Chapter 5
Coordinating with the other LEOs who’d been on the scenes of the previous crimes as well as forensic accountant Lisa Chen and the SSA of the cybercrimes squad had taken most of Jane’s day.
She didn’t get home to her apartment in Capitol Hill until after eight. She needed to eat and relax, but her brain wouldn’t stop buzzing.
They had a real clue. A notebook with information they needed to decipher.
And a word that had been mentioned several times through the pages she’d studied.
The Collective.
Jane had no idea what it meant or might be. But the same senses that had told her to study that painting told her it was the key tying her cases together.
The buzz of a conspiracy involving wealth and power had all her senses hyped, so that the ringing of her phone didn’t register until whoever had called hung up then phoned her again.
“Hello?” she answered without looking at the caller ID.
“Well, well. Ms. Too Important For Family finally answers the phone.”
Jane scoffed. “Raine. Nice to hear you’re still alive and kicking.
” Months ago, her cousin had transitioned from fulltime work as an intelligence specialist in the United States Marine Corps to civilian life, working at a boring HR job in Silverdale.
“What’s it been, an eternity that you’ve been avoiding me? ”
“Please. I wasn’t avoiding you. I was avoiding Malcolm, who is finally up on his feet again.”
Malcolm, a lethal hand-to-hand expert and important member of Team Ten.
Like Jane, Malcolm didn’t do well sitting around.
He and another of her uncles had been super helpful with a serial killer case she’d been working.
They’d ended the Red Ribbon Killer’s reign of terror a month ago.
She still had the bruised ribs to prove it.
“I wish he would have let me know he was leaving.” Jane hadn’t seen Uncle Mal in a few weeks, busy at work, so she’d made plans to see him this Saturday.
“That’s why I’m calling. He’s leaving on Sunday.”
“I was already planning to swing by Saturday. I’ll stay overnight and take him to the airport on Sunday on my way home.” Which would give her time to get ready for her date that night. “Will that work?”
“Peachy.”
When her cousin didn’t say anything more, Jane waited for the other shoe to drop. Two years older and a hothead who often acted first and asked questions later, Raine lived for drama. Jane, not so much. She often felt like the older sibling, frequently talking her cousin off the proverbial ledge.
“And…?” Jane prodded. “This pregnant pause feels like it’s filled with quadruplets.”
“Whatever.”
“Give, Raine. What aren’t you saying?”
“Well, I was going to keep it a surprise, but… Hurray! Uncle Chris is coming back.”
Not fooled by Raine’s fake cheer, Jane took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Why am I just now hearing that he’s coming? Normally, he lets me know these things.” And checked in—through Jane—on everyone’s state of well-being.
“Well, he’s a little worried about you.”
“About me?” Jane unconsciously cradled her right side, her ribs still tender. She’d mostly healed, but she wasn’t yet a hundred percent. “I’m good to go.”
“That’s what I told him. But he thinks you’re screwing up your career.”
“This again?” Uncle Chris had a habit of butting in where he wasn’t needed.
“He heard from Lionel Gambol how great you did on that special task force.”
“Uncle Chris got me that gig on a favor. I was on official leave pending an investigation into my coworker’s death.
” Jane rubbed her eyes, beyond tired. “I had nothing better to do.” She sighed.
“That was back in January. I doubt Lionel even remembers my name.” Though he had warned Jane he might call on her again.
“Apparently, Lionel is still singing your praises. Uncle Chris wants to know why you’re dragging out your time with the feebs.”
“Don’t call me a feeb.”
“How about dweeb? Is that better?”
Jane snorted. “How old are you again?”
“Old enough to know I have too much on my plate to deal with Uncle Chris. You owe me.”
Jane gasped. “I owe you? I took care of Malcolm and Sven when they came back. Where were you, exactly?”
“Oh please. They love you to death. Sven never needs help. The guy’s a six-foot-six rock of serenity. Plus, they saved your butt, didn’t they?”
“I saved myself,” Jane snapped, then reluctantly added, “I guess they did help me get found a lot sooner.” And killed a murderer in the process, though she conveniently pretended that hadn’t happened.
“My point is, you should spend some time with Uncle Chris when he gets back.” Pause. “And keep him off my back.”
“Ah-ha! What are you up to?”
“Nothing.”
“Raine…”
Her cousin swore under her breath, but Jane still heard her. “I’m helping a friend out with a problem, okay? And doing that while trying to keep my sanity, working at the most boring job known to man. I can’t add our domineering uncle to the mix.”
“I knew you hated working for that firm.”
“Everyone there’s so dramatic.”
Pot calling kettle. Hello.
“HR isn’t as easy as it would seem,” Raine continued.
“So many first world problems with these entitled employees. ‘Janine took the lipstick from my desk. Lonnie keeps stealing my clients. Walter sucks up to the boss too much.’ Meh. They should try sitting in a shack in Syria while trying to get the plans for a missile silo and not get found by—” Raine coughed. “Well, you get the picture.”
“If you’re so bored at your job, why not go back into the Marine Corps?”
“Nah. They ruined it.”
Jane didn’t even bother asking who “they” might be. Raine wouldn’t tell her.
“Well, your current job isn’t the only thing out there. You’re great at separating fact from fiction.” No lie, literally, as her cousin was a human truth detector. “Why not find a job elsewhere?”
“I’m putting out some feelers. But don’t tell anyone. That’s also why I need a little space from Uncle Chris. He hovers, and he’s really good at reading me. I don’t want him to know I’m looking for a job somewhere else if it ends up not panning out.”
Jane sighed. “Fine. I’ll do my best to hang with the old man when he’s back in town. I’m sure Grace will want to see him too. She loves Uncle Chris. But I’m kind of heavy into a case so—”
“You’re always heavy into a case.”
“I’ve had some doozies.”
“You put the Red Ribbon Killer away just a few weeks ago.”
“Yeah, but the home invasions started before he hanged himself.” Before Mal and Sven helped him knot the rope. “There’s something about this case…”
“Let me know if you need any help. I’m actually pretty good at getting answers from people.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Don’t forget. Malcolm is expecting you on Saturday. Noonish. Don’t be late.”
“I’ll—”
Raine hung up before Jane could finish her sentence.
With a sigh, she grabbed a leftover salad from the fridge and ate it plain, making a mental note to grab more dressing ASAP. She pretty much picked through the lettuce to the other veggies.
As she slid into bed an hour later, her mind kept fixating on the fact that Lionel Gambol had been talking to her uncle about her so many months after she’d ended her involvement with his special task force.
Her brain kept pinging, her instinct screaming at her that his reappearance in her life meant something more than a coincidence.