want her to have professional trouble because she’d adhered to an agreement she wasn’t even party to. She could have arrested Price and turned him over to local police. She could have had the local FBI pick him up at the bar or called CID with his last-known whereabouts. That she had done none of those things because she promised she wouldn’t, even when facing intense pressure from Hans Vigo, told Jack that she had a backbone of steel and an inherent sense of loyalty to match any among Jack’s team of soldiers.
Padre got on the phone. “Did you meet up with Price?”
“Yeah. He gave us what we needed. But I wasn’t calling you about him.”
“You sound grim.”
“The reporter, Barry Rosemont, killed General Hackett last night.”
“I know.” Padre’s voice was flat.
“You know?”
“It’s all over the morning news. I’m surprised you didn’t see it.”
“I’m still at the airport fueling. So you know Rose-mont is dead?”
“And there’s a chance that another unidentified killer is on the loose. Yeah, I know all about it.”
“And you’re okay?”
Padre said nothing for a long minute, then, “It’s hard.”
Jack didn’t have to ask Padre what he meant. Priests had to act like forgiveness was a given. And sometimes it wasn’t. Even for men of God.
“Why didn’t he kill me?”
Jack almost didn’t hear him, Padre spoke so quietly.
“I don’t know,” Jack said, also quietly. “Maybe you did something five years ago that made him not blame you.”
“I was a different man then, Jack.”
“Not as different as you think.”
“If anyone should have been spared, based on how he treated Rosemont, it would have been Duane Johnson. He was the only one who stood up for the kid. Not me. I told him he was our albatross.”
The regret in Padre’s voice was thick.
“It was Rosemont’s choice to kill,” Jack said. “Maybe he felt it was too risky to go after you so soon after what he did to Scout. Maybe he had another insane reason for killing Hackett next. But it’s over.”
“What about his partner? Any leads?”
“Not that I know of, but I’m heading over to the hotel in a few minutes and I’ll find out. Be careful, Padre. I need you alive and well when I return to Hidalgo. If Rosemont’s partner is going to finish this twisted game, you may be next. What about the sketch? Did the Rangers send over a sketch artist?”
“She arrived an hour ago, but I have a funeral Mass at one-in fact, I need to prepare, the family will be here in a few minutes.”
“As soon as you’re done, send it to both me and Megan. And watch your back. Both Tim and Mike are there, right?”
“Yes. We’re fine.”
“I’ll feel better when I’m back there.”
“When is that? There have been inquiries about your services. One of the major charities in Belize wants escorts when they take a Habitat for Humanity group out to a remote village next month.”
Jack had put his business on hold this week, but he hadn’t had a choice. Now he did. Rosemont was dead; he could go back to Hidalgo right now if he wanted. Nothing was holding him here-except Megan and Rosemont’s murderous partner.
He’d become a glorified chauffeur-flying the feds around instead of driving them. While they might have needed him at first to help with the military angle, it was clear now that his expertise wasn’t in demand.
While Megan had proven she could take care of herself, she was facing an enemy capable of taking down Delta-trained soldiers. Rosemont was dead; his killer was even more ruthless. Jack was concerned about Megan’s safety.
“You still there, Jack?”
“Tim can take any job he wants as long as he brings in an appropriate team,” Jack said, “but I’m taking a week.” Jack would take as much time as Megan needed.
“A week?”
“I’ll keep in touch. Watch your back, Padre. We don’t know what’s going on here.” He hung up.
Megan hadn’t asked him to protect her, and she’d probably tell him she didn’t need a bodyguard. Maybe she didn’t. But Jack wasn’t taking any chances. She was part of his life now, and he took care of what was his.
Dr. Ian Clark was a short, cerebral-looking middle-aged forensic expert with little hair and Coke-bottle glasses that doubled the size of his blue eyes, which Megan found disconcerting.
“Put on booties and gloves,” he demanded. “We’re not done.”
Megan slipped on the protective gear and surveyed the room. The bodies hadn’t been removed, but Dr. Clark was bagging the second victim. Two technicians were collecting trace evidence. Another tech came out of the bathroom with two paper bags, one in each hand, and passed by Megan without acknowledgment. A fourth tech was outside studying the sliding glass door.
The resort beachfront cabin was one large room, comfortably sized, with a king-sized bed, desk, and sitting area with two love seats. A refrigerator was under the desk, and a small bathroom and closet were to the right of the entrance.
The first thing that struck Megan was the amount of blood. She looked around the room, saw blood soaked into the neutral beige carpet, spreading several feet across. Blood spatter radiated across the floor, indicating that someone had been shot while laying on the carpet. She said as much.
“Correct,” Dr. Clark said. “General Hackett was attacked three feet from the door-hamstrung. You can see the spatter on the bathroom door. He fell to the ground, and it appears he pulled himself toward the doors at the rear of the room. He moved six feet before he was shot-twice, a head shot and once to his back. From the amount of blood, a bullet pierced a major artery. There’s also brain matter and bone embedded in the carpet. We’ll be cutting out the carpet for further blood analysis.”
“Where was Rosemont found?” Hans asked.
Dr. Clark stood in the center of the room. “He was close to Hackett’s body and fell across his legs. He was shot in the chest twice.”
“Detective Holden said there was no knife found.”
“Correct. We’ve broadened the search, but so far nothing. We’ve also received a limited warrant to search every hotel room, occupied and unoccupied, in the resort.”
Holden said, “My officers are in the middle of that search. So far, nothing.”
Clark continued. “Though I will need confirmation from the autopsy, it appears that Rosemont attacked Hackett as soon as the door closed. I inspected Rosemont’s hands and he was wearing gloves. The gloves had small nicks in them, consistent with brushing against a sharp blade. We also found a medical-type bag with restraint materials and more than two hundred acupuncture needles. The needles tested positive for blood and there is multiple biological matter on them. He may have rinsed them off, but he never sterilized them.”
“Prints?” Megan asked.
Clark shook his head. “Far too slender to retain enough fingerprint information for a possible I.D.”
“What about prints in the room?” she clarified.
“We found several of Rosemont’s prints on the main door and the sliding glass door, in the bathroom, and on the desk. There are several sets and the hotel is providing us with prints of all its employees to compare to. But the only recent prints belong to Rosemont and Hackett. Hackett touched the doorjamb, the knob, and he had a key for this room in his pocket.”
“But I thought the room was registered to Rosemont under the name Ethan Rose,” Hans said.
“Correct. But Hackett had a key.”
Meg turned to Holden. “You said that Hackett was seen with a woman in the bar.”
“Yes.”
“Rosemont’s partner.”
Hans turned to her. “We don’t know that.”
