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The question had to be asked. Given his experience and his present line of work, his mind automatically jumped to some of the worst-case scenarios.

Was Dodge a former murderer in hiding? He didn’t seem the type, but Cole had witnessed stranger occurrences.

Often the worst sorts of criminals lived in plain sight, involving themselves in a community that had no idea about their past. But it wasn’t fair for Cole to attach those thoughts to Jo’s father, a man in whom she’d placed her trust. Not until he knew more.

In coming to Washington state to find her, Cole had prepared to ask her the difficult questions about what happened in Michigan regarding her mother’s death.

Was it murder? He would uncover the truth.

He’d come here with the thought that at least she had her father for support.

He never could have imagined that her father had put her in danger.

He admired Jo for her strength and how well she held up under pressure.

If only Cole could have come to see her without bringing investigative questions with him.

The ferry neared the Bremerton Ferry Terminal dock.

Along with the other passengers, Cole and Jo returned to their vehicle on the ferry.

After docking, Cole steered the Yukon, following the line of cars disembarking.

Detective Hargrove had informed Jo she could pick up the keys to her vehicle from the vehicle maintenance supervisor at the terminal.

What a complicated day.

Keys in hand, he parked next to her vehicle in the Kitsap Transit parking lot. “I’ll follow you back to Forestview. If there’s any trouble while—”

“Trouble?” She cut him off. Looking exhausted, she angled toward him and arched a brow. “What kind of trouble are you expecting?”

Was she serious? “I’m not expecting trouble so much as planning for all contingencies. If anyone were to follow us, let me handle it. I’ll text you or call you. I’m just asking you to follow my lead if anything happens.”

“I’m not worried about anyone bothering me while I’m driving that monster. Maybe I should give it a name. What do you think?”

She could make him crack a smile at the weirdest times. He loved her sense of humor. “I’ll have to think on it. When did you get that anyway? You were driving an old Ford pickup last time I saw you.” Why’d he bring up the reminder of his disappearance? Yeah, he dug himself into that hole.

“Pop got it on a steal. He was always into customizing and modifying vehicles. Insisted I should drive it, and he wanted me to have it.” Without another word, she got out of his Yukon and climbed into her custom Land Rover on twenty-two-inch wheels, so not really a monster truck with gigantic wheels. But it looked good and mean.

And that gave him a thought.

Had Dodge suspected a day would come when he’d have to leave Jo? And on that day, he wanted her to have a good, solid, intimidating vehicle? Nah. Cole was overthinking. If Cole were trying to protect someone, he would have gone about it in another way. A Hummer, maybe.

The Land Rover rumbled to life, sounding intimidating. What was under the hood? Would Jo even know?

Cole followed her out of the parking lot.

You couldn’t drive across the Olympic Peninsula because there were no roads through the mountains.

You had to drive along what looked like, on the map, a coast-hugging lasso around the mountains.

Jo chose the northern route through Port Angeles, taking Highway 101 around the peninsula to the west side of the state.

He followed right behind her. It could take two to three hours to get there, so he streamed Christian artist TobyMac’s upbeat music from his cell to keep him awake and alert.

At some point, he’d lose cell reception and then he would wish he’d downloaded the songs.

But this time alone in his vehicle would give him a chance to reflect on the events of the day.

He wasn’t sure how far Jo wanted him to go when it came to her father.

Should he have Allison run the background checks and dig into his past?

That would definitely be part of the threat analysis to protect Jo, but this was a touchy matter for her, so he’d tread very carefully.

Via his Bluetooth head unit, he called Allison before he lost reception. She was a tech genius and a great resource for any detective agency, especially one utilizing military vets.

She answered quickly. “You’re out there making a name for yourself.”

“What, no ‘Hello, how are you doing, Cole?’”

“Do you know you’re all over social media?” she asked.

“Not me . Jo’s the one.”

“No, you . The media has identified you as a hotshot private detective.”

He cringed inside. “I don’t want to hear it. Nothing I can do about that.”

“It’s great for business,” she said. “You’re a hero. CGIS has actually been getting calls from people who need protection detail.”

“Okay. Moving right along. I need you to look into a few things for me. First, Jo’s father—Raymond Dodge.”

“Her father? What does that have to do with the incident on the ferry?”

“It doesn’t.”

“I need some context here, Cole,” Allison said.

“She was trying to find her father when she was on the ferry.” Or rather, she’d given up on finding him. “Look into him, and also look into Advanced Technologies. They have offices in the Columbia Center, downtown Seattle. Dodge was there today. I want to know everything you can find out on both.”

“And this has to do with her mother’s investigation, then?”

“Nope. But that’s the other thing I need. Monitor the ferry incident, and I need to know what you can find out about the victim.”

“If it’s separate, why are you spending time and energy on the ferry incident?”

“I’m not. You are.”

“Funny. I’m happy to look into it, but knowing what you’re thinking can help me expand the search.”

“I don’t know what I’m thinking other than I need to understand the details behind all the moving parts,” he said.

“So you give me the hard part.”

“That’s why you get paid the big bucks.” Cole chuckled inside.

“Do I?” Allison asked, but her tone was teasing.

She’d had his back before, and he trusted her. “Yes. You do get paid well.”

Probably more than Cole, but he wasn’t doing this for the money. If it was about money, he would be doing something else entirely.

“Is the ferry incident somehow related to Jo’s father?” Allison asked.

“Could be. She was looking for him, had fled and felt like someone followed her.”

“Please forgive me for overstepping, but I seem to remember you mentioning that Jo was a bit paranoid. Always thinking someone was following her.”

“And she has a right to be. She was hiding for a reason. That’s why I started investigating to begin with.”

“Okay, thanks. I just wanted to make sure I’m tracking with you. So you believe that someone could have followed her onto the ferry.”

“Possibly. I don’t know. I’ll remain in touch with the local police here too. Washington State Police Detective Hargrove is on the ferry case.”

“Which investigation do you want me to give priority to?”

“That’s a hard call.”

“I’m just kidding. I’m a great multitasker. I’ll get back to you shortly.” Allison ended the call. He’d been so fortunate to recruit her.

While he’d been talking to Allison, he continued watching for a possible tail.

Jo was driving a little slower than the speed limit, which made sense with the rain and wind.

She occasionally passed slower cars, and that surprised him, but he easily kept up with her.

Michigan detective Rick Wilson called, and he answered again via the Bluetooth head unit.

“Cole Mercer.”

“Detective Wilson.”

“Detective, what can I do for you?”

“You mentioned tracking Jo Cattrel down since you’re looking into her mother’s death. Did you find Cattrel?”

At least one person hadn’t seen the news about the ferry incident.

Jo’s vehicle swerved, making his heart jump.

A deer leapt out of the way. He slowed but then caught up to her.

He didn’t feel at liberty to talk about Jo, who had remained hidden away in her secluded corner of the country until this week.

“Why do you ask? What’s happened?”

“I don’t have her contact information. I can’t get ahold of her to let her know that we have a person of interest in her mother’s suspicious death. If you’ve found her, I assume you told her.”

Detective Wilson hadn’t shared with Cole about Mason Hyde when he’d spoken to him before, but the case had not been reactivated yet. Naomi Bancroft had shared about her brother when she’d hired Cole.

His gut clenched. “Can I ask you something? What took you so long to finally identify Mason? What’s tying him to Mira’s case?”

Cole had read through the reports of the cold case. Just one investigator worked the cold cases. Wilson had been deep in another investigation, and Cole hadn’t gotten the chance to ask the question he’d wanted to ask before heading to Washington to find Jo.

“It started with an anonymous tip—someone recognized the image of our freelance forensic artist, Mira Cattrel. The caller said that Hyde had murdered her. I’ll say, Mason Hyde’s sister wasted no time hiring you.”

“Can you blame her?”

“No. We can’t locate Hyde, and his sister isn’t talking. Won’t tell us where he is.”

“You might get more answers from the tipster. Whoever made the call could know a lot more. Sounds like they know everything, or they’re possibly framing someone.”

“That’s what Bancroft thinks, I’m sure. The hotline isn’t set up to track callers who want to stay anonymous. So that’s why I’m calling you. I’m worried he might come after Jo.”

“Why would he come after Jo?”

“Come on. You read the reports. She’s in hiding because she believes whoever killed her mother is after her.”

Cole wasn’t sure that Wilson believed that, though.

“Where are you?” the detective asked. “We should meet to talk about this in person.”

Fishing for information? Sounded like the detective planned to grill him. “I can’t meet you right now. I’m in the middle of another case.” True. He was protecting Jo. And stalling. “I’m happy to answer your questions. I appreciate your assistance as well.”

“I need to speak to Jo Cattrel. If you find her. I’d like to tell her the news myself. She could be in real danger, if she wasn’t before.”

A fact that Jo already knew. “And you have more questions for her.”

“I’m reviewing the police reports now and, yes, will probably have questions. But I have to find her first. I hope you can help with that.”

He didn’t want to stand in the way of an investigation or hold up progress, but he avoided answering the detective directly. Jo might not want to be found. She already knew she was in danger. Then again, he’d told her today that working with the police was the best way to go.

“We’re on the same team, Wilson. I’ll see what I can do and try to set up a call.” With the words, he pretty much admitted he’d found Jo.

“Fair enough. Alternatively, we could use a videoconferencing app,” Wilson said.

“Good idea. I’ll be in touch.” Cole ended the call. Jo was already in danger when she’d landed in Hidden Bay, and now her father could have dragged her into something else. But what? He hoped Allison found intel that could help, and soon. At least he had someone of her caliber on his team.

While conversing, he’d kept his eye on a vehicle approaching fast from behind.

Passing the other traffic. Finally, it accelerated toward him, then the black Toyota Sequoia, which looked like it had been off-roading recently, sped around him, rudely cut in front of him, and nearly forced him off the road.

He laid on the horn. Maybe the driver had meant to do just that.

Most times, Cole remained levelheaded and refused to succumb to road rage, even in the nastiest of situations.

But this wasn’t one of those times.

Especially when the Sequoia accelerated and rammed into Jo’s Land Rover.