Deadly Stillwater by Roger Stelljes Read Free Book Online Page B

I’ve been told,” Burton said. “So we need to be looking at his associates, clients, everyone he’s come into contact with over the years.”
    “Man that’s a lot of people,” Lich said, running a hand over his bald head. “That could be hundreds of people.”
    “More likely thousands, given clients, friends, political contacts, business contacts,” Riles tallied.
    “Speaking of clients, that will be the deepest pool we’ll fish from, have we started that process?” Burton inquired.
    “I’ve started the process of looking through his client files,” Peters said. “I’m not getting too much flack from his law firm. We’ll have files to look at first thing in the morning. They’re trucking them over to our place.”
    “Criminal and civil?” Mac asked.
    “We should probably focus on his criminal clientele,” the chief said.
    “What about his civil cases?” Mac asked. “Lyman’s done a lot of work there. I don’t want to forget those.”
    “We can and should look at those well,” Burton answered, looking to Peters for confirmation.
    Peters nodded.
    “Good,” Burton replied. “However, I think the chief is right. The criminal files are the better bet, at least to start with.”
    “Even looking at just the criminal files, it’s going to be a long list,” Peters pointed out. “And if we find someone in these files worth looking at, it’ll be a bear to track them down.”
    “Indeed,” Duffy said. Burton snorted his disagreement.
    “Difficult? Yes. But we have all of the FBI’s resources at our disposal,” he said. He turned to Peters, adding, “What’s mine is yours. We’ll hook you up with everything we’ve got, including manpower. Just let me know what you need, and we’ll make it happen.”
    “I appreciate it,” Peters said, taking out his cell phone and calling downtown.
    “No problem,” Burton replied. “Look, technology is our strength. We can find patterns, tap phones, conduct electronic surveillance, run censuses, and create spreadsheets like nobody’s business.” Nodding to Mac and the boys, he smiled. “You guys are good street cops, not always the bureau’s strong suit. I need to have you guys looking over the data we get, checking the possibilities we find, talking to your folks on the street. A cop is only as good as his informants, and around here, you guys are the ones who have them. Let’s share and stay in touch.”
    “We can do that,” Riles agreed.
    “Good,” Burton answered, rubbing his hands together, on a roll now. “I’m going to have my team in first thing tomorrow, three men and two women. Everything we collect, no matter from where, we feed in to the team and see what we come up with. It’s a process that’s worked well for us, helped us get people back. Add that to your resources and we have a shot at bringing the girl home in one piece.”
    “Sounds good,” Peters replied. “Where do you want to work out of, your local office?”
    “You can run out of your place,” Duffy added, “We’ll run out of our….”
    Burton cut Duffy off, “No. No. No. Ed. We’ll run everything from the police department headquarters. If we’re split, we’re not sharing information and we get dumbass turf wars, people trying to one-up each other. Us Fed types are classic for that. I don’t care who cracks this thing. I know that doesn’t necessarily sound right to all of you, but I really don’t care. So let’s work it together; feed your information to my team on the technical side, and you can access anything you need. You feed us what you’re hearing on the street, and we’ll crack this thing. And getting back to business, when is it again we’ll have Hisle’s files to work through?”
    “First thing in the morning,” Peters answered.
    “So until it’s ready, you boys get some sleep,” the chief ordered.
     
    * * * * *
     
    Mac quietly opened the door to the bedroom and went to his side of the bed. He lightly laid his wallet, badge, and