Playing Dead_ A Novel of Suspense - Allison Brennan [78]
Meg fast-forwarded, then stopped right before the man came into view.
There was no doubt about it. They only had one good glimpse, but when Meg paused it, Mitch recognized O’Brien. He’d darkened his hair a bit, sported a couple days’ growth of graying beard. But it was him.
He jumped into the passenger seat and the truck pulled out.
“He’s with someone,” Mitch said, shocked.
“Bingo. Someone’s helping him,” Meg said.
“Who?” Steve asked.
“The driver isn’t on tape. The license plates weren’t visible. Believe me, I tried every which way, they aren’t on tape. But there’s no doubt a second person is in the car with O’Brien.”
Mitch didn’t know what to say. He had never considered that Tom had help on the outside.
“This makes it harder to track him,” Steve said. “If he has help, that person may be able to hide him indefinitely.”
“True, but it’s clear that he’s on the move. And from what you’re telling me about his daughter, I’d say he’s in town and made contact.”
Mitch nodded. “We’re on it.”
“Good.”
They left. “Thanks, Steve,” Mitch said as they got back into Steve’s car.
“We need to talk to Claire first. Or, rather, I do.”
“I have an idea,” Mitch said.
“Shoot.”
“I’m meeting her at her place at six. Let me go there first. Then you come by about six thirty. Push her, and she’s not going to give. But maybe—”
“I get you. Maybe when I leave, she’ll vent to you.”
“Exactly.”
Steve started the car and shook his head. “Damn, Mitch, she’s going to hate you.”
“I know.”
“What are we going to do about Isleton?”
Mitch wanted nothing more than to go to Isleton and see if anyone remembered Maddox. But right now, the more pressing case was Tom O’Brien’s whereabouts. “Like Meg said, two separate cases. If we can’t get down to Isleton tonight, we go down tomorrow.”
* * *
Claire spent the entire drive home from Bill’s house talking on her cell phone.
First Dave called. “Hey, I saw you driving away from Dad’s. Why the rush?”
“I have plans.” The truth. Sort of. She didn’t want to cancel on Mitch, but she desperately wanted to go to Isleton and talk to Tip Barney, Frank Lowe’s former employer and the owner of the ill-fated Tip’s Blarney.
“I really need to talk to you.”
“About what? Oh, I got the autopsy information from Phin, so if that’s it—”
“No. What if I stop by tonight?”
“Can’t you tell me over the phone?”
“Not really.”
“Tonight is bad. I have to follow up on a Rogan-Caruso–related investigation.” The lies were flowing easier now, and Claire shifted uncomfortably as she merged into heavy traffic on Highway 99. “Tomorrow?”
“I’m on duty.”
“Call me when you’re getting off and we’ll meet up someplace, okay?”
“All right. Is everything okay?”
“Yes. I should ask you the same thing. You sound so serious.”
“After our conversation last night—did you get the answers you needed from Dad?”
“Some of them. Dave, call me tomorrow, okay?”
She hung up and dialed information for the number of Janice Krause, Taverton’s sister. Unlisted. She then called Jayne Morgan on her mobile for the phone number. Again, fibbing to Jayne about why she wanted it. Jayne didn’t seem to care, and rattled off both a cell phone and home phone after a few moments.
“So I saw you were on the database this afternoon,” Jayne said.
“I didn’t see you, why didn’t you say hi?”
“Saw is a relative term. I was monitoring the network from home. Who’s Frank Lowe?”
“Some guy who died in a fire. I was just doing research.”
“Hmm. Whatever. Need anything else?”
“Nope, thanks.” She hung up. Odd. She dismissed her worry. She hadn’t done anything illegal, and if the company got mad that she’d used their resources for personal business, she’d apologize and hope they didn’t think it was egregious enough to fire her over.
Employment security was the last thing on her mind, however.
She was about to dial Mrs. Janice Krause when