CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Vic sat at the small desk in the hotel room, laptop open in front of her, trying to focus on the notes she, Miles, and Kim had gathered together during the night.
Behind her, the television droned on with yet another news cycle covering Kane's escape.
She'd lost count of how many times they'd shown the same aerial footage of the prison, the same interviews with officials, the same speculation about where Kane might be.
They’d ended up canceling one of the rooms. After Miles had come back from the bathroom looking pale and shaken, Vic had made the decision.
She wasn't leaving him alone tonight. Not when he was this wrecked.
So now they were sharing the room, Miles on one bed with his eyes glued to the television, Vic at the desk trying to do the work both of them should have been doing.
"The U.S. Marshals have released a statement saying they're following multiple leads," a reporter said from the screen.
"But sources close to the investigation say Kane has had hours to get away from the prison.
The question many are asking tonight is whether capturing Gabriel Kane accomplished anything if his disciples continue to operate and he can simply escape custody. "
Vic reached for the remote and muted the television. Miles didn't even notice. She opened her mouth to say something to him when her phone rang. She looked to the ID and saw that it was Kim…which was interesting because she usually contacted Miles.
She answered quickly. "Hey," Vic said quietly, still glancing at Miles. "What do you have?"
"I've just sent you over a complete list of Ashford Fine Jewelers employees," Kim said. "Thirty-seven names total, everyone who worked there when the business shut down. I've included current addresses where I could find them, employment history, and basic background."
"Amazing work. I’ll do what I can.”
“Have you found anything else on Hartley?"
"I'm still digging. Nothing that screams that he’s an obvious suspect yet, but I'm going through his social media, looking for any connection to Kane or the disciples."
"Keep at it. We're going to probably end up speaking with him tomorrow."
“Will do,” she said. Then, after a pause, she asked: "How's Miles handling the news?"
Vic looked at Miles again. He was staring at the muted television, watching the same footage replay for the hundredth time. His jaw was tight and his hands were clenched in his lap.
"Poorly," Vic said. "Let's leave it at that."
"I figured. Tell him I'm sorry. This is awful."
"I will. Thanks for the list."
Vic ended the call and went to her mail app.
She opened the file Kim had sent, starting at the thirty-seven names arranged alphabetically.
She started at the top with the name Claudia Ashford--owner and operator of Ashford Fine Jewelers.
She’d been convicted of fraud and racketeering, served eighteen months of a five-year sentence before being released on parole.
Vic clicked through to the background file Kim had compiled.
The story was uglier than the news articles had suggested.
Ashford Fine Jewelers had been in the Ashford family for four generations, passed down from father to son, mother to daughter, a Manhattan institution that catered to the city's elite.
Claudia had inherited it from her father and run it for fifteen years before the fraud was discovered.
The charges were extensive: selling conflict diamonds, misrepresenting the origin of gemstones, and inflating appraisals for insurance purposes.
When clients found out, the lawsuits came fast, and criminal charges followed.
The business collapsed within six months.
On the face of it all, it seemed like a pretty simple story.
Vic looked at Claudia's current status. She'd been released from prison two years ago and moved to Massachusetts for a bit.
She'd eventually come back to New York and purchased a small jewelry store in Manhattan.
She had two children, both teenagers. She pulled up more information and found that the jewelry store was legitimate, properly licensed, and had no complaints filed.
Claudia had apparently learned her lesson.
She was keeping her head down, raising her kids, staying out of trouble.
Or so it seemed on the outside. But Vic knew that exteriors could lie quite well for interiors if someone was dedicated enough.
While on the outside it seemed that she was not the killer, there could be more complicated answers.
For instance, maybe she had hired someone, but that seemed unlikely given her current financial situation.
The bankruptcy had wiped her out. She was barely scraping by with her small jewelry shop.
She made notes as she worked through the list, eliminating names, flagging others for follow-up.
It was tedious work, the kind of investigation that required patience and attention to detail.
Behind her, Miles shifted on the bed but didn't speak.
His complete lack of attention to the case was infuriating, but she supposed she understood.
And as such, she knew she needed to give him a few moments to process it all.
After another half an hour or so, Vic had narrowed the list to eight names.
These people consisted of those who still lived in the New York area, who had the technical skills to work with platinum, and who had lost something significant when Ashford collapsed.
Hartley was at the top, but the others needed to be investigated, too.
With the list narrowed down, she turned in her chair. "Miles."
No response. He was still watching the television. At some point, he had unmuted it but had tuned it to a low volume.
"Miles," she said louder.
He blinked and turned to look at her. "What?"
"I've been going through the Ashford employee list. I've got eight other names we need to look at, including Claudia Ashford and Daniel Hartley."
Miles nodded but his eyes drifted back to the television.
"Did you hear what I just said?"
"Yeah. Claudia Ashford and Hartley are prime suspects."
"Are you going to help me look into them?"
"Yeah. In the morning."
Vic felt her frustration building. She understood he was upset.
She understood Kane's escape was devastating. But they still had a job to do, still had a killer to catch, and Miles was completely checked out. And as much as she hated to think such a thing, she just didn’t have time for him to be pouting over something he had no control over.
"We need to talk," she said.
"Not now, Vic."
"Yes, now." She stood and walked over to his bed, putting herself between him and the television.
"You've been staring at that screen for two hours.
You're not helping the investigation. You're not helping yourself.
You're just sitting here torturing yourself with news coverage even when you know Hayes isn’t going to let you near it right now.
So, what is that accomplishing, exactly? "
"Kane is out there."
"I know. And the U.S. Marshals are looking for him. That's their job. Our job is to find the platinum killer before he kills someone else."
"I should be helping with Kane. I know him better than anyone."
"Hayes said to stay on the platinum case. That's what we're doing."
Miles finally looked at her directly. "Two guards are dead because Kane escaped. Three more are injured. And I'm sitting in a hotel room in Manhattan chasing a different killer while the man I spent months tracking is loose again."
"You can't do anything about Kane right now," Vic said. "You being upset doesn't change that. You obsessing over news coverage doesn't change that. What you can do is help me prepare for out visit with Ashford and figure out next steps if she’s not our killer."
"I know."
"Then why aren't you doing it?"
Miles didn't answer. He looked back at the television, at the images of smoke and fire trucks and officials making statements.
Vic grabbed the remote and turned the TV off completely. "Talk to me. What's really going on here?"
"Kane escaped."
"I know Kane escaped,” she said, nearly shouting it. Jesus, it was like talking to a stubborn child at this point. “But there's something else. You're not just upset, you're spiraling. What is it?"
Miles was quiet for a long moment. When he finally spoke, his voice was low. "Hayes didn't want me on the manhunt."
"He said the Marshals are leading it."
"He said I should stay on the platinum case.
He said the Marshals would handle Kane." Miles looked at her.
"He didn't pull me. Didn't ask me to consult, didn't want my input.
The guy I spent nearly a year tracking, the guy I know better than anyone, and Hayes doesn't want me anywhere near his capture. "
Vic sat down on the edge of his bed. "That's what this is about? You feel insulted?"
"I feel looked over. Like all that work doesn't matter. Like knowing Kane's methods and philosophy and network doesn't count for anything."
"Or maybe Hayes is protecting you. Maybe he knows you're too close to this, too personally invested. Maybe he wants you focused on something you can actually control."
"I could help find him."
"Maybe. Or maybe you'd get yourself killed trying to prove something. Or think of the media. You’d be so swarmed with news crews and reporters that you wouldn’t get a damned thing done.
" Vic leaned forward. "Kane is in your head, Miles.
He's been in your head since the day you started tracking him.
Every case, every disciple, every murder has been about him.
And now he's escaped and you're taking it personally, like it's your fault, like you should have seen it coming. "
"I should have."
"How? You're not psychic. You can't predict every move Kane makes.
And you sure as hell can't prevent a coordinated prison break from hundreds of miles away.
That's not on you. That's on Kane and whoever helped him.
But sitting here watching news coverage isn't going to bring them back.
It's not going to help catch Kane. It's just making you feel worse. "
"I know."
"Then help me. We've got eight names to investigate. We've got a killer who's already murdered two people and will probably kill again if we don't stop him. That's what we can control. That's where you need to focus."
Miles was quiet. Vic could see him processing, see the conflict playing out behind his eyes. Part of him knew she was right. But another part was still stuck on Kane, still obsessing over the escape.
"Hayes thinks I can't handle it," Miles said finally. "That's why he didn't want me on the manhunt. He thinks I'm too emotionally compromised."
"Maybe you are, if you want the truth. But that doesn't mean you're useless. It just means you need to focus on what you're good at. And right now, that's finding disciples before they take more lives. Not chasing Kane across the country."
"I hate this."
"I know you do. But we've got a job to do. And I need you present for it. Not sitting here watching television, not obsessing over news coverage. I need you actually working with me."
Miles looked at her for a long moment. Then he nodded slowly. "You're right."
"I know I am."
"I'm sorry. I've been useless since Hayes called."
"You’re not wrong,” she said with a smile. “But I know this is a lot for you. I get it. But we need to move forward. Agreed?"
"Agreed."
Vic stood and went back to the desk. She pulled up the list of names again, the eight people who still needed to be investigated. "All right. Let's go through these together. Tell me what you see."
Miles got up from the bed and joined her at the desk. He leaned over her shoulder, looking at the names on the screen. His focus was still scattered, still partially on Kane, but he was making an effort. That was something.
"Claudia Ashford is our best suspect. Even if she was innocent beyond a shadow of a doubt, she’d be a well-spring of information. But we should look at the others, too. Anyone with platinum expertise, anyone who lost significant income when Ashford closed."
"That's what I was thinking. Kim's pulling detailed backgrounds on all eight. We'll have them by morning."
"Good."
They worked together for another hour, going through the names, making notes, building profiles.
Miles was getting better, more engaged, though Vic could still see the tension in his shoulders.
Kane's escape was going to haunt him for a while.
But at least he was functioning now, at least he was present.
Around two in the morning, they called it. Miles took the bed closer to the window and Vic took the one by the door. In the darkness, Vic could hear Miles shifting restlessly, could see the glow of his phone screen as he checked for updates on Kane.
But he didn't turn the television back on. And when morning came, he was up and ready to work.
It wasn't perfect. But it was enough.