Part 28 (2/2)
”Slacking off,” she said mildly. ”Same thing I've been doing the last four weeks.”
He gave a bark of laughter, and her gaze was drawn to the jagged scar bisecting his throat. She wasn't about to complain about a couple bullet wounds to him. Not after all he'd suffered when his last case for the Bureau had gone so wrong.
”Fired a gun yet?”
”Went to a range yesterday.” Against the express orders of her doctor. But she'd been driven to rea.s.sure herself that her shoulder injury hadn't impaired her ability to shoot. Raiker would never allow one of his investigators into the field again who couldn't fire a weapon.
The door to the lab pushed open and Barnes stepped in. Stopped short when he saw she wasn't alone.
”Mitch Barnes, Adam Raiker.”
The deputy surprised her by going up to the man for a solid handshake. ”It's an honor, sir.”
”Deputy. Sorry to hear about your man.”
Barnes's face clouded for a moment. ”It's hard to lose one.”
Cait felt a hitch in her chest at the thought of Tony Gibbs. The cruisers Andrews had sent to Paulsen's place had arrived much too late to save the deputy. And it would be a long time before she'd stop second-guessing herself. Wondering what she could have done differently. If there was a way that would have spared Gibbs's life.
”Let it go.”
At Raiker's quiet command her gaze flew to his. Saw the understanding in his expression. She appreciated the thought but wished it were as easy to comply with.
”The sheriff got word from the feds. They've traced the accounts Barton was bouncing the bank transfers to. They all ended in the Caymans.”
Cait felt a flicker of surprise. ”The travel information found in Paulsen's place was for Belize.”
Mitch folded his arms across his chest. ”I'm betting Barton was planning to end-run Paulsen. Promise to meet up with him in one location and split the take, but head for a different country altogether and keep the whole thing for himself. And at the rate he's going, he'll have the whole thing pinned on Paulsen before it goes to trial.” Mitch moved back a step to lean against the counter. ”According to him, it was all Jodie's idea, which is pure BS because Paulsen just didn't have the mental capacity to carry this thing out.”
”The forensics on the computers we can link Barton to will be incriminating. His lawyer might be able to dance around the spyware installed on the computers' resorts, but finding the exact same software installed on those in his Internet cafe will be a bit more difficult to explain.” And Gavin Pounds had explained to her, in mind-numbing detail, just how the spyware he'd installed remotely to the victims' home computers could be traced back to Barton, as well. ”We don't have him for the killings, but he isn't going to be able to dodge the kidnapping charges. He hasn't been able explain his absences that correspond to the days the victims disappeared. Especially when the farmer, Tim Jenkins, is willing to swear that Jodie Paulsen was doing ch.o.r.es twice a day for him every day for the last ten years, with the exception of a day or two.”
Barnes looked a little green at her words. She knew he was remembering her theory that after defles.h.i.+ng the bones, Paulsen had likely fed the remaining tissue and organs to the pigs he'd tended. They'd found the bone saw in the shed that matched the TPI measurements she'd done on the skeletal remains. Barnes had brought Kristy to the site while Cait was in the hospital to take a soil sample inside the structure.
And Cait had had to listen while her a.s.sistant crowed about being right regarding its composition. The hot springs that ran beneath the dirt floor of Paulsen's shed erupted in only one s.p.a.ce near the end of the property line. And the shed had, at one time, housed sheep in inclement weather.
”How long do you think it will take to ID the remaining set of bones?”
”As long as it takes you to dig up Jodie Paulsen's body and get me a DNA sample.”
”What?” Even Raiker was regarding her with a skeptical look.
”I've spoken to every detective with a missing persons in the database that falls within the same general description. Have compared the remains to no fewer than a dozen reference samples. Zach said something about Paulsen's father being in a nursing home in Portland, but we were unable to locate him in any of them. There was no contact information for such a place in Paulsen's home, Mitch said.” She looked at the deputy. ”I think his father might have been Paulsen's first kill.”
Barnes scratched his head. Sometime during the last month he'd shaved his mustache. It was an improvement. ”That's going to be a tough one to get by Andrews.”
”It's the only way she's going to get an ID.” The other option was that the remains belonged to someone who hadn't been reported missing. That was unlikely given that the other victims all had had substantial funds transferred from their accounts.
”I'll talk to her,” Barnes said dubiously.
”Where is the esteemed sheriff?” Raiker said in a silky voice Cait immediately recognized. ”Holding yet another press conference?”
The deputy s.h.i.+fted his gaze to a speck on the floor. ”I couldn't say.”
He didn't have to say. Cait had long suspected that Andrews would use a successful resolution to this case and ride it into the governor's mansion. From the positive publicity the woman had garnered from this case, it looked like she might be successful.
Mitch straightened. Looked at Cait. ”How much longer you going to be around? I mean”-he smiled a little-”how much longer do I have to convince the sheriff to do an excavation?”
”A week.” Raiker's voice was steely. ”I want my investigator back.”
”It'll be two before I get a medical release to return to work,” Cait said. But she avoided her boss's searching gaze. And when Barnes said his good-byes and left the lab, her heart gave a bit of a leap as the door remained open to admit Zach.
She wondered how long it would be before he stopped regarding her with that hint of worry in his eyes. She'd a.s.sured him, repeatedly over the last month, that she was fine. Had proved it, again, just last night.
He smiled and she felt something inside her soften. Then started guiltily when she caught Raiker's gaze on her, shrewd as a laser.
”OhmyG.o.d.” He looked from her to Zach and back again, an expression of disgust on his face. ”Why do I have the feeling that this son of a b.i.t.c.h is going to cost me one of my best investigators?”
”Zach Sharper, Adam Raiker.” She made the introduction mechanically. But she was focused on her employer's words. ”How come you only break out the sweet talk when you think you're going to lose me?”
”A question that could be leveled to all men in your life, it appears.” Zach came farther into the room, a glint in his eye warning her. ”This son of a b.i.t.c.h has an invested interest in keeping Cait around.”
”But I have a way guaranteed to make us all happy,” she interceded smoothly. The men looked like a couple of junk-yard dogs, squaring off. To her employer she asked, ”Have you given any further consideration to our conversation last month about the mobile lab?”
His expression eased from fierce concern to general irritability. ”I was planning to staff the labs with techs, not investigators.”
”I'd be mobile, too,” she said easily. Crossed the s.p.a.ce to slip her arm through Zach's arm. ”How many jobs have you turned down on the west coast because they wanted private lab facilities as well as an investigator?”
”Not enough to bother keeping track of.”
”Well, now the answer would be none. And when I'm not on a case, I could fly to headquarters regularly for updated training.” Raiker was a taskmaster about continued schooling for his investigators and scientists.
”Spend all your d.a.m.n time in the air,” he groused.
”Not all her time,” Zach said pointedly.
Raiker was silent for a moment, regarding her with a fierce look. Finally he said, ”I'll think about it.”
Something eased in Cait's chest. But she knew better than to release the smile that threatened. ”That's all I ask.”
He walked toward the door, his limp p.r.o.nounced even with the help of the cane. ”Guess I'll have to bodily drag Andrews out of whatever media frenzy she's whipped up today to settle with her.” He gave Zach a nod as he went by him. ”Sharper.”
”Good meeting you.” Watching the man until he went out the door, Zach turned to regard Cait quizzically. ”Was that good news?”
<script>