Slow Burn

attorney. I'm not worried. We'll find whoever it was.'

Dylan took his time walking around the apartment and studying the papers and the handwritten notes. Nice tidy package, he thought. Roger couldn't have been more accommodating if he'd tried. He'd left just enough hints to connect Jackman, but not hard evidence to nail him.

Something didn't compute. Dylan made a second examination of the information the agents had collected, but each time a question was answered, another one popped up. What was Reece's name doing in Roger's notes? Why did he leave information for them to find and yet leave no suicide note? Where did he get another gun so quickly? There was nothing orderly in Roger's life, so why was this so organized?

One perfect shot… knew just where to aim.

The paramedics had come in to bag the body. Agent Kline moved out of their way and noticed Dylan staring down at the papers, frowning. 'Something bothering you?' he asked.

Dylan nodded. 'This doesn't feel right. It isn't working for me.'

They both watched the body being carted away. 'What you've got here is a nice, tidy package,' Dylan said.

Kline shrugged. 'It can happen this way… all of it coming together…'

'Yeah? Since when does it happen this way? Everything laid out nice and easy for you? The only thing missing from the table are arrows pointing to the evidence on those papers.' He shook his head. 'I don't like nice and tidy, and do you know why? It makes me think that maybe all this was staged.'

Chapter Thirty-six

Dylan had stayed at the crime scene much longer than he'd intended, and he was anxious to get back to Kate. He took the stairs at Roger's apartment building and called her cell phone on his way down to let her know he was returning to the law office. He was only ten minutes away, but he needed to hear her voice. He heard her voice mail instead. What the hell? Why hadn't she answered? Where was she? Trying not to panic, he quickly called Smith and Wesson.

'Miss MacKenna is on another line. Would you like to hold, or may I take a message?' the receptionist inquired.

He didn't leave a message, but he did relax. It was okay. Kate was where she was supposed to be.

He was crossing the busy street heading to his car when his phone rang. Nate was on the line.

'We've got a problem. Ewan MacKenna hasn't shown up at the police station. His attorney's still there waiting for him, and he swears he doesn't know where his client is. Can't find Ewan's car, either. We've sent some men to his house. No car, no Ewan. He left in a hurry, too, because his front door was wide open. Police went in and searched. Nothing.'

'What happened to Ewan's surveillance?'

'Evidently some idiot pulled it when Roger was found with all that evidence. I've got some guys checking a couple of Ewan's favorite health clubs.'

'You better get someone over to the hospital to make sure Bryce and Vanessa haven't disappeared.'

'I was just about to send someone. I'll talk to you later.'

Dylan pulled his car key out of his pocket and was inserting it in the door when he saw Agent Kline rushing across the street waving to get his attention.

'Glad I caught you. Ewan MacKenna's missing,' Kline said as he caught up to him.

'Yeah, I heard,' Dylan answered.

'Well, there's more. I just got a call from the lab. They found a match to the fingerprints on the calendar, and they just happen to belong to Ewan MacKenna himself. Maybe you're right. Maybe the crime scene was staged. So now I guess we've got a whole new kettle of fish to deal with here.'

Kline folded his arms, looked at the ground for a second as he thought, and then said, 'Here's my original theory: Someone the old man trusts films the video and makes himself an extra copy. He sells it to Roger. Roger watches it and knows he's got to get rid of Kate or he's not gonna see a dime. So what does he do? He calls Jackman and cuts him in because he needs his connections. This all makes sense, right? But now I've got to consider that either Ewan is in on it with Roger and Jackman, or maybe the video is sold to Ewan. Roger doesn't know anything about it. Ewan watches it, and he cuts Jackman in, and the two of them set Roger up to take the fall. It could have happened that way because, I'm telling you, there sure as certain isn't any brotherly love going on in that family.'

Dylan draped his arms across the car door and listened to the agent's hypothesis.

Kline continued to think out loud. 'Still nice and tidy, right?' he asked. 'Now I've got to wonder about the timing. Why did Roger kill himself when he did?'

'I don't think he did kill himself,' Dylan said.

Kline's shoulders hunched a bit more. 'Yeah, maybe.'

Dylan got in the car and rolled down the window. 'Hopefully, evidence will prove it.'

'If Roger was murdered, Ewan becomes the number one suspect. He's capable of murder.'

'In that family… they're all capable of murder.'

'I'll let you know when we find Ewan,' Kline said. He jogged back across the street and into the building.

Dylan couldn't get rid of the uneasy feeling that he was missing something. He was looking at it but not seeing it. He locked in on Kline's comment about timing. Maybe that was it. The timing was wrong. Yeah, that's what was bothering him.

At the first stoplight he dug through his pocket, found Anderson's cell phone number, and called him.

The attorney, who had forgotten to turn off his phone, answered in a whisper. 'May I call you back?'

'No, you may not,' Dylan said firmly. 'You need to answer a question for me right now.'

'I'm paying my respects-'

'This can't wait.'

'Let me just step outside this door…' His voice became louder. 'All right. What do you want to know?'

'I've got some puzzle pieces missing,' Dylan answered. 'I need you to help me create a timeline.'

Chapter Thirty-seven

Timing really was everything, and the phone logs at Smith and Wesson would confirm what Dylan had finally figured out.

The truth didn't set him free; it enraged him. How could he have been so blind? And why had it taken him so long to see what was there the whole time?

He realized he was driving like a maniac. He didn't care. Panic was building inside him, and all he could think about was getting to Kate. He needed to see her and know that she was all right. She didn't realize the danger, and she was so trusting. She was sitting in the middle of a hornet's nest. The bastard knew where she was, and he would be coming for her.

He turned the corner on two wheels, slammed on the brakes, and hit the ground running. He had a plan. After he made sure Kate was safe, he was going to kill the son of a bitch.

Dylan sprinted into the building. Two policemen were hurrying down the stairs toward him. As soon as he saw their expressions, he knew something was wrong.

'Where's Kate?' he demanded.

'Gone… she's gone,' one of the officers answered.

The other rushed to add, 'We've searched the entire building. She left in a hurry.'

They both talked at once.

'Phone was off the hook, purse and briefcase still there…'