The Escape (US Marshals #1) - Lisa Harris Page 0,54

what we talked about if something goes wrong.

The cabin.

It will give me time to get away.

Where are you going? I

could meet you somewhere.

Too risky. I’ll be in touch.

“Maybe she really doesn’t know where he is,” Madison said, turning to face Jonas.

“It’s looking like that,” he said.

The sheriff glanced up. “That’s the end of their conversation. Looks like she dumped the phone, then hurried back into the diner.”

“What about a trace on the phone?” Madison asked.

“I’m already on it,” the sheriff said. “You guys have some pretty sophisticated ways of tracking people. I spoke with your boss and he was able to accomplish in a matter of minutes what would take me days.”

“And?” she said, trying to hurry the man along.

“Unfortunately, Barrick’s long gone. He dumped the phone. But we can confirm he was outside Salt Lake City.”

“With Charlie.” Madison frowned. “We need more.”

“His options are limited,” Jonas said. “He’ll never get on a plane without ID. Or rent a car, for that matter. Denver would be his best option. He lived there. Knows the area. Would probably know who to go to.”

“So his options?” Madison asked.

“He could steal another car, but if I were him, I’d be wary of any attention if something goes wrong,” Jonas said.

“Agreed.”

“There’s an Amtrak station, along with a bus station, that both have routes to Denver,” the sheriff said. “But how easy would it be for him to buy a ticket?”

“With Amtrak he’d have to use a ticket counter if he didn’t buy one online,” Madison said. “But again, he’d still need to use an ID.”

Jonas shoved his hands into his front pockets. “We’ve already got a BOLO out on him. I think the next step has to be going through security footage of both the train and bus stations in Salt Lake and searching through his file for contacts that might help him.”

Madison nodded. “If he doesn’t want to spend the rest of his life looking over his shoulder, he’s going to have to disappear.”

Twenty

Jonas managed to get a few hours of sleep before they met back at the sheriff’s department early the next morning. They’d discussed the option of heading for Salt Lake the previous night, but they knew Barrick wasn’t planning to stay. By the time they could get there, he was more than likely going to be long gone.

But where, was the question.

Jonas stared at the US map hanging on the back wall of the office they were using. They had to move quickly, but he had no desire to spend another day on a wild-goose chase. They needed something concrete. Disappearing in the US might be doable, but it wouldn’t be easy. Avoiding leaving a digital footprint was almost impossible, and he would need cash—far more than the three grand Mary Margaret had given him.

If he was planning to leave the country, Barrick was going to need someone who could get him across the border with a passport that would pass the inspection of border patrol. No doubt he could have made connections while in prison.

Jonas glanced at Madison, who was wading back into the files they had on Barrick. She was both determined and focused, but he was still worried about her. There was a fatigue in her eyes that the past few days had brought on. Normal for what they did, but that didn’t make it easier.

He had a feeling she’d argue with him, but he couldn’t help but wonder if he should order her to go home. He was impressed with her focus despite the situation, but not worrying about her family was impossible. She’d called her sister again last night, wanting to make sure that the plan to move to a safer space had been implemented, but she wasn’t able to get through. He knew it had her worried.

She’d told him she felt like she had to stay, but he wondered if she wasn’t regretting her decision not to get on the next flight back to Seattle. If anything happened to Danielle or her family because of her work, he knew she’d blame herself, no matter what the circumstances. But the truth was, sometimes, even if you were right, there was nothing you could do.

He pushed away the thoughts and focused back on their work. The most likely place Barrick would go was back to Denver where he had friends and contacts—and right where they wanted him.

Jonas stood up, needing to stretch his legs, and walked across the room to where there was a pot of