“I have no idea. These are rumors. But my dad is acting weird. I have nothing but my intuition to base it on. Jane, I love the guy. What the heck should I do?”
“You have no evidence, just a gut feeling?”
“Yeah. Trust me. I’ve been looking.” He paused. “I think I might have found something. But I’m not sure. I did mention to Haversham I’m looking at my parents.”
“What did he say?”
“To be very careful and not to trust them with what I know.” Matthew sighed. “That really hurts, too. Not like I share my day-to-day with my dad. But I’ve always bounced ideas off him. He’s a great guy, Jane. For a politician, that’s saying something,” he teased, but Jane heard the pain he couldn’t hide.
“I hate to tell you this, but I think we’re going to find Louis Miller tomorrow.”
“That’s good.” When she didn’t say anything, Matthew added, “It’s not?”
“Only if he’s alive. I have a feeling he won’t be. And neither will his sister and her family. That’s not how the killer operates. He’s already turned over the dog.” After a beat, she added, “Matthew, I saw pictures of the dead family. It’s awful.”
Matthew swore. “I hate being two steps behind Kaminski all the time. What is his connection to this? Why kill the people who should be helping him? Or are we wrong about what the Collective is doing?”
“My guess? I think the Collective is supposed to work for Kaminski. But something is wrong. Either Kaminski is ending the Collective for some unknown reason, or someone’s moving against him.”
“Rook, you think?”
“Who knows? We still have no idea who Rook is aside from working for Kaminski. Heck, at this point, he couldbeKaminski. Maybe he’s trying to throw us off by assuming a different name.”
Matthew groaned. “It’s so confusing. I just want answers, and I can’t even get them from my own family.”
“Your parents haven’t told you anything?”
“Just to leave it alone. It’s weird. I think they’re scared.”
“Well, kidnapping and killing Louis Miller is certainly a statement. They should be scared.”
“I wanted to put more security on my father, but he said not to. And my grandfather agreed.”
“Now Nelson Rupert is involved? He’s a big player.” Matthew’s grandfather on his mother’s side, the creator of Raleway Tech, a multimillion-dollar tech firm, had massive reach and money.
“I don’t like my grandfather’s involvement in this. I can’t tell if he’s just worried about Mom and Dad or if he’s part of the Collective too. I swear, this case has roots tangled in everyone and everything.”After a pause, he added, “Do me a favor. If you find Louis Miller tomorrow, let me know. I’ll want to verify it for myself.”
“No problem. Be prepared for a drive to Kirkland.”
He grumbled something then said, “And Jane? When this is over, I owe you not only dinner, but maybe a movie too. Or dancing.”
“Dancing?” She smiled, feeling lighter. “How about ax throwing? That’s more my style.”
He laughed. “You know, that does sound fun. My treat. Just as soon as we catch this creep.”
“It’s a date.”
One she couldn’t wait to keep.
Chapter 32
Fixing the Problem
It had been a long month.Made even longer by people who couldn’t—or didn’t want to—do their jobs.
August Kaminski stared at the report he’d been given.
None of it made any sense. The entire purpose of his existence was to keep a low profile and invade from within. He’d already amassed a fortune. He had people in the right pockets in all the right places.
