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Gabe grimaced. “Yeah. From what I heard, Jim had a late board meeting, and the parking lot was dark. He didn’t have security—he’d never needed it. The shooter was waiting outside in a car. They used a silencer. One of the board members found Jim on the ground.”
I gripped the island. “Jesus.”
Gabe poured himself a drink. “They’re going back through the security tape to see if they can ID the shooter or find plate numbers, but I doubt it’ll help.”
“What did Agent Marks say?”
Gabe had called his FBI contact as soon as he’d heard the news.
“The usual—thanks for the lead, and they’re working on it.”
I grimaced. “I don’t have much use for Agent Marks.”
Gabe flopped down into an armchair. “Tell me about it.”
“What did Lauren
say?”
I’d tried to call Hannah, but she hadn’t picked up. They were still at Paragon.
“Not much. They’re probably coming home soon.” Gabe shook his head. “What a mess.”
“We’ve got to be able to go after Li Na—get her arrested,” I said. “She’s committed too many crimes at this point. She’s a freaking terrorist.”
“Agent Marks has assured us at every step that there’s nothing we can do because of jurisdiction.”
I scrubbed a hand across my face. “Murdering and kidnapping can’t get you incarcerated in China? That doesn’t make any sense.”
“It’s a connectivity problem.” Gabe took a sip of bourbon. “We can’t actually prove that these thugs she’s hiring work for her. There’s no paper trail, no money trail, and there’s no testimony. It’s all circumstantial evidence, and that’s not good enough. Maybe now that she’s branched off and targeted another California company…maybe there’s something we can do. I’m going to call Kami.” He hopped up and headed for his office to call his lawyer. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
“Of course.”
I waited until he left the room, and then I called Hannah again.
“Hey—sorry I didn’t pick up before.” She sniffled.
“Are you coming home?”
I knew they’d taken security with them to Paragon, but I couldn’t help feeling panicked.
“We’re on our way. We’re fine. I’ll see you soon.”
But I could tell she was crying.
I hung up, and my mind raced, thoughts jumbling inside me. I knew Li Na was responsible for killing Jim Pace, but what was she thinking? What did she hope to accomplish with another round of violence? Apparently, losing Paragon hadn’t dampened her enthusiasm for thug-like tactics. Li Na wanted Fiona Pace’s company, but Fiona had said no.
And now Fiona’s husband was dead.
I breathed a huge sigh of relief twenty minutes later when I heard Lauren and Hannah talking in the entryway. Brian came around the corner first.
“Any signs of trouble?” I asked him.
“Nothing.”
“We need to make sure we have every available man on duty tonight,” I instructed. “All eyes need to be on the perimeter, to make sure Li Na doesn’t try something here, too.”
Brian nodded. “I’ll call everyone who’s off-duty and have them come in.”
