Chapter 46
Amelia might have been onto something. Ever since we got back to the bureau from talking to Matthias, I’ve been digging into her parents” past and travel history. Their last vacation lines up with the timeline for one of Liam’s thefts. But their trip before that also lines up with something else. They were in New York at the same time Scarlett Winthrop was killed.
I’m not stupid enough to call them suspects; they died in the end. But there was a reason Liam was tracking Amelia. Because he was tracking her parents before. Before the painting, before Italy.
The why remains a mystery. There’s no relation between the Winthrops and Amelia’s family that I can find. Or between the Hawthornes and Amelia’s family.
I pull up case file after case file on Scarlett’s death, looking for the connection. But I run into nothing except dead ends. I keep going until I hit the last file connected to Scarlett. It has nothing to do with her murder. It was for a theft three months before she passed. I click on it. Her apartment had been wiped clean of many valuable art pieces, but whoever had stolen them knew how to shut off the alarms. It was someone close to her. Another reason Liam was suspected of her murder.
I scan through the list and photos of each item. Then freeze.
A jewelry box. I click on the image. It’s the same box Amelia thought was her grandmother”s. She had no clue it was stolen. By her parents? By Liam? How did her parents end up with it? Is that what Liam has been looking for the whole time? The reason he killed Scarlett?
I’ve got to get to Amelia. My phone rings as I pull it out.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Caleb,” Maddie says, and only then do I realize I never looked at the caller ID. “Connor has been trying to get ahold of Amelia at the hotel but she hasn’t answered for a few hours. I told him she’s probably with you though, right?”
My brain grinds to a screeching halt. “What do you mean you can’t get ahold of her?”
“Well, aren’t you with her?” Maddie asks.
My heart drops to my stomach. “No, I’m at work. I left her at the hotel and told her to stay put.” Even as the words tumble from my lips I see the error in them. Amelia isn’t a dog. A dog would probably listen better. But where is Agent Fischer?
“I’ll find her,” I say to Maddie a second before hanging up and jumping to my feet. I hit Fischer’s number. It goes straight to voicemail. A cold fear sweeps through my body. I try again. Voicemail.
“No!” I shove my desk and pull up the number for the hotel.
“What’s going on?” Cruz is on my heels.
“Fischer is MIA. So is Amelia.” And it’s all my fault.