Page 36 of Valiant
Over the next half hour, they laid out everything they knew about the situation. It helped to talk it out, but they couldn’t get past a few sticking points.
“Why leak coordinates for SEAL teams?” David asked. “It doesn’t just put the team at risk, but potentially other military personnel.”
“Money,” Raymond and Cole said together. That was the only answer, but who would have done it? Naval officers who had access to that intel were part of an elite and trusted group. Men and women who were supposed to be above greed.
“It’s not Gomez, or at least not entirely,” Cole said. “It’s got to be someone higher up.”
“Damn,” David said. “It’s hard to think that. You sure about Edwin Reeves?” It was a valid point and one that Cole had thought over, but each time he did, he came to the same conclusion.
“He wouldn’t put Kelsey and Eddy at risk for anything—certainly not for money.” Cole was convinced of that. Just then, he heard Eddy stirring in his crib. “Time to get rolling. Will you guys get my truck from the grocery store lot? By the time you return, we’ll be packed and ready to go.”
Less than an hour later they were out the door on the way to the safe house. Kelsey sat in the back seat of his truck with Eddy while Raymond rode shotgun. David followed behind them, keeping an eye out for trouble as they drove, sticking to quiet, residential streets so that they could make sure they weren’t being tailed.
The safe house turned out to be in a neighborhood where all the homes looked alike, making it easy to blend in. Raymond had the code for the attached garage, so they got inside quickly without the neighbors getting a clear view of them. As planned, David drove on past the house. Twenty minutes later he entered through the back door, after scouting the area and checking once more for a tail.
“Anything?” Cole asked when David entered. He and Raymond had made a thorough inspection of the house and found nothing to worry them.
“All quiet,” David reported. “No one was on us at any point.”
Cole breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that he could trust David’s assessment. Being at the safe house would give them the reprieve they needed. He glanced around. Kelsey was already settled on the sofa with the laptop on her lap while Eddy lay on a blanket near her feet. The baby seemed content and fully recovered from the trauma of the day before.
Cole went to them. “Any luck?” he asked, sitting next to Kelsey.
“All sorts of things. Dad had investments and a life insurance policy I didn’t know about. Eddy’s the beneficiary of all that, so it’s something he’s done recently. Other than that, I haven’t seen anything unusual. None of the files contain information about the SEALs or the Navy, unless he’s using a complicated coding system.” She rubbed the bridge of her nose in frustration.
“If he’s left you something, you’ll find it,” he said. Edwin had sent her the computer for a reason.
She looked at him, but her eyes seemed unfocused as if her mind was far away. “Maybe I’m overthinking this,” she declared suddenly and turned her attention back to the laptop. She clicked open the email icon. “Jackpot. He created a new email account. I should have looked here first. Password guessing time again.” She tried several things in rapid succession and laughed at the one that worked. “My birthday. Pretty obvious, Dad.”
“What’s there?” Cole asked.
“Virtually nothing,” she said. “Nothing sent, nothing in the inbox. No folders. Let’s try drafts.” She clicked and an unsent message showed on the screen.
Meet me where you and C had your first kiss. Tomorrow 1300.
Kelsey laughed and fell back against the cushions. “Thank God. He’s okay. The message was created early this morning.”
“And we know where to go,” Cole said. After Edwin had introduced them at the Navy Ball, they’d gone to a waterfront restaurant for their first date a few days later. They’d met up and taken Kelsey’s car. On the way home, she’d had a flat tire near the bridge that connected San Diego and Coronado. Since her spare had been flat, too, they’d called Edwin for help.
They’d sat in the car talking as they waited for him to arrive. Just as Edwin had pulled up behind them, they’d shared their first kiss, unaware of Edwin’s presence. He’d chuckled when he’d opened the car door and they’d leapt apart. It was a good memory.
“We do,” she agreed. “Clever of him, since only the three of us would know where he meant.”
Cole agreed. The message gave him hope that this was real, and they’d soon have answers.
TWENTY-TWO
The sun wasn’t yet above the horizon when Cole and David pulled up near the planned meeting place. Cole wasn’t leaving anything to chance on this mission. With Raymond guarding Kelsey and Eddy at the safe house, he and David had come to make sure the meeting wasn’t a trap.
The location was a small park, an overlook near the Coronado Bridge that spanned San Diego Bay and linked the two cities. It was a beautiful spot, but Cole wasn’t interested in aesthetics. He wanted reconnaissance data. As planned, David got out of the truck and slipped off in one direction. Cole took the other. Between the two of them, they did a complete analysis.
When they met back up, neither had seen anything that worried them. They’d evaluated the overlook for ambush spots and explosives, thankfully finding nothing. They discussed the safest method of approach, and where Cole should park when he came back with Kelsey to facilitate a quick getaway if necessary. Once everything was as mapped out as it could be, they headed back to the safe house. Cole felt more confident that Edwin had really created that message for Kelsey to find. But confidence didn’t prevent him from arming up when it was time to leave with Kelsey. He had his usual Glock in his back waistband. He added a .38 to a shoulder holster and a large hunting-style knife in a sheath on his belt.
Kelsey eyed him when he joined her in the safe house’s kitchen. “Is that necessary?”
“I’m not going unarmed,” he said and then felt compelled to share his concern with her. “Kels, we don’t know for sure we’ll be meeting your dad.”
“What?” Her eyebrows rose. “Of course we do. Only he could have left that message.”