Page 90 of Storm Warning

“I know a few people who have some influence. If I have anything to say about it, he’ll be a guest of the state in a cell right beside Brown.”

“When you talk to your influential friends, tell them about Harlen Ludlow, too.”

“Why?”

“Good old Harlen found an excellent attorney who filed an appeal and won. He was released a couple of weeks ago.”

Seth sighed. “This is one reason I don’t miss law enforcement. We did our jobs, so why is Ludlow out in society again?”

“Someone in the lab allowed evidence in his case to be exposed to evidence from a different case.”

“The lab can’t retest with a new sample?”

“Apparently, the sample isn’t large enough for retesting.”

“Unbelievable.”

“Do you want me to set up the conference call with the rest of our teams?” Elias asked.

“Nope. This situation is becoming more complicated by the hour. All of Echo was involved in building a case against both men. If they plan to retaliate, they’ll come after all of us. We caught them the first time. I say we go after them as a unit.”

Iona shook her head. “The Marshals won’t appreciate the interference. I’d prefer not to spend quality time behind bars.” Her gaze flicked to Elias. “I have other plans that don’t include wasting time in prison. Aside from that, we already have a mission. Riley and Andre. Our priority has to be them. Brown and Ludlow are down the priority list for me.”

“Understood. We’ll work around the Marshals if we cross paths with Brown and Ludlow.”

“Stella Armstrong,” Riley said. “She might help with the Marshals since she used to be one. Based on our conversations at PSI, she and her partner, Deke Creed, have kept in contact with their friends in the Marshal service. They might help if we run afoul of the Marshals looking for Brown.”

“Good idea,” Seth said. “Andre, you and Riley call Stella and explain what’s going on so she’s not blindsided if we have to call on her and Deke for aid.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Tell me where you are.”

He blinked. “We’ve checked into The Rosewood Hotel in Murfreesboro.”

Seth whistled. “Swanky safe house. Expect us within the hour.” He ended the call.

“This is why I love working for Fortress.” Elias stood. “Teamwork. We always have each other’s backs no matter what.”

Iona nodded. “Stella will bring Deke into the mix, and together they’ll put out feelers to identify the Marshals assigned to the search for Brown.”

Andre held out his hand to Riley and tugged her to her feet. “We’ll call Stella.”

“She might be on shift right now,” Riley said. “Contacting her may take a while.”

“Then we’d better start the process. If we can’t reach her, we can try Deke.”

“While you’re talking to one of them, Iona and I will look at the room service menu.” Elias grinned. “I can’t wait to see what’s on the menu in a place like this.”

Andre snorted. “With our luck, the portions are tiny and the food names unpronounceable.”

Iona laughed. “You’re as bad as Grant. Come on. Let’s check the menu. If it looks decent, we’ll order room service for all of us while we talk about this mission.” The two of them grabbed the room service menu and sat at the breakfast bar with a notepad and a pen.

Andre led Riley through the French doors and outside onto the balcony. Their room was at the back of the hotel, overlooking an elaborate garden with a maze and flowers blooming everywhere with every color petal imaginable.

“Wow.” While Andre couldn’t say that he knew gardens, this one was exceptionally beautiful.

“This is incredible.” Riley stared at the view in front of them. “I’ve never seen a garden this elaborate. I know English gardens used to have mazes, but this is amazing.”