“HR isn’t as easy as it would seem,” Raine continued. “So many first world problems with these entitled employees. ‘Janine took the lipstick from my desk. Lonnie keeps stealing my clients. Walter sucks up to the boss too much.’ Meh. They should try sitting in a shack in Syria while trying to get the plans for a missile silo and not get found by—” Raine coughed. “Well, you get the picture.”
“If you’re so bored at your job, why not go back into the Marine Corps?”
“Nah. They ruined it.”
Jane didn’t even bother asking who “they” might be. Raine wouldn’t tell her.
“Well, your current job isn’t the only thing out there. You’re great at separating fact from fiction.” No lie, literally, as her cousin was a human truth detector. “Why not find a job elsewhere?”
“I’m putting out some feelers. But don’t tell anyone. That’s also why I need a little space from Uncle Chris. He hovers, and he’s really good at reading me. I don’t want him to know I’m looking for a job somewhere else if it ends up not panning out.”
Jane sighed. “Fine. I’ll do my best to hang with the old man whenhe’s back in town. I’m sure Grace will want to see him too. She loves Uncle Chris. But I’m kind of heavy into a case so?—”
“You’re always heavy into a case.”
“I’ve had some doozies.”
“You put the Red Ribbon Killer away just a few weeks ago.”
“Yeah, but the home invasions started before he hanged himself.” Before Mal and Sven helped him knot the rope. “There’s something about this case…”
“Let me know if you need any help. I’m actually pretty good at getting answers from people.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Don’t forget. Malcolm is expecting you on Saturday. Noonish. Don’t be late.”
“I’ll—”
Raine hung up before Jane could finish her sentence.
With a sigh, she grabbed a leftover salad from the fridge and ate it plain, making a mental note to grab more dressing ASAP. She pretty much picked through the lettuce to the other veggies.
As she slid into bed an hour later, her mind kept fixating on the fact that Lionel Gambol had been talking to her uncle about her so many months after she’d ended her involvement with his special task force.
Her brain kept pinging, her instinct screaming at her that his reappearance in her life meant something more than a coincidence.
Chapter 6
The next morning,after a nice four-mile run and a refreshing shower, Jane arrived at HQ caffeinated and ready to take on the day.
Her major concerns with the case so far, ignoring the fact some killer enjoyed terrorizing and murdering entire families, had to do with what he might be after. Why not also take the cash and jewelry from the homes? Easy money and easy to move. And why not kill the pets? Did he take them away and kill them later? Did he keep them or just let them wander away? Yet no one had reported the pets found.
That clue bothered her because it didn’t fit. At all.
The brutality done to the families—to innocent children—had been savage. But the killer had a heart of gold when it came to furry victims? Or those with scales; he hadn’t hurt the fish.
After reading through her emails and attending to some time-sensitive matters, she finally met upstairs with Lisa Chen. The forensic accountant had promised to be gentle about introducing Jane to the world of accounting.
Jane often researched in her own time when she had a case with unfamiliar topics. But the world of cybercrimes and crypto-anythingfrankly annoyed her. Bits and bytes weren’t her thing. Now murder and normal theft, like stealing some old lady’s purse, she understood.
She wasn’t dealing with common criminals. This one targeted the uber-rich. Wealthy people tended to diversify investments. Nothing so common as savings or checking accounts and 401Ks. The killer had stolen a good $10 million in cryptocurrency.
As she walked into the cybercrimes office, she passed a familiar face. “Gina.”
Agent Gina Holtz, a fellow agent who’d worked on the special task force with Jane at the start of the year, nodded to her. “Jane Cannon. What are you doing up here?”
From what Jane knew, Gina had found her footing in cybercrimes. The task force they’d worked together had been to catch a killer. But Gina had requested to go into cybercrimes upon leaving the special unit. She’d been making a name for herself as someone who got things done.
