“Hi, Matthew.” Every time she said his name, it felt less awkward on her tongue.
His smile looked strained. “Hi back. It’s been a day.”
“I can’t wait to hear.”
They walked inside, and it seemed to Jane that Matthew took extra time to search the area behind him before closing them inside. He locked the door and gestured for her to precede him.
They settled at the kitchen island, where he’d already put out some plates and napkins.
“That smells delicious.”
“I know. I’m starved.”
They fell on the food, not speaking much except for a few details of the case Jane needed to share. She didn’t mind. It felt as though they had turned a corner in their relationship. Not in an intimate way but working together as peers rather than boss and subordinate.
He trusted her, and that meant something.
“Okay,” she said as she finished her last fry. “I can’t wait any longer. Why haven’t you been answering me? What’s going on?”
He pushed his plate away, half his food still there, uneaten. “I need to know the truth.”
“About…?”
“The list of names you have for the Collective. Were my parents’ names on it?”
Ah. So he shared her suspicions. “No. I would have told you if they were.”
“Do you think the list of names you have is complete?”
“I don’t know.” She’d already explained about seeing the intruder at Stephen Harte’s house. “I don’t think Harte told us everything. Detective Ryan and I have an appointment to talk to him on Monday. Harte’s lawyer will be there, so I doubt we’ll get anything substantial out of him. But he seemed willing to talk to us after someone held his family hostage.”
“Do you think the intruder and the home invasion killer are one and the same?”
“From what Stephen said, yes. Yet Harte and his family were unharmed. I don’t think it was because we showed up to talk to him. Our killer murders on Mondays. The bodies are found two days later. He steals crypto and leaves everything else behind.”
“Didn’t you say he took from the Hartes?”
“Yes, but more, he took material Stephen Harte didn’t think he knew about. And Harte hasn’t said what exactly was on those drives. He claims he doesn’t know. I think he does.”
Matthew frowned. “You also said the intruder attacked you.” Helooked her over, though she’d already told him she was fine. “He had an accent?”
She nodded. “I believe he’s Polish. August Kaminski is Polish.”
“So you think this guy might have been Rook, August’s righthand man?”
“I don’t know.” Jane studied him. “Why are you so stressed out? What aren’t you telling me?”
“I think… I’m not sure, but I think my parents might be involved in this somehow. I haven’t found anything tying them to Kaminski. There’s nothing they’ve ever said or done to act guilty of anything more than not seeing their own entitlement,” he added wryly. “But I can’t stop this feeling that they’re hiding something.”
“Of course they’re hiding something. They’re rich and political. And you’re the FBI, the guy who goes by the book. They won’t tell you everything.”
“It’s more than that.” He sounded frustrated. “My father’s aide has disappeared.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“I mean the man who knows what my father is doing before he does it has vanished. He was supposed to meet my parents last night at a fund raiser. He never showed. And Louis never misses an opportunity to stand in my father’s shadow.”
“Did you put out a missing person’s report?” Despite it not having been twenty-four hours, Matthew could have started looking.
