Chapter 8
“Thanks, Detective. So he came in on his own?”
Detective Ryan nodded. “Said he found his brother’s hard drive melted and sitting on his kitchen counter. He thinks the killer is now fixated on him and wanted us to know before he left the country. He’s planning to take an extended vacation in France.” Ryan sighed. “Must be nice.”
“No kidding.” She entered the room with Ryan on her heels and sat across from a nervous man in his mid-forties.
He resembled his older brother, and she had to work not to recall Jim Duvall missing bits of flesh and blood.
“Mr. Duvall, I’m Agent Cannon. Thank you for coming in.”
He nodded, his knee bobbing under the table.
“I’m sorry about your brother and his family. You have reason to believe the killer is also after you now? Why?”
Dave Duvall’s eyes widened. “He melted a hard drive and left it in my kitchen! In my house!”
“What was on the drive?”
Dave swallowed audibly. “I don’t know. I assume business stuff. Jim and I both worked at Duvall Manufacturing, but I was a manager. I dealt with people. Jim handled all the contract work and big business decisions.”
“Do you have any idea why anyone would want to hurt your brother and his family?”
“No.” Tears filled Dave’s eyes. “He was a great guy. Everyone loved him. Our stockholders were happy. Our employees all got raises since we nailed two new contracts overseas.”
“Making furniture?”
“Mostly desks and tables, and a little bit of higher end stuff you might see in a few hotel chains.”
“That’s it?”
“Yeah.” Dave let out a breath. “Look, I’m not saying my brother was perfect. Sure, there was competition with other manufacturers. But that was just business. He wasn’t involved in anything that would make someone want to kill him.”
“Have you ever heard of something called the Collective?”
Dave frowned, but Jane swore she saw a hint of panic before it vanished. “Like a union?”
She studied him, aware of Detective Ryan’s intensity next to her. “I don’t know. You tell me.”
“My brother was open to unions, believe it or not. I’m telling you. He did everything aboveboard. You can look into whatever you need to find out who killed him. And Karen…and the kids…” He paused and buried his head in his hands.
Jane read his grief as genuine.
Detective Ryan cleared his throat, and after a quick nod from Jane, asked, “Mr. Duvall, are you sure you can’t think of anyone who might have wanted to hurt your brother? I know we already talked about this, but are you sure your sister had nothing to do with it?”
“Sherry? No. She and Karen had a dustup a few months ago. Something about wearing the same color to some gala, if you can believe that. But they quickly got over it.” He subtly wiped his eyes.
“Sherry’s devastated. She’s keeping Bubbles, the dog.
” He shook his head. “Why would the killer kidnap the dog but kill the family? The kids? It makes no sense!”
“I agree.” Jane sighed. “We’re doing our best to solve this, but we need answers. You’re sure you have no idea what might have been on that cold wallet?” When he looked confused, she explained, “The hard drive?”
“No. I’m sorry. But…” He paused and lowered his voice.
“I do remember Jim acting a little anxious the last week before he died. He skipped meetings due to personal reasons. He told me he was having issues with Karen. But when I hinted to Karen about it, she looked confused. And then Jim gave me the drive to hold on to.”
“You didn’t look at it?” she asked.
“No. It’s got a biometric sensor. Needs a fingerprint to unlock it.”
“Oh.”
“I’m not even sure anyone knew I had it. How could they?”
A killer might have tortured that info out of Jim Duvall.
“Where did you have the cold wallet in your home? Locked up or out in the open?”
“I had it in a locked desk drawer. But not anything you couldn’t strongarm open.
It’s a nice desk but not, like, some kind of safe or something.
I love—loved—my brother.” Dave wiped his eyes again.
“But we lived different lifestyles. We didn’t come from money.
Everything he had, he made. I was happy he gave me a job. The wealth was all his.”
Dave Duvall was turning out to be a dead end. Except for that flash of panic in his eyes.
“How did you hear about Bubbles?” Detective Ryan asked.
“My sister got a call a few days ago. At first, she thought it was a crank. But she followed up and called the number the caller left. It led to the dog. She picked him up. He’s fine. Not a scratch on him.” Dave gave them a watery smile. “Something good, eh?”
“That is something.” Jane paused, wanting to word her question just right. “Mr. Duvall, do you know the Coatney and Strand families?”
He paled. “The Coatneys were killed. I know that. I’d met them once or twice at Jim’s parties. Karen loved hosting events. I think Nick Coatney was a friend of my brother’s through business.”
“And the Strands?”
“Glen and Kai, I think. I do remember them. They kept trying to get Jim to branch out into electronics.” Dave huffed.
“We’re good at what we do. Why would we want to delve into tech?
Our trade routes and distributors are the best, though.
I think that’s why they were talking to us about it. Or talking to Jim, I should say.”
She had a feeling he knew a lot more than he admitted.
“Anyway, I wanted you guys to know the killer came after me. I’m leaving the country for a while. Sherry refuses to go, but I can’t stay here. I’ll be with friends in Paris. Sherry will know how to reach me if you have more questions.” He paused and asked, “Unless I’m not free to go?”
Jane shook her head. “We appreciate you coming in at all. And we’re taking the threat to you very seriously.”
Mollified, he added, “I wish I could tell you more. If I had even an inkling of who might have hurt my family, I’d tell you.” He sighed. “I just… I need some time to think.”
“What your family has suffered is terrible,” Detective Ryan rumbled. “I don’t blame you.”
“Yeah, but my sister and mom need me. I’ll come back, even if I wish I didn’t have to.” Dave stood.
Jane figured he’d shared all he planned to and stood with the detective as well.
She held out a hand. “We really appreciate your help, Mr. Duvall. If we learn anything, we’ll let you know.
” She held onto his hand as she asked, “And you’re sure you’ve never heard your brother mention a collective? A group of some sort?”
His hand felt damp, his grip weak. He quickly pulled back and shot her a fake smile.
“The only group my brother was into recently was a pickleball club he and Karen had joined.” He stared at her, as if weighing his next words with a gravity they didn’t deserve.
“The Ravens, I think they called themselves. Not the Collective. Other than that, nothing.”
Jane just watched him, understanding he’d tried to tell her something without telling her. She gave an easy smile. “Thanks again for your cooperation, Mr. Duvall. And best of luck on your trip.”
“I’ll show you out.” Detective Ryan walked Dave out the door.
Jane stared after them. Dave Duvall had lied about his knowledge concerning the Collective. She didn’t need her cousin to point out the obvious untruth. But that comment about his brother playing on a team called the Ravens…
Wasn’t a raven a type of corvid?
Like a rook—the kind of rook Matthew had asked her about?