“Alright. Let’s move.”
Chairs scraped. Papers shuffled. The room emptied in that efficient way cops moved when work was waiting.
Shaw fell into step beside Kevin as they headed back to the squad room. “The victim’s background—you’re looking for local connections?”
“Anyone who might have known him, talked to him, seen him around.” Kevin shrugged. “Small town. Hard to be invisible.”
“That’s what I was thinking.” Shaw pulled out her phone, scrolling through something. “I’ve got a list of businesses Cooper was looking at. Front operations, we think. Might be worth cross-referencing with anyone who pops up in your interviews.”
Kevin took the phone, scanning the list. His eyebrows rose. “Some of these are pretty established places.”
“That’s the point. They don’t buy failing businesses. They buy successful ones and use them as cover.” Shaw took the phone back. “I’ll send you the file. Might save you some time.”
“Thanks.” Kevin sounded genuinely surprised. “Keller’s been... helpful, but he hasn’t shared this much.”
Shaw’s expression didn’t change, but something in her posture shifted. “Keller and I have different approaches.”
She moved off toward Wyatt’s desk, Shadow padding alongside her. Kevin watched her go, then caught Jo’s eye across the room.
Jo raised an eyebrow.
Kevin just shrugged and headed for his own desk.
Back at his desk, Wyatt pulled up the evidence database. Logged in. Started the search protocols for Cooper’s digital footprint.
Shaw appeared at his shoulder, Shadow settling on the floor next to Lucy. The two dogs immediately pressed close to each other, like they’d been separated for years instead of hours.
“Quite a bond they’ve got,” Shaw said, watching them.
“Yeah.” Wyatt kept his eyes on the screen. “Still can’t figure that out.”
“Me neither.” Shaw pulled up a chair, sitting at a respectful distance. “Mind if I take a look at what you’re pulling? I might be able to suggest some search parameters.”
“Sure.”
The screen filled with data. Call logs. Partial email strings. Metadata the Bureau had cleared for local access.
Shaw leaned in, scanning the information with practiced efficiency. “Try filtering for burner phone contacts. This organization uses a lot of disposables—numbers that only appear once or twice, then go dead.”
Wyatt adjusted the search. New results populated the screen.
“There.” Shaw pointed. “See that cluster? Four different numbers, all contacted within a 48-hour window, all going dead right after. That’s their pattern.”
Despite himself, Wyatt was impressed. “You really have been tracking them.”
“For a while now.” Shaw’s voice was quiet. “They hurt people I care about. That makes it personal.”
She didn’t elaborate. Wyatt didn’t ask.
They worked in silence for a few minutes, Shaw occasionally suggesting refinements to his searches, Wyatt implementing them without argument. She was good—thorough, methodical, the kind of investigator who saw patterns others missed.
It made him nervous.
Across the room,Jo gathered her evidence photos. Her movements were methodical, practiced. But her eyes kept sliding toward Wyatt’s desk.
She’d worked with him long enough to know his rhythms. The way he typed—fast, efficient, no wasted motion. The way he held his coffee, always in his left hand so his right stayed free. The way he sat, back straight, never quite relaxed.
Today was different.