They showed themselves out.
As Luciano drove toward home, he said, “I’ll check Hirzog’s finances when we get home.”
In the dark car, she glanced over. “What happened to Peter? He used to be this amazing lawman, a respected leader, and total team player.”
“I know what happened to him,” Luciano replied. “Jerod happened. We need to find this Jerod De Clerq and squeeze him for answers.”
“Santini style?”
“I’ll start by breaking his fucking knees. I’m done being Mr. Nice Guy. So fucking done.”
Thirty-minutes later, they were sitting at their desks in his home office, their covered dinner plates waiting on the conference table.
“I requested a background check on Peter,” she said. “Is there anything I can do to help you with his finances?”
Luciano had all three computer screens lit up. He was searching for Hirzog’s online bank accounts. Once he found out where Peter banked, he’d access them by impersonating Peter. After he explained to Simone what he was doing, he said, “It’s going to take me a couple of hours, maybe longer. If I find nothing, I’ll search for offshore accounts.”
She pushed out of her chair, walked across the room, her intense gaze pinned on him. “Thank you.” She dipped down, kissed him. “While I wait for Hirzog’s background check, I’ll read the cold-case file on your family.”
He had no expectations she’d find anything. The homicide detective had come up with very little, the arson detective even less.
An hour passed, then another. Every now and then, she’d comment to herself. He loved having her in his office, appreciated how focused she was, how committed she was to finding his family’s killer, despite the odds stacked against her.
“Luciano,” she said breaking her silence.
“Yeah, baby.”
A hint of a smile tugged on the corners of her mouth. “Did the arson detective contact you?”
“No, but the homicide detective did. Once, in the beginning and several months later. He said the bomb materials were untraceable. They were common substances like hydrogen peroxide and ammonium nitrate that couldn’t be traced to a specific seller.”
One nod, then she continued working. She spent the next thirty minutes typing, then reading, more typing, more reading. At one point, she pushed out of her chair, walked onto the back patio, and stood in the yard staring up at the night sky.
A few minutes later, she came inside and rubbed her arms. “It’s chilly tonight.” Then, she sat on the sofa. “Can you sit with me for a minute?”
He’d located Hirzog’s bank, then accessed his checking and savings accounts, but had found nothing suspicious. Both were joint accounts he shared with his wife.
“One minute.” He called Teddy. “How’d it go?”
“It was fun.”
Luciano smiled. “Is he alive?”
“Unfortunately.”
“I need your help.”
“Go,” Teddy said.
After he told Teddy what he’d found, he said, “I’m looking for an account Hirzogdoesn’tshare with his wife. It’s not at this bank. I’ve searched several others, but there’s nothing.”
“What about a credit union?” Teddy asked.
“I didn’t check those.”
“Lemme see what I can do.”
The line went dead. Luciano joined Simone on the sofa.
