Page 84 of Ultimate Justice

“True that.” But he still had to follow this last lead to wherever it took him. He’d finish this case, then maybe he’d look into a transfer to another unit.

Tony Wong rapped on the door. “We pulled a lot of prints off that tub of marijuana you confiscated at the farmers market, probably from at least four different people. We got a hit on one of the prints.” He handed Evan a sheet of paper. “It’s from an old Red Notice for a guy named Bram Ackerman.”

“Doesn’t ring a bell.” The first thing that struck him as odd was the date of the report. “You weren’t kidding. This Notice is old. Ackerman’s been in the wind for twenty-six years.” Which probably meant John wasn’t Bram Ackerman. The guy he’d chased wasn’t old enough. He scanned the rest of the report. “There’s no arrest photo, and it doesn’t even say what he was convicted of.”

Tony nodded. “INTERPOL systems have gone through a lot of changes over the years. I have a request in for the guy’s full jacket. The second I get it it’ll be in your inbox.”

“Thanks, Tony.” Evan picked up his phone and punched in Sammy’s extension.

“Is Crystal misbehaving?” she asked.

Crystal play-pawed Blue’s nose. “Nope. She’s a perfect lady. Can you run a full background search on a Bram Ackerman? You may have to go way back, at least twenty-six years.”

“You got it.”

Evan set the phone back in its cradle. Who knew how long it would take to get anything from INTERPOL, especially on a case that old. It probably wouldn’t amount to anything, but… Leave no stone unturned.

Another gust rocked the window. The sky had darkened, and a few snowflakes danced in the air. “I gotta get going.”

“You gonna call her?” Brett asked.

He stuffed the camera he’d checked out of the equipment room into a backpack with more force than necessary. “Back off.”

“Just saying.” Brett threw his hands in the air. “My gut tells me you’re making a mistake.”

He yanked the pack’s zipper closed. “I know.” But the wheels had already been set in motion. “Blue, with me.”

Reluctantly, Blue got to his feet, touched noses with Crystal like he was kissing her goodbye. He didn’t have the heart to tell him once Crystal was adopted, he’d never see her again.

“Deck and I are following up on Noah’s friend, Caleb Rogers,” Brett said as Evan rounded the desk. “His foster parents live in Fort Collins, so we’ll be close by. Call if you need anything.”

“Thanks, man.”

What he needed he could never have.

When he was only twelve, he’d lost someone he cared about deeply. Now he didn’t know which was worse: the pain of not knowing where that person was…

Or of knowing exactly where they were and never being able to see or touch them again.

…

Marlie knocked on the door. “Time to get ready for school.”

Luckily, Tish’s house was a short walk to Noah’s school, so she didn’t need a car. Until he was safe, her truck was still off-limits. After dropping him off, she’d hitch a ride with Tish to the hospital. Getting no response, she rapped harder, then opened the door. “Noah!”

He sat cross-legged on the bed with her laptop on his thighs. He tapped a few keys, then snapped the lid shut.

She sighed. Too soon, he was becoming a teenager. She would have liked to experience more childhood with him. Childhood she’d missed with Aiden. “You need to get dressed, or we’ll be late.” She took the laptop and set it on the nightstand. Last night, he’d stayed up seriously past his bedtime researching baseball stats. Or so he’d said.

Though she hadn’t approached the subject with him yet, impending parenthood made her think it wise to check his browser history. These days, parental controls were a must. Somehow, she had to scrounge up the money to buy him his own laptop soon.

She sat on the edge of the bed, taking in the disheveled state of his hair and pushing a few wayward strands from his face. A haircut was also in order. “There’s something I want to talk to you about.”

His eyes brightened. “Is Evan finally going to get Caleb?”

“I don’t know, but I’m sure he will soon.” For all their sakes, she hoped the flyover proved fruitful enough for him to get the warrant he needed.

Noah’s shoulders slumped. “What’s taking so long? Why can’t he just go in there?”