Chapter 28
Monday morning, Jane and Ray sat outside the Harte home.
Ray snorted. “To be honest, I’m just happy the guy is still alive.”
“Well, I guess all his friends dying and our warnings to be careful finally got through to him.” Though Jane would have felt much better if she’d been able to talk to Stephen right after the theft in his home.
She had a feeling the ME’s examination of Sabrina Johnson’s death would yield little. Their killer was clever, previously leaving nothing behind. The fact that he’d left then returned to finish the job—right under their noses—illustrated his talent for stealth and murder.
This killer wasn’t afraid to get caught. That made him more than dangerous.
She could say with 99% certainty that the man she’d fought and the person who’d killed during the home invasions were one and the same. He’d even told Stephen he felt bad he couldn’t treat Stephen’s “wonderful children the way he’d treated the others.”
With any luck, the description she’d turned over to the local police would help identify the suspect.
Since they had no DNA or fingerprints on the guy, utilizing CODIS and AFIS were out.
If she’d had a digital picture of her perp, she could have reached out to Quantico, maybe gotten a hit with NGI-IPS, the FBI’s Next Generation Identification-Interstate Photo System.
Sketches of criminals were hit or miss, and Jane didn’t have the time to go through myriad potential suspects down at the local PD.
“Hey, Ray, thanks for getting your guys to try to match my sketch to a suspect on file.”
“No problem,” Ray said before getting out of the car. “One of our better officers is on light duty to a LEGO mishap. He can use the work to distract him from the many reports the sergeant’s tasked him with.”
Jane joined him on their way to the front door. “LEGO mishap? Is that some new law enforcement term, or are you talking about the toy?”
“The toy.” Ray chuckled. “Almost worse than a knife or gun. Apparently, the plastic weapons can be deadly when left out on steps. Mortensen broke his ankle thanks to those lethal blocks. Poor guy.”
“Ouch.” Jane glanced at Ray. “You have kids, don’t you?”
“Two girls. Both grown and in college. Thankfully, they were never much into LEGOs. But man, did they go through an arts and crafts stage that still haunts me. I swear we still have glitter in the house from fifteen years ago.”
She snickered. “I remember going through a glitter and rhinestone phase. Although, to be fair, it took bedazzling my favorite pocketknife for my uncle to take the glue gun away. Glittering weapons aren’t smart, especially at night.”
“Did you say pocketknife?”
“Yeah, why?”
Ray gave her an odd look. “How old were you?”
“I don’t know. Seven, I think?”
He looked her over and chuckled. “That explains so much.”
Before she could respond, an older man opened the door. He carried himself like security. “Welcome, Detective Ryan and Agent Cannon. Mr. Harte and Mr. Buchanan, his lawyer, will see you in the living room. Please, follow me.”
Led to the same room Jane and Ray had visited previously, they met Stephen Harte and his lawyer, Jed Buchanan. Jane had done a bit of research, and it appeared Buchanan worked for high rollers and had a cutthroat reputation.
If they got anything out of Stephen Harte, it wouldn’t blow back on him or anyone Buchanan had been hired to protect.
After the quick introduction, Buchanan clearly indicated his client would answer only the questions he approved.
Jane counted to five in her head before putting on a polite smile. “That’s fine. We’re here to solve the murders of Mr. Harte’s friends and their families, as well as to find out why someone might want to steal from him and hold his family hostage.”
The lawyer nodded. “Ask your questions.”
“What exactly is missing from your safe, Mr. Harte?”
Stephen sighed. “I told you and the officers this last week, but I’ll tell you again. The thief stole a cold wallet containing crypto from the Jacobsons and Browns. He took four other hard drives and ten grand in bills. That’s it.”
“And from the upstairs safe?” Jane asked.
After a glance at his lawyer, who nodded, Stephen added, “I told you that too.”
“Tell us again.”
He frowned. “They got the drives I was holding from Burgess and Pryor. And no, I have no idea what’s on them. I can only tell you that Todd Burgess and Jason Pryor came over two weeks ago for drinks and left the drives with me for Rook.”
“Stephen.” Buchanan shook his head.
Harte shut his mouth, saying nothing more.
“Mr. Buchanan, we already know about Rook,” Jane said. “I’m just trying to get a clearer picture of why all this happened.”
Stephen blurted, “None of it makes any sense. If Rook wanted the drives, I’d have just handed them over. I don’t know why he’d send his goon to steal them or threaten me. Trust me, I’m as confused as you are.”
His lawyer pinched the bridge of his nose and drew a deep breath, likely for patience.
“Stephen, please. You’ve said enough.” Buchanan turned to Jane and Ray.
“My client has done nothing wrong or illegal. He held proprietary information for others that belonged to his boss. If you want to know more, I suggest you contact Castle Capital and speak to their PR department.”
Thanks for nothing.
Ray spoke up. “Mr. Harte, I’d like to know more about the intruder.”
At a nod from his lawyer, Stephen said, “Yes?”
“How did he get in exactly? I know you’ve already gone over all this, but we’re trying a fresh approach. Can you run me through that timeline?”
“Sure. I was out with my wife and the kids while they played in the pool. Sabrina was managing the house. She takes care of groceries and moderate cleaning, not the main house cleaning. We hire a service for that. She also helps care for the children.”
“So where was she when the intruder came in?”
“I don’t know. I just know I left the patio and went back inside only to find a man in black, wearing a mask, waving a knife at me.
He had Sabrina by the neck. I did what he asked.
After he took my family upstairs to hold them hostage, I grabbed the drives and cash from my downstairs safe and had Sabrina take them to him.
“She returned right away to tell me he was leaving. That’s when you showed up.
I hadn’t realized the time, or I’d have tried to get rid of you,” he confessed.
“I was scared for my family. But he told me to act natural and that he’d leave once you did.
I think he wanted to hear what I had to say to you. ”
“You never saw him interact with Sabrina?”
“No. He held a knife to her throat. And then, well, he killed her in the garage.” Stephen paled. “He killed her in our house. Like he killed all the others. I can’t believe he was in my house with my wife and children!”
The lawyer stirred. “I think you can see my client’s been through a lot. If you have further questions, don’t hesitate to call me.” He stood and handed his cards to Jane and Ray.
They left, not fully satisfied.
On the drive back, Ray turned to Jane. “We’re still thinking Sabrina gave the killer those drives from the upstairs safe, right?”
“Yeah. I don’t think Stephen has anything to do with the murders or the Collective, except that he ferries information from the group to Rook. He’s right. If Rook wanted the information, all he had to do was ask for it.”
“Unless Harte’s lying.” Ray sat on that. “Nah. He was genuinely spooked.”
“Interesting that the lawyer wants him saying nothing about Rook.”
“I noticed that too. So is Buchanan repping Rook or Harte? Or both?”
Jane thought about it on the way back. “You know, I think Harte is on the level. The man sent to get that data is the same one who killed the Coatneys, Duvalls, and Strands. But he didn’t kill Stephen Harte because he needs him.”
“Right. But now we’re onto Harte. Why make a big deal about the middleman? This theft did nothing but bring our attention to the killer.”
“Yeah. Isn’t that interesting? It’s almost as if someone wants us looking deeper into the Collective.”
“What the hell does that mean? Do we have another player in the mix? A silent partner, maybe?”
Jane sighed as she pulled into the precinct to drop off Ray. “Just what we need. A new player on the board.”
“Right?” Ray got out of the car and leaned in, his hand on the roof. “If I get any hits on your sketch, I’ll let you know. What are you planning to do?”
“I’m going to look into this investment firm. It feels like Harte is connecting the others for us. And it leads to Castle Capital.”
Ray nodded. “Let me know what you find when you can.”
“Ditto.”
He closed the door and left.
Jane drove back to HQ with a plan in mind. She texted Matthew, not surprised he didn’t get back to her right away.
She also needed to look into a missing person. Quietly.
Time to see what connection, if any, Senator Ronald Scott’s aide had to the Collective. Or to Rook.