahua at a Pit Bull. There was no audio, so I couldn’t tell what they were saying, and my lip-reading skills were shit, but they were definitely arguing.

Then, to my surprise, I saw him in the office doorway. Oliver—looking even more pissed off than the other two. He addressed them both with what looked like a stern warning, then looked at Sami and pointed off-screen aggressively. Sami spun on his heels and left. Oliver said something to Landon, and they went back into the office together, closing the door.

Stunned by what I’d just witnessed, I had no one there to tell where Oliver and Landon were. I didn’t have control of the desk microphone, so I pulled out my phone to see if I could reach Jonesy directly, if he could even answer. Unfortunately, my cell reception in the command post wouldn’t connect me to him. The only way to get the word out was to leave the command post to warn someone. “Fuck,” I shouted out loud, looking around the agent-free room.

Bolting to the door, I pushed it open quickly, hoping no one would be in the hallway. I still had no idea where the two FBI agents had gone.

The Ralston Ballroom was on the other side of the hotel, according to the blueprints I’d studied. Continually aware of my surroundings as I worked my way through the hotel, I noticed how busy it had become since earlier in the day. Dodging through the throng of beauty contestants, chaperones, guests, and hotel staff, I figured maybe my best course of action might be to find Jonesy. My breathing was shallow, and rushing around wasn’t helping the discomfort from my cracked rib.

Passing a hotel staff member I assumed was a bellman, I asked him for the quickest way to get backstage in the ballroom. He gave me a once-over, frowning at my arm cast, which made me explain I was new and with pageant security. Seeing my FBI badge clipped to my belt convinced him to tell me that a service door labeled ‘employees only’ was down the next corridor, at the end on the right.