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Francesca: “You think I should’ve let it all go without a fight?”
Jonah: “I think you don’t take on a man like that unless you know in advance that you’ve got him by the balls. He’d already allowed Hunsacker and his men to search the whole place. It wasn’t as if we could force him to let us look again. That would require a warrant.”
Finch: “And, in case you’re wondering, there’s no way we could get a warrant. You were the one who was trespassing. You’re also the only one who inflicted bodily harm.”
Francesca: “He tackled me! These abrasions and burns don’t mean anything?”
Finch: “They don’t constitute an attack as obvious as the scratches you left on his face.”
Jonah: “He could easily make up an excuse for that, say you flew into a panic when you thought that mannequin was a body and fell while you were running away. How would you prove otherwise?”
Finch: “I’m telling you, any judge I approach would act to protect Vaughn’s rights, to stop a possible lawsuit if for no other reason.”
Francesca: “A lawsuit?”
Finch: “He could sue the city for ‘misconduct.’”
Francesca: “Since when is following up on a lead considered misconduct?”
At that point, the investigator had turned to face her for the first time since they’d left the salvage yard. “We descended on him like flies on shit because you’re an investigator. I believed you when you told me there was a body in that junkyard.” Here, he’d smacked the steering wheel. “Damn it, you hadn’t even looked at it!”
Francesca: “I made a mistake, okay? That doesn’t mean he’s not responsible for April’s disappearance.”
Finch: “No, it doesn’t. But we need proof before we go barging in there again. Solid proof. More than just your word.”
Francesca: “Fine. I’ll get the proof!”
Finch had shot her a sullen look. “You do that.”
Jonah: “Considering what’s happened, the smartest response is to cut your losses and stay out of it. Your life is worth far more than whatever you had in that purse. Let us take it from here.”
This comment had caused her to twist around in her seat. “So you do think he’s dangerous.”
Jonah: “I plan to find out. That much I can promise.”
Francesca: “Well, for the record, I’m not worried about my perfume and my lipstick, okay? I’m worried about him having my personal information.”
Finch: “Cancel your credit cards and change your locks.”
Jonah: “And until you can do that, don’t go home. Rekey your house and your car, put in a security system at your office, if you don’t already have one, and stay with your parents.”
That wasn’t an option. These days, her parents spent their summers in Montana, building their dream house near her brother, Samuel, who was older by six years and had a wife and three children.
Francesca: “In other words, leave my home unprotected.”
Jonah: “Your safety is more important than your house.”
Francesca: “But I can’t leave the house to him. Who knows what he’d do? He could install video cameras in my attic, sabotage the window locks, drill peepholes.”
Jonah: “You can have it inspected before you go back.”
Or she could defend her turf, refuse to let him disrupt her life.
Francesca: “Thanks for the advice, but it never pays to run from a bully. That would only endanger whoever I chose to stay with. All he’d have to do is follow me from the office.”
Finch: “There’s strength in numbers. It certainly beats staying alone.”
Francesca: “Giving him the upper hand won’t make me any safer. I’m not going to run and hide.”
