J24fan7 and Angeliena, thanks for commenting :) :)
The questions swirled through Jack's mind… what's his current location?... does he have a fresh target in mind?... why Peters?... why me?... damnit, why me!
Why would Chase call in for help but then shoot his partner? Chappelle thought it a ploy, to have Jack be off-guard for the pickup But to Jack the drug induced rambling seemed genuine. He sounded scared.
His Jeep was still at the diner yet the dog team had been unable to track him. The different law enforcement agencies & the media had all been warned that he was not to be approached; he was known to be armed and dangerous.
Jack looked again through his personnel file though it told him remarkably little. After the death of their parents in a car accident Chase and his older sister Helen were raised by an aunt, since deceased. Helen was now married and living in Ventura County. A watch had been placed on the homes of Chase, Helen and all senior agents at CTU and SWAT.
The financial report showed he had recently bought a house near the beach in Little Venice. Jack's interest piqued when he saw it was well out of his own price range. Chase had also paid cash for his new Jeep. However in internal memo from CTU vetting showed the expenditure had been cleared. The parent's insurance monies had been placed into a Trust for Helen and Chase, each receiving a large payout on their 21st birthday.
Jack realised that although he and Chase had spent a lot of time together in the past few weeks, the talk was all one sided. Jack had spoken of Kim, Kate and Teri yet Chase had told him almost nothing in return. Nothing about the new house, nothing about his family or friends. He knew he had a girlfriend only because he had bumped into them one evening last week when out with Kate. Introductions had been made, the offer of drinks refused. So Chase didn't talk about himself... was that because he had secrets to hide?
Jack glanced over to Rick. "Do you know anything about Chase's place in Little Venice?"
"Yeah, it's a great place. His girlfriend Kelly travels a lot. I know her, I can go talk to her if you like, she's due back in LA tonight."
"Thanks, that would be helpful. Meanwhile let's maintain the watch there, he might try to get back home."
The psychological profile also yielded no surprises. Jack had studied it before when looking for a partner, now he was looking for signs of instability. Chase rated highly in thinking skills, teamwork and stress management while his highest scores were in problem solving, intuition, loyalty and listening skills. God, no wonder I talked to him so damn much, he frowned. He had to smile when he saw the lowest ratings came in following directions and diplomacy. He hated to think what his own psych report might say.
The fax machine whirred to life. Marc reached across and grabbed the single sheet of paper. "Edmunds bought a Glock handgun and a Tac-Ops sniper rifle last month in the Valley. He picked them up last week after the two week waiting period, paying cash."
"I'm going to get some air," Jack muttered. He left the CP and paced angrily in the shade of the cottonwoods, not knowing what to do with himself. It was Nina all over again, the friendship, the trust, the betrayal. This time though the outcome would be different. There would be no sham trial followed by a pardon for Edmunds. There would be no need for a trial... Jack would see to that.