Page 66 of Sam's Salvation
“Thanks.” He picked it up from where she’d set it when they came in, then sat down in the corner chair.
Dean grabbed his laptop and stretched out on one of the beds.
“I’m going to make that call outside.” Sam pointed at the door, already moving that way.
Max and Dean acknowledged him. Audra sat down in the desk chair to talk with Asher.
Leaving the room, Sam rode the elevator down to the lobby and went outside. He didn’t want anyone overhearing the conversation—accidentally or not. Once he was well away from the other guests, he took out his phone and opened his email. The message Asher sent was at the top. He clicked on it and scanned it quickly, grinning at the man’s foresight. He’d given him the sheriff’s direct line. He wouldn’t have to convince whoever manned the phones to put him through.
Sam dialed the number. It rang twice before a man picked up, sounding distracted.
“Sheriff Archer.”
“Hi, Sheriff. My name is Sam Brackley. I have some questions for you about a serial murder case you worked a few years ago. Do?—”
“I don’t talk to reporters, sorry.”
“I’m not—” The line clicked in his ear. Sam huffed and dialed again.
“Sheriff Archer.”
“I’m not a reporter.” Sam figured it was best to start with that, so he at least had a chance of not being hung up on again.
“Tenacious like one, though. So, who are you?”
“Like I said, my name is Sam Brackley. I’m a former Navy Senior Chief with the SEALs.”
A beat of silence passed.
“You have my attention. What do you want with the Marsters case?”
Sam let out a short, huffed laugh. “Um, well, how much time do you have?”
“How about you give me the cliff notes version?”
“All right. My”—Sam paused for a second, debating how to categorize Audra, then just went for it—“girlfriend is an SIS officer undercover with the Irish mafia in Las Vegas. Someone tried to kill her two weeks ago. Through our investigation, we found a couple of individuals who have a link to Marsters.”
Another long pause came over the line. Then, “Well, shit. I have questions.” The sheriff sighed. “But not a lot of time right now. Um, okay. Can I call you back? Around, say, twelve-thirty? I need to rearrange some things and there are a few other people who should probably be on the call. And can you do a Zoom meeting?”
Sam blinked, an amused smile forming on his face as he listened to the sheriff’s rapid-fire questions. “Sure. There are some people here who should probably be part of the conversation as well.”
“Great. What’s your email? I’ll send you the meeting link.”
Sam gave it to him.
“Okay. We’ll talk soon.”
“Sounds good.”
Thirty
“Everyone ready?” Sam glanced side-to-side at the others as they gathered around the computer. The four of them were scrunched together on the end of the bed, facing the computer on the desk.
“Hit it,” Dean said.
Sam reached out and clicked on the icon to join the meeting. A moment later, a window opened, showing over half a dozen people sitting around a conference table.
“Hello.” A dark-haired man in a police polo raised a hand and offered them a polite smile. “I’m Sheriff Archer. Call me Seb. Let’s do a quick round of introductions, yes?”