Love me to death

to Prenter.”

“I will.” She paused. “You said you told Lucy?”

“I had to-she’s the one who asked me to look into Prenter’s murder in the first place.”

“Lucy?” Silence. “Why would Lucy ask you to look into Prenter’s murder?”

“She saw the article in the paper, then pulled his autopsy report. She said it looked suspicious. I was placating her at first, but when I read the file I realized she was right. This whole thing is suspicious.”

The door opened and Cody’s voice sounded as if it was in a tunnel. “I’m sorry, Fran. If you find out who, we’ll handle it internally.”

“Thank you, Cody.”

The door closed firmly.

“Damn,” Fran said.

There was complete silence.

Dillon said, “There’s something wrong with that conversation.”

Sean nodded. “No mention of going to the police. Fran’s first reaction, I’d think, after disbelief, would be to inform the authorities.”

Lucy disagreed. “The parolee project is in a gray area. It’s not technically entrapment, but Fran didn’t want it getting out to the public because of the potential for bad press. Her entire life is WCF. If she thought someone on the inside was using the organization for their own agenda, I don’t know what she would do-except everything she could to protect the group.”

“But this is murder,” Dillon said.

The digital recording registered a loud noise, then files slamming and papers ruffling.

Fran’s voice, “Dammit, where is it?” More movement, a loud, long sigh of frustration. “I just don’t believe this.” Sounds of the filing cabinet opening, a furious perusal of papers, then silence for a good two minutes. Lucy thought Fran had left, then there was a jingle of keys, followed by a door slamming shut.

Sean looked at Dillon. “I should have found a way to bug her purse.”

“Not Fran,” Lucy said, not wanting to believe it. She looked at Dillon.

“You think it’s her, too,” he said quietly.

She nodded, blinking back tears. “It’s what you said earlier-about why vigilantes target certain criminals. Fran’s younger sister was repeatedly molested by their uncle. They lived in virtual poverty, their mom worked two jobs, Fran worked nearly full-time in addition to school so she could save money for college, and no one knew what a sick pervert the uncle was.”

“Most repeat child molesters are well versed at keeping their victims quiet,” Dillon said. “A combination of treats and threats, and by the time the child outgrows both, they are made to feel so guilty-convinced that they are to blame for the abuse-that they never talk about it. How did Fran find out?”

“When her sister was strangled by the uncle. The day she started her first menstrual cycle, he raped and killed her. He told the police she’d lost her innocence and he had to stop her from turning into a whore.” Lucy spoke matter-of-factly, but the case bothered her deep down in a place she kept sealed.

“There’s another difference in these targets,” Dillon said, looking at Lucy’s spreadsheet.

“Right-they’re spread out. No two in the same city.”

“Or, if you look at it another way, Prenter is the only local parolee who was killed. That’s one more reason Prenter doesn’t fit with the others.”

“You mean different killer?” Sean asked.

“No, same killer. Or same group-I’m certain there are at the minimum two killers, but most likely three or more people involved, for a conspiracy this large. They targeted Prenter for a different reason, otherwise they wouldn’t have risked hitting so close to home-not just D.C., but a personal hit. We need to look at all his victims. I think one of the people involved is related to one of his victims. When he got out, that individual used their position in the group to put Prenter on the list, even though he didn’t fit their profile.”

“I’ve looked at the victims,” Lucy said. “Nothing jumps out. I asked Sean to look deeper.”

“Good,” Dillon said.

“We need to talk to Cody,” she said. “He’ll help, tell us everyone he spoke with. Maybe something will ring a bell.”

“Lucy,” Sean said sharply. “Cody has other problems. He’s stalking you.”

“Maybe he didn’t mean to make the message sound so disturbing.”

“And what about all those times you thought someone was watching you? That didn’t freak you out?”

“Yes, but-”

“Do not make excuses for that man!”

“Ease up, Rogan,” Dillon said.

Lucy shook her head. “Sean’s right.” She had to accept the fact that Cody had tried to scare her. “Cody followed us from church to brunch to the ice-skating rink-I didn’t tell him where we were going because I didn’t know. It’s just so hard to put him in the role of a bad guy.”

“Did he call you back?”

She shook her head. “I’ll track him down tomorrow morning.”

“Not alone,” Sean said.

She glanced at Sean. She understood that he was worried and being protective, but the tension coming off him was palpable. He’d been so understanding earlier, but now he was acting just like her brothers.

She raised an eyebrow at him and, keeping her voice cool, said, “I don’t have a death wish, Sean, and I already have four overprotective brothers-I don’t need another one.”

He ran a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry.”

“I appreciate your concern, though, and I promise I won’t cut him any slack, okay? But I think Dillon should come with me when I talk to him. Less testosterone.”

“Gee, thanks,” Dillon said, lightening the conversation.

She rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean.”

TWENTY-SIX

Abigail hailed Noah as soon as he turned down the aisle of their squad’s cubicles early Tuesday morning. “I got the GPS data.”

“We were supposed to have it yesterday.”

“Yeah, and I harassed the poor CEO mercilessly all day even though there is no immediate risk to life or limb for this data.”

“Sorry.” Noah rubbed his eyes. “Kate and I split Morton’s emails. I still have a headache.”

“Learn anything?”

“Quite a bit. Our victim from Saturday, Robert Ralston?”

“I remember.”

“If I’m reading these messages right, he’s the one who first contacted Morton. Morton got out of prison, sent a few emails letting people know he was around, and then nothing-until the first week of August, when Ralston sends Morton a message.”

Noah put down his files and pulled the summary he’d typed out at home. “August sixth, Ralston asks Morton if he’s interested in a new game plan, that Ralston wants to retire to Florida but doesn’t have any money. Morton responds that he’s broke, too, and he hates being a mechanic. Ralston says he’ll see what he hears, but he’s not a techie.”

“Morton bought his computer a few weeks later.”

“I think that was incidental-he needed to earn the money to buy it, and after seven weeks working he had the funds. He immediately started going to all the online porn sites. Possibly doing research on how the technology and offerings changed.”

“Or maybe he was just a horny bastard after spending six years in prison.”

Noah shrugged. “Then Morton contacts Ralston in late September and says he has a new game plan-same