Detective Danny Cavanaugh 01 - The Brink

serious could develop.
    Nathan opened the e-mail and began reading. The cabin’s financial history listed six different owners, but only one leaped up and slapped Nathan in the face. James Cavanaugh had owned an oil company called Venture Pipeline, Inc. headquartered in Houston, Texas. The researcher included old press releases and dated quarterly reports proving the ties between Venture and Phoenix Oil. But the connection between the two companies wasn’t the reason that stopped him cold. It was the personal information regarding James Cavanaugh, or rather, his only son.
    Danny Cavanaugh is a sergeant with the Texas Rangers. So that’s how he could handle himself so well.
    The personal section of the report began with information about James Cavanaugh’s suicide. It happened twenty-one years ago. His body was found down at the same cabin Taber and his men just tore apart. Nathan considered this new information. Suicide was a favorite explanation of death The Group used. Could they have killed James Cavanaugh? Nathan tucked that question in the back of his brain and continued reading the report.
    Maureen Cavanaugh, James’s wife, was a retired social worker. Her mailing address was listed. She still lived in Houston. Would big, bad Sergeant Cavanaugh run to his mommy? Again, Nathan tucked that possibility away and focused on the next section, which contained two links to newspaper articles on the sergeant.
    Nathan clicked on the first one and read through it. By the time he started reading the second article, hope was brewing in his gut.
    Danny Cavanaugh has fallen on the wrong side of the law.
    Nathan continued on and read the researcher’s summary of Danny Cavanaugh’s life. He concentrated on each detail, careful not to miss one word.
    DC began his career in law enforcement in Houston, Texas, and quickly rose to the rank of detective. He left the Houston Police Department for a detective position with the Dallas, Texas, Police Department. He was lead detective on one controversial case that involved the death of the Dallas police chief. DC left the Dallas Police Department shortly thereafter to join the Texas Rangers, the investigative arm of the Texas Department of Public Safety, with the rank of Sergeant. DC led a human smuggling sting operation at the Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, border station two weeks ago that resulted in planted explosions being detonated and the deaths of several dozen people. DC is allegedly linked to Rafael Espinoza, a reputed Mexican drug lord, and is wanted for killing FBI Special Agent Crayton Ripley . He is considered armed and extremely dangerous. His whereabouts are currently unknown.
    Armed and extremely dangerous , Nathan thought. Danny Cavanaugh is a police officer with all the requisite physical and mental training. But that still didn’t explain why he was helping Sydney.
    Questions snowballed in Nathan’s mind. Sydney’s a beautiful woman, but is that enough for a man on the run to get involved with her? Does Sydney know about Cavanaugh’s past? Could I somehow contact her and tell her that she’s with a killer? Would that warning be enough to make her stop running?
    Nathan didn’t have any answers, but he would soon. He clicked on the reply button and typed out the next set of orders for his staffer.
    Need more information on JC’s ties with Phoenix Oil and possible links to Group.
    Need detailed background of border incident. Need more info on Espinoza.
    Confirm mother’s current address .
    Nathan considered his reply and then had a thought. Danny Cavanaugh’s whereabouts are currently unknown. Unknown to everyone except him. In Nathan’s experience, that kind of exclusive information would prove to be very useful to him in the future.
    Nathan included the “ eyes only” icon at the bottom of the e-mail, which let the staffer know that this request was of utmost privacy and was not to be discussed with any other staffer or any other member of The Group for now. He was confident that the staffer would comply with the order. Her life appointment as a staffer, and her life itself, depended on her discretion.
    Nathan was about to hit “send” when the satellite phone sitting on the table next to him beeped. He clawed it off the desk and answered it. The distinctly calm timbre of Stefan Taber’s voice purred in Nathan’s ear.
    “We have them.”
    “Where?”
    “I can almost hit them with a rock,” Taber said. “They’re trying to cross the Rio Grande on a