Edge of Mercy (A Kate Reid Novel Book 11), Robin Mahle [freenovel24 .txt] 📗

17

Twilight settled over the city as Agent Bingham drove back to the Charlotte field office. Traffic was heavy going the opposite direction as commuters headed out of downtown. Agent Palmero sat in the passenger seat while Nick was in the back. No one spoke. The mission had been a bust.

“I hate going back empty handed,” Bingham said. “I thought we’d pick him up on CCTV somewhere.”

“Bishop’s gotten used to being unseen,” Palmero replied. “He knows how to play the game.”

“He’s gotten away with it for his entire career,” Nick added. “We still stand a good chance of someone calling in a tip. That story is about to air on every local channel. We should be prepared for the incoming calls.”

“I’ll make sure any tips are funneled through to me,” Bingham said. “What are you going to tell your people?”

Palmero looked back at Nick. “I assume they haven’t found anything, otherwise, they would’ve made contact.”

“I managed to put in a brief call to Reid about an hour ago. They were still combing through surveillance footage. Nothing yet, though.”

“State police can help us get out a BOLO,” Bingham continued. “We need to think about casting a wider net. He’s not in Charlotte anymore, I’d stake my career on it.”

“I agree,” Palmero said. “Chances are good, however, that he’s still in the state. TSA has his details. They would’ve alerted us if his ID was checked.”

“I wouldn’t discount that he might be getting help,” Nick said. “What do we know about his family?”

“That’s a good question.” Bingham pulled into the parking lot of the field office. “Let’s discuss that with the others.” She cut the engine and walked inside.

“Hey,” Palmero reached for Nick’s arm and pulled him aside. “We did everything we could out there today and so did your team.”

“I know.”

“It’s just that you look, I don’t know, pissed off or something,” Palmero added.

“I’m not pleased he slipped through our fingers if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Nah, man. It’s more than that. Look, I know we haven’t touched base in a long time, but I know who you are, and I know what kind of agent you are. What’s really going on, Scarborough?”

“I’m just trying to figure out where I fit now.”

“I’m sure it was a hell of a blow what happened with your team’s shakeup. It would set anyone to question where they stood.”

“That’s all this is.” Nick started toward the entrance as he noticed Bingham waiting for them. “I’ll tell you though, it felt good being out there today. From the sense that I didn’t feel like the world rested on my shoulders. That’s one good thing about not being the boss. I can focus on solving cases.”

“There you go.” Palmero patted him on the back. “Gotta look at the silver lining, mi amigo.”

“It’s about time,” Bingham said. “Thought you two just wanted some alone time for a minute.” A smirk played on her lips.

Inside the operations room, the rest of the team continued to sort through the city’s CCTV in hopes of picking up Bishop somewhere. When the door opened, Kate’s attention was drawn away. “You’re back.”

“And by the look on your faces, you had just about as much luck as we did,” Walsh added.

“No dice,” Palmero said as he walked inside. “But Bingham thinks it would be a good idea to toss this to the State troopers and have a BOLO issued.”

“I hate putting out something like that over the scanners,” Kate said. “All ears will be listening, including civilian. This will blow up if we do that.”

“I’m not sure we have a choice, Reid,” Bingham replied. “If Bishop leaves the state, we’re screwed. We have 24 hours, at best, if we hope to find him. After that, all bets are off. So, we can weather the storm of the media, or we can let Bishop sail on out of here and hope he’ll pop up again when there’s another disaster.”

Kate furrowed her brow. “Now there’s an idea.”

Duncan nodded. “Wait for another disaster?”

“Any flight he tries to board will be flagged,” Walsh said. “So, we stand a good chance of getting at him before he hops on a plane.”

“We do. But what you just said about another disaster means we need to establish this as his pattern of behavior. He’ll need money to travel as well. That’s where we might yet find credit card usage and purchases,” Kate replied.

“Okay, that’s all well and good,” Walsh said. “But we need to find him now. I have to agree with Bingham. The state cops need to issue a BOLO. It’s our only shot at getting to him before he skips out.”

The team turned their sights to Nick, who was the senior agent and since Fisher wasn’t around, the only boss they had.

“Let’s call Fisher and present our ideas. He’s the boss and he’ll need to make the call. Escalating this with the involvement of state police will bring significant changes in how we operate from here on out. And Bishop will know we’re on the hunt for him without a doubt,” Nick said.

“He must already know,” Kate replied.

“The cops, sure. But the FBI? Probably not.” Nick turned to Bingham. “You have a line we can jump on with everyone?”

“Sure do.” She pulled the speakerphone from the rear credenza and placed it in the center of the table.

Nick made the call.

“Fisher here.”

“Hey, it’s Scarborough. I’ve got the team here and you’re on speaker.”

“Great. What’s the word?”

“No luck on tracking down Bishop at any of the transportation areas. No airport either, which means it’s likely he’s still in the state. The idea was floated to let state police issue a BOLO.”

“Okay. It doesn’t sound to me like there’s any other choice,” Fisher replied. “Unless someone has another idea?”

“It’s Reid here. My concern is, as always, the case blowing up on social media and news feeds. The story has already aired here on local news about the murder at the EMS station. We’re fairly certain Bishop would’ve seen it