“I wish I’d known that file was important. I would have pulled it out and brought it home,” Kay said.
Tank held up a finger. “It’s okay. I’ve got it here. Ellie Sable is a six-year-old girl. She’s the daughter of a reality-TV-show star who hired us to supplement his personal security last summer.”
“What does a six-year-old girl have to do with any of this?” Kay rubbed her arms.
“I’m not sure yet, but we will figure it out. Everything indicates that the person we’re dealing with is intelligent and highly calculating. There is nothing random about this case. We just have to put the pieces together.”
“Was there anything unusual that happened on that job?” Matt asked.
Tank hit a few more keys. “Actually, there was. Not that it’s a big deal, but one of the guards was injured in a minor scuffle and Eli took his place.”
“I remember that. I didn’t want anything going wrong on that case.”
Matt leaned forward. “What about Tanya Cook? Did anything out of the ordinary happen then?”
A few key taps later, Tank looked up. “No, nothing. Although Eli was on that job, too. Maybe you’re bad luck, boss.”
“Wait, what was that?” Eli asked suddenly.
“I was just kidding,” Tank deadpanned.
“I know, but you may be on to something. I don’t go on every job, just ones where we’ve had problems or if the client is influential.”
It was quiet as Tank tapped keys. He looked up a minute later. “I ran a search for all the jobs you’ve been on in the past year. A month before Kay got the first letter, there was a spike in incidents. But only high-profile clients, the ones where Eli showed up. Ones where he was photographed.”
He turned the laptop around. There was a picture of Eli standing next to Tanya Cook. It was grainy but it was obviously him.
“After that, the threats seemed to slow down and focus on one target. Kaylee.”
“What does that mean?”
“He was targeting jobs that you were associated with. Then he focused on Kay when you took over her case. Maybe that’s how Sasha originally got involved. Maybe he targeted her since you were guarding all the girls in the singing group.”
“I don’t believe Sasha has anything to do with this,” Kay said.
Tank winced and then sent an apologetic look to Eli. “Sorry. I, uh, well I shouldn’t have said that.”
Eli took her hand and tugged her closer. He could tell she didn’t want to come but did it because she didn’t want to make a scene.
“Kay, remember yesterday when I told you we were going home so you could visit your parents?”
She shrugged. “Yeah, but Jackson and Ridley came up here instead.”
“I only told you that because I figured you’d tell Sasha. This morning, we sent two agents down in a SUV similar to mine. I wanted to see what would happen. As soon as they got to New Haven they were followed.”
“That could just be a coincidence. Or maybe they just thought they were being followed.”
Matt spoke up then. “We ran the plate numbers on the car that was following them. It was stolen. As soon as they tried to lead the guy into our trap, he took off.”
Kay crossed her arms. “That doesn’t mean it was Sasha. Maybe my cell phone is bugged or something.”
“Maybe.” Eli didn’t look at her. He figured there was no point explaining that it was simply more likely that Sasha was telling someone else things about her in exchange for money.
Matt stood and leaned over to see the picture on the laptop. “So basically the point is that this guy targeted our cases and then whenever Eli showed up, he stalked those women.”
“So, he’s got it out for me? That’s what you’re saying?”
“It’s not your fault, but maybe you’re the reason he’s doing it.” Tank closed the laptop. “He’s not stalking Kay. Or at least, he wasn’t in the beginning. He’s stalking you. And he’s using her to find you.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
KAY SAT BACK on the bed, watching as Mara fiddled with the DVD player. She was trying to keep her mind on their conversation, but all she could think about was Eli. If Tank was right and someone was really after him, then that meant he wasn’t safe. Had he put himself in more danger by sticking around to protect her?
Hope yawned in her arms.
“Excuse me, ladies. I’m going to put her down for a nap. I’ll be right back.” Kay carried Hope into Eli’s room, where he’d placed her playpen. Hope didn’t even protest when she laid her down, just clutched her teething ring and rolled onto her side. Kay watched her for a few minutes to be sure she wouldn’t wake up again and then left the room.
The distinctive rumble of male voices coming from the front of the house brought her mind back to Eli. Not only was she worried about his safety but also about Tank’s allegations against Sasha. She hadn’t called anyone else to tell them about their surprise trip home. If someone had followed their decoys, then there was no other explanation. No one else could have passed that particular message along. With a sigh, she plopped down on the end of the guest room bed. Ridley moved over slightly to make room.
“Are you okay, Kaylee? Things were pretty intense in there.” Mara placed the DVD they’d just finished watching back in its case.
“I bet I seem really stupid, huh? For not wanting to believe what they’re telling me.”