“Well, it looks like a week before the Duvalls died, Jim went to his bank and put something in his safe deposit box. Then someone,notJim, his siblings, or his wife, emptied the box. But all I can see of him is the top of his hat. His face is blurred like crazy.
“I found a thread I had to keep pulling, but don’t tell anyone. The forensic stuff keeps me busier than busy. But sometimes I like a good mystery, and I want to know what Jim put in his safe deposit box that someone stole.”
“A cold wallet, I think. The killer stole it, copied it, then burned it and left it at Dave Duvall’s house as a message.”
“A message?”
“Well, Dave Duvall, his sister, and his mother are now all dead, just like the rest of the Duvalls.”
Lisa cringed. “Oh.”
“Thanks for this. I mean it. I owe you.”
Lisa seemed to recover. “See that you pay up. Jenn is horrible about payback.”
“Tell me about it.”
Jane left to see a man about a bank deposit box.
But not before she stopped off at her desk and made a certain call to a certain hacker she knew.
Chapter 22
The callto Diego went right through.
“Oh my gosh. Jane! Great timing! I’mso bored.” Diego Rivera, a twenty-seven-year-old lanky slacker who dressed like a perpetual high school computer nerd, thrived on sugar and energy drinks.
She’d worked with him on the special task force last winter, and he’d certainly proven he knew what he was about when it came to mining data.
“Diego, how’s it going in Denver?”
“It’s going.” He sighed and lowered his voice. “No one here has any fun. At least Rapp would let me do my thing. These guys are all about warrants and subpoenas and paperwork.”
“How terrible.”
“Right?” He slurped his drink—a Monster, she’d bet—and chuckled. “So how are you and Gina getting along?”
“Like two cats in a sack.”
He laughed. “I miss you guys. If I have to work for the Man, I’d much rather work for smart, attractive Feds than these losers.”
“We can hear you, Diego,” a deep voice growled in the background.
Diego cleared his throat. “So what can I do for you?”
“I’ve got a situation that needs your delicate touch.”
“Tell me.”
Jane briefly and carefully ran down her situation. Asking Diego without asking Diego to look into the Hartes. “Anything you can get me without leaving a whisper you were there. Nothing official, just as a favor for a friend, you get me? I would never use this information as evidence of anything.” After a pause, she added in a low voice, “We never had this conversation.” Which was why she’d called him on his cell phone.
“Got it. Give me an hour. I’ll call you back.” He hung up.
Like Hal, Diego would use any resource given him and make it appear as if he’d never been there. She would have called Hal for help, but she knew he had work to do for her uncle. Plus, she didn’t want to give Uncle Chris more ammo against her to leave the FBI and work for him.
They had that argument about once a quarter. Fortunately, he’d been distracted, or she knew he’d have been nagging about it already.
Her conversation with Diego done, Jane decided to pause on going to the Hartes’ home. She wanted information before she talked to them. She thought about calling Ray to go with her but then realized the time. She had a lunch to attend and more questions to ask.
