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“Look, I don’t give a shit what you think!” Finch jabbed a finger in Francesca’s direction. “I’m stuck with the mess she created and this is the best way to clean it up.” Turning back to Francesca, he lowered his voice, suggesting he felt at least a little bad about what he was doing. “Just so we’re clear, this is a court order. If you break it, you’ll be jailed. I suggest you return to Chandler, keep your mouth shut about any proprietary information you have on the investigation so far and leave us the hell alone to do our jobs. Otherwise, you’ll be charged with interfering in a police investigation.”
“This doesn’t end here,” Jonah said.
“It won’t do any good to talk to the sheriff.” Hunsacker smiled. “You have nothing more to do with this case, either.”
Jonah’s nostrils flared. “What did you say?”
Finch slid the file he’d brought in across the table. “It’s true,” he said with a sigh. “You’ve been terminated.”
“You think you two can solve a case this size all by yourself?” Jonah demanded. “You’ve never even worked a serial murder before.”
“We won’t be by ourselves. We’re forming a task force. Prescott P.D. is loaning us some manpower. So is the state patrol. It’ll be announced today, when we go public with the news of what was found in Dead Mule Canyon.” Finch drew a deep breath. “And now, I have to get back to my office.”
Circumventing Hunsacker, Jonah caught Finch’s arm before he could leave. “So I’m the scapegoat? Firing me is how the department plans to repair its image?”
“You’re an independent contractor. That makes you expendable,” he said.
CHAPTER 22
Although Jonah had never been fired before, there was a small part of him that was actually relieved. He’d been struggling with this assignment ever since Francesca became involved in it, but he would never have allowed himself to bail. That would’ve smacked of running from the challenge—not the challenge of the case but of dealing in any sort of normal manner with a woman he was afraid he still loved. Finch’s actions alleviated that problem, removed personal choice from the matter. All he had to do was take Francesca back to Chandler, where he’d left his rental car. Then he could book a flight to L.A., return the car when he hit the airport and say goodbye to Arizona. The next time he was invited to accept an assignment in this state, he’d think twice.
“I can’t believe that just happened.” Francesca had been so worked up she’d insisted on driving, but Jonah didn’t mind. Somehow, becoming a passenger further relegated him to the “along for the ride” category. He was no longer responsible for anything, he realized as he sat with his seat partially reclined, gazing out at the passing scenery.
“It’s politics,” he said with a shrug. “You’ve got other clients, right?”
She lowered the volume of the radio. “I wasn’t getting paid, anyway.”
“What do you mean? I thought you were hired by April’s sister.”
“Jill just lost her only sibling. I can’t charge her fees on top of that.”
He studied her for a second. “Isn’t that what private investigators do? You’ve got a mortgage like everyone else, don’t you?”
“My mortgage isn’t the point. This isn’t about making money. I’ve got plenty of work. It’s about putting away the guy who murdered all those women. I think we’ve got the leads to do that. I mean, what about the card from that bar that showed up at the burial site? That Julia person Paris mentioned? The fact that Dean was a patient at the mental hospital where Bianca Andersen worked?”
“No longer our problem. None of it. You heard Finch. They’re creating a task force. Hopefully, they’ll put those pieces of the puzzle in the proper order.”
“How? By asking Butch whether or not he did it and then thanking him for his time when he says no?”
Jonah didn’t want to think about it. He’d never left a case unfinished before. It was hard to let go of an investigation before he’d given it his all, especially one this critical. But if the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office wanted him to bow out, he’d leave them to their own devices.
“There might be some folks on the task force who are willing to dig as deep as they need to,” he said, and knew that could be true. Someone else could solve this. He had to disregard his own compulsive nature, which told him he had to be the one. “Considering what’s happened between you and Butch, it’s probably better that you won’t be involved. Dropping out of the picture might be what keeps you safe.”
She slowed for a traffic light. “You think he’ll forget about me?”
Jonah wanted to believe it—that was the only positive he could find. “Why not? He made us both look bad. Hopefully, he feels we’re even.”
“We killed his dog, Jonah. I doubt he’s going to let that go.”
“He caused it.”
“He won’t see it that way. People like Butch never do. He might come after me again.”
Trying to persuade himself that she wasn’t in danger, he began to list the reasons she could be wrong. “You live two hours away, which makes you an inconvenient victim. And now that he’s succeeded in getting us off his back, he’d be stupid to do anything that might risk involving us again. He should consider himself lucky to have won the last round, sit back and enjoy his schadenfreude.”
“His schadenfreude?”
“Pleasure over another’s misfortune.”
