coffee. He poured the thick sludge from the bottom of the pot into a Styrofoam cup.
“Reminds me of our training,” Madison said, stepping up next to him. “I never understood who put Rob in charge of the coffee, but it looks like he might be working here.”
He took a sip. “It does have the same bitter, metallic, stale taste.”
Madison laughed. “I think I’ll avoid the risk and try the tea instead of a second cup.”
“That’s probably not a bad idea, though I could go for a double shot of caffeine,” Jonas said, grimacing as he took another sip. “Find anything?”
“I did, actually. Two things.”
“I’m listening.”
“I’ve been going through Mary Margaret’s phone records.”
“And?”
“A couple hours before we picked her up, she made a call to an area code in Salt Lake City. I traced the number and it belongs to a Chris Matthews—who just happens to have a criminal record. I contacted the marshals out that way and they’re going to bring him in. They’ll let us know what they find out.”
“So Barrick might have been on his way there to try and pick up a new passport.”
“That’s what I’m thinking.” She dunked her tea bag in the hot water. “I’ve also been tracking Barrick’s mother’s cell phone, and a few minutes ago, she got a call from a burner phone. Call lasted three minutes.”
“That has to be him.”
“Agreed. He’s taking a risk, but if he’s headed to Denver, he has to reach out to someone.”
“Maybe he simply called to say goodbye.”
“Maybe, but we need someone to talk with her. To see what was said.” She yawned, then took a sip of her tea. “I’m also putting a track on the number that called her, though based on his past actions, he’s going to use it and dump it.”
Jonas set his coffee on the counter, then studied her face. “Did you get any sleep?”
“Probably about as much as you did.” She shrugged. “To be honest, I’m worried about my sister.”
“Did you get ahold of her?”
A shadow crossed her face. “Not yet. But I know Michaels would tell me if something was wrong. Still, it’s hard not to be there.”
He couldn’t blame her for worrying. Having someone you love threatened or hurt was always personal. He’d learned that firsthand with Felicia.
“Michaels will make sure they’re okay until we can figure out what’s going on,” he said, not sure his reassurances were enough. “And in the meantime, you’ll just have to leave it in God’s hands.”
“I know.”
He took another sip of his coffee, then added a second spoonful of sugar, hoping it would mask the taste. “I could order you to take the next flight back to Seattle.”
“You could, but I need to stay here. If Barrick is the one behind this, they won’t be safe until he’s behind bars.”
Officer Carter walked in with a couple drinks and held one out to each deputy. “First thing I learned working here was never drink the coffee. This is how coffee should taste.”
Jonas took Madison’s tea and dumped both their Styrofoam cups into the trash before accepting Carter’s offering. “You’re a lifesaver! We definitely owe you one for this.”
Carter laughed. “I’ll remember that if I ever need a favor from the US Marshals.”
Jonas’s phone rang, and he pulled it out of his pocket and moved aside to answer it.
“I’m calling for Deputy US Marshal Jonas Quinn.”
“This is he.”
“This is Blake Peters calling from the US Marshal offices in Salt Lake City. Your partner called me about a person of interest in our jurisdiction.”
“Chris Matthews?” Jonas asked.
“Yes. He turned out to be a dead end. He’s currently in New York, but I think we might have found your man.”
“Great. What have you got?” Jonas asked.
“I’m sending you security footage now. It’s a possible sighting of Barrick at the Amtrak station in Salt Lake City about three hours ago. He managed to miss all the cameras except for one. Check your email.”
Jonas signaled for Madison, then headed to the computer he was borrowing from the sheriff’s office. He opened up the email. “It’s downloading now,” he said, putting the phone on speaker. He turned to Madison. “One of the marshals from Salt Lake is sending us some security footage. They think they might have seen Barrick at an Amtrak station. They want us to see if we can identify him.”
“I still can’t see him taking Amtrak.”
“Go to the two-minute mark,” Peters said.
Jonas ran the video forward, paused the frame, then set the footage to full screen. Dozens