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Jackson really wanted to know who was in those other five cars but he kept his team back for now. Nothing warranting an arrest had been done yet and Jackson didn’t want Diaz aware of how close the FBI was to him—how close Jackson was to him.
The USB he’d taken from Anna’s house had cracked open the case, giving them an angle they hadn’t expected: on the drive was a photograph of Diaz and a man now confirmed to be his brother, Dominic Smith.
Dominic had not been on the FBI’s radar. He had seemingly legitimate businesses in New York City, and he had not been seen with Diaz Smith in years. In fact, telephone records suggested they hadn’t even spoken in that time... but they could be using burner phones.
Jackson would’ve dismissed the photograph as two siblings catching up, but why would Anna have it stored on a memory card she’d concealed in an antique dresser? It didn’t accidentally fall in there, and there was nothing else on that card but the photograph. She’d hidden it for a reason, and he wanted to know what that reason was.
Theories tumbled around in his mind as he sat in the passenger seat, with Will ready in the driver’s seat.
A phone call from Max pulled him from his thoughts.
“Now things are getting interesting,” Max said.
Jackson sat a little straighter. “Keep talking.”
“I think I’ve found the link between Anna, Olivia, Diaz, and Dominic,” Max said.
Jackson tapped his foot on the floor, waiting impatiently, not appreciating Max’s theatrics. Jackson was more of a get-straight-to-the-point kind of guy.
“I will need some more time to work on this, but based on bank transactions matching similar geographical locations, I’m hedging bets that Dominic Smith was in a relationship with Olivia King. I’ve compiled a list of at least twenty locations where they were at the same time, or within a very close period.”
Jackson’s heart skipped a beat. “During what time frame?”
“The six months before Anna reported her missing,” Max said.
A chill ran up his spine. “Communication between Olivia and Dominic?” Jackson asked.
“None; but then, there is none between Diaz and Dominic, so they’re likely using burner phones.”
Jackson nodded to himself. “My thoughts are that Anna found that photo somewhere, knew it didn’t make sense, and hid it. That tells us Olivia had seen, or perhaps even heard, something she shouldn’t have, and that’s likely the reason she was missing.” He looked to Will, who nodded in response.
“Do we know who the third body in the barrel is yet?” Jackson asked.
“No, forensics are still working on it. The body is completely unidentifiable, so they’re relying on dental record matches, but without a clue as to who Jane Doe is, it’s hard to know where to search—”
Max’s voice was suddenly drowned out by the sound of gun shots echoing through the night.
Jackson’s hand went to the door handle. If they entered straight away, Diaz would know they’d been staking out his house.
But if they didn’t, it was likely more shots would be fired.
Jackson got out of the car and pulled his pistol from its holster. Anna was in that house. He knew she shouldn’t be his primary concern, but she was—and not just because she might be an asset for this case.
Regardless, chances were Diaz already knew they were watching his house to some degree. They’d raided his warehouse less than a week ago, so he’d have to assume as much.
Jackson moved toward the fence with Will right behind him.
They scaled over it and dropped into a crouch. Jackson knew they would be on the surveillance footage now, but he hoped Diaz was too preoccupied to realize it.
However, given that they had potentially been seen, there was no point in trying to take a stealthy approach. They sprinted toward the house when another shot was fired.
As they neared the architectural masterpiece, Jackson heard voices screaming at each other—one of them was female. He recognized her voice.
Anna.
He raced forward as his team backed him up.
Jackson knew she was outside from the clarity of her voice, so they ran along the side of the building.
