SEAL's RESOLVE - Rebecca Deel Page 0,91
table. According to the file, Angie hadn’t been the recipient of much support from her family and received nothing from the baby’s father.
He clicked on another file, this one a summary of the estate she left to her son. The house and her old clunker of a car. According to the records, Roderick had sold the clunker, but kept the house and used it as his primary residence now.
Rafe sat back, frowning at the screen. Knowing Hale’s birth father might be important. Getting that information was the problem.
He shifted back to the search engine and hunted for Angie’s high school. If he could figure out the names of some of her friends, he might be able to find one or two willing to talk about her background. Checking her social media posts might be of some help there, too.
“Need help?” Cal asked Rafe.
“Grab your laptop.”
His teammate returned with his computer and sat beside Rafe. “What am I looking for?”
“Angie Hale’s social media posts. She passed away last month. I’m looking for a friend or two willing to talk to us.”
“Why?”
“I may be on the wrong track, but I want to know the name of Roderick Hale’s father. The name’s not listed on Hale’s birth certificate.”
“I’ll see what I can find.”
“I found the camera feeds,” Jon said. “Eli, Jackson, since Cal’s occupied, I’ll split up the footage we need to review and send it to your work email.”
Both men left the kitchen and returned with their laptops and got to work.
Rafe toggled back to the files of the original kidnappers. All three men had been inmates in the same Tennessee federal prison. Raymond Clark was due to be released sometime in the next year. Trevor Cain, the child molester, still had ten years left on his sentence.
On a hunch, he went to West Gate High School’s website, the school Angie attended before she dropped out to have her baby. He clicked on the yearbook link for the years Angie attended West Gate. He typed Angie Hale’s name in the search box and digitized annuals from two years popped up.
Rafe stared. Angie would have been around 16 when she had Roderick.
“What do you see?” Kristi asked.
“Roderick Hale’s mother only attended two years of high school. She never graduated.”
Jackson glanced up from his computer. “She was only 15 or 16 when she had Roderick?”
“Looks that way.” Rafe picked up his phone and called Fortress tech support. He asked for a copy of Angie’s medical records. Assured that the information would be in his email within fifteen minutes, Rafe ended the call.
“Do you think the information matters?” Kristi asked.
“My gut says yes.”
“We need to find my father,” she whispered, tears sheening her eyes. “He’s hurt, maybe worse, and we don’t know who has him or why.”
“We’re working as fast as we can plus the local police are searching for him. If we tug the right thread, this whole tangled knot will unravel.”
At that moment, Cal whistled and sat back, his gaze glued to the computer screen in front of him.
“What do you have?” Rafe asked.
“The names of Angie Hale’s two best friends.”
“Great. Get their contact information, and we’ll try to persuade them to answer a few questions.”
“You’re in luck there.” Cal grabbed his phone. “I know one of them. I investigated her husband’s murder and arrested his killer. I don’t think we’ll have a problem getting the answers we need.”
“I know it’s late, but please call her,” Kristi said. “It could mean my father’s life. We’ll send her a bouquet of flowers to thank her for her time.”
“Laura loves daisies.”
“Then she’ll have a big basket of them tomorrow.”
Cal made the call and placed it on speaker. Three rings later, a woman answered. “Laura, it’s Cal Taylor.”
“It’s so good to hear from you again, Cal. How is Rachelle?”
“As wonderful and beautiful as ever. I apologize for calling so late.”
“Oh, you know I’m a night owl. Used to drive my husband crazy. What can I do for you, Detective?”
“Just Cal now. I left MNPD and now work for a private security company. I need information about your friend, Angie Hale.”
Silence, then, “Angie passed away from cancer last month.” Her voice came out choked.
“I know. I’m sorry for your loss, but the information is important.”
“What do you need to know?”
“The name of her son’s father.”
A soft gasp. “Why? That’s ancient history, Cal. No good will be served if the information came out. Angie made me promise not to tell the secret.”
“A man is missing, Laura. The crime