Chapter 31
Tuesday evening in the comfort of her own home, Jane frowned at her phone, not recognizing the number. “Hello?”
“Jane Cannon?” It took her a moment. Her newest “CI,” sounded so young on the phone.
“Christian. Nice to hear from you. How are you doing?” She sat at home, having had one heck of a long day.
A message from Diego had confirmed that Louis Miller’s sister and her family lived in Kirkland but that he’d had no contact with them in years. It had taken Diego longer than he’d anticipated to track it down.
Apparently, Louis had been adopted and raised apart from his younger sister. They’d reconnected at some point then gone their separate ways again. Diego had gleaned quite a bit from the sister’s social media.
Her address had changed a few times. As soon as Diego got a spare moment, he’d track that down for Jane as well. Since the family had already passed, if that video was indeed the sister and her family, Jane didn’t worry that delaying finding her would result in more harm.
Unfortunately, Louis wasn’t much help. He didn’t share much personal content on his social media, just glowing points about Senator Scott whenever the mood struck.
But what really bothered her—Jane still hadn’t heard from Matthew. Earlier in the day, SSA Grimshaw had been complaining about him returning her call a day late. So at least someone had talked to the guy.
She knew he had a lot going on, probably circling around his parents’ possible involvement with the Collective. But he could be better about communicating.
Christian answered, bringing her focus back. “Well, I had a weird night. I just got a new dog.”
Jane sat up straight at the kitchen island, ignoring the frozen veggie mix she’d been about to microwave. “A new dog? Like Bandit?”
“Just like Bandit. But this time, the guy didn’t hide his face. I saw him.”
She described Victor, down to the odd scar at the corner of his mouth.
“Yep. That’s him. He’s pretty scary looking.”
“I know. But you’re all right?”
“Yeah. He left Lassie with me. And he had a message for you.”
“For me, specifically?”
“Yep. He told me to tell FBI Agent Jane Cannon that he looks forward to seeing you again real soon. Those were his exact words.”
“Hmm. He didn’t do or say anything else?”
“Nope. He handed me Lassie and her leash then left.”
“Did you see his car?”
“No. He walked around the corner of a building and disappeared. I didn’t wait around for him to come back.”
“And Lassie? Is anything wrong with her?”
“Nope. She’s fine. She’s a really nice dog.”
“Good.”
“The shelter’s closed, so I’m taking her in with me and Mom for tonight. But I’ll drop her off tomorrow.”
“You’re sure you’re okay? I can come out there and—”
“Don’t. No offense, but you look like the police. I’m going home, where it’s safe in the woods. You’ll scare everybody.”
Jane sighed. “Fine. But I’d better see you tomorrow.”
“I can drop Lassie off in the morning. Is nine-thirty okay? They open at nine, but sometimes it’s busy until they get settled.”
“Yep. See you then.”
After he hung up, she called Ray’s cell phone.
“Yo, Jane, how are you?” he answered right away.
“Sorry to be calling you at home. You are at home, aren’t you?”
“Yeah. But man, what a long day.”
“It’s about to get longer.”
He groaned.
“A contact called me about another found dog. One dropped off by our killer.”
“Terrific.”
She sighed. “Tomorrow’s Wednesday, Ray. Be prepared to find a dead family in Kirkwood.”
“What?”
“A friend of mine found some bad stuff when he was surfing some dark places online. I’ve got nothing concrete yet, but I put some feelers out. We’re going to get a call on a new dead family. I have a feeling it relates to a missing person who may or may not be related to the Collective.”
“Wait. So now our killer is targeting outside rich families?”
“Maybe. We’ll know more tomorrow. I just thought you’d want in on this.”
“You’d be right about that. Let me know when and where and I’ll be there.”
“Will do. Sorry again to bother you.”
“You FBI are always a bother,” he teased. She heard the smile in his voice.
“Ha. Well, if I see you in the morning, coffee’s on me.”
“It’s a date.”
After she disconnected, she texted Matthew, pleased to finally see a response from him.
Can I call you to talk?
She did one better and called him.
“Sorry,” he apologized as a greeting. “I’ve been meaning to call you, Jane. But it’s been a hot mess like you can’t imagine.”
“What’s going on?”
“You mean besides my parents freaking out that Louis Miller is still missing? Besides the fact my father is cagey as hell and my mother keeps telling me to drop it?”
“Oh boy.”
He growled, “Yeah, oh boy. My father is up to his eyeballs in this Collective. He swears he’s never heard of Rook, though he has heard of August Kaminski.
Apparently, everyone in wealthy circles is aware of some high rolling gangster with a link to organized crime.
According to my father, it’s a well-kept secret amongst those in the know that Kaminski has been responsible for any number of people being elected to Congress. ”
“Seriously?” She’d known Kaminski had ties to crime, but not that deep into government.
“I have no idea. These are rumors. But my dad is acting weird. I have nothing but my intuition to base it on. Jane, I love the guy. What the heck should I do?”
“You have no evidence, just a gut feeling?”
“Yeah. Trust me. I’ve been looking.” He paused. “I think I might have found something. But I’m not sure. I did mention to Haversham I’m looking at my parents.”
“What did he say?”
“To be very careful and not to trust them with what I know.” Matthew sighed.
“That really hurts, too. Not like I share my day-to-day with my dad. But I’ve always bounced ideas off him.
He’s a great guy, Jane. For a politician, that’s saying something,” he teased, but Jane heard the pain he couldn’t hide.
“I hate to tell you this, but I think we’re going to find Louis Miller tomorrow.”
“That’s good.” When she didn’t say anything, Matthew added, “It’s not?”
“Only if he’s alive. I have a feeling he won’t be. And neither will his sister and her family. That’s not how the killer operates. He’s already turned over the dog.” After a beat, she added, “Matthew, I saw pictures of the dead family. It’s awful.”
Matthew swore. “I hate being two steps behind Kaminski all the time. What is his connection to this? Why kill the people who should be helping him? Or are we wrong about what the Collective is doing?”
“My guess? I think the Collective is supposed to work for Kaminski. But something is wrong. Either Kaminski is ending the Collective for some unknown reason, or someone’s moving against him.”
“Rook, you think?”
“Who knows? We still have no idea who Rook is aside from working for Kaminski. Heck, at this point, he could be Kaminski. Maybe he’s trying to throw us off by assuming a different name.”
Matthew groaned. “It’s so confusing. I just want answers, and I can’t even get them from my own family.”
“Your parents haven’t told you anything?”
“Just to leave it alone. It’s weird. I think they’re scared.”
“Well, kidnapping and killing Louis Miller is certainly a statement. They should be scared.”
“I wanted to put more security on my father, but he said not to. And my grandfather agreed.”
“Now Nelson Rupert is involved? He’s a big player.” Matthew’s grandfather on his mother’s side, the creator of Raleway Tech, a multimillion-dollar tech firm, had massive reach and money.
“I don’t like my grandfather’s involvement in this.
I can’t tell if he’s just worried about Mom and Dad or if he’s part of the Collective too.
I swear, this case has roots tangled in everyone and everything.
” After a pause, he added, “Do me a favor. If you find Louis Miller tomorrow, let me know. I’ll want to verify it for myself. ”
“No problem. Be prepared for a drive to Kirkland.”
He grumbled something then said, “And Jane? When this is over, I owe you not only dinner, but maybe a movie too. Or dancing.”
“Dancing?” She smiled, feeling lighter. “How about ax throwing? That’s more my style.”
He laughed. “You know, that does sound fun. My treat. Just as soon as we catch this creep.”
“It’s a date.”
One she couldn’t wait to keep.