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Tuesday, May 31
Pecos, Texas
Kim returned Cooper’s phone to her bag and glanced around. She’d been caged too long. She felt like a prisoner in her own body. Her daily five-mile run had been put on hold and her muscles were complaining about the forced inactivity. She needed to move.
Alice didn’t live in an upscale area, but there were worse neighborhoods in every city in the world.
Kim walked away from the SUV and the house and strolled along the street. Every ounce of moisture was continuously being sucked from her body by the arid heat. She’d soon look like a dried peach.
After half a mile to limber up, she pulled out the burner that connected her to Gaspar and pressed the redial button. He picked up right away, as he always did.
“What’s up, Suzy Wong?” he asked with his usual good humor.
“Ah, Pepe, you are always amusing,” she replied with a grin.
“Yiyiyi,” Gaspar laughed. “Flattery will get your everywhere.”
“I’m counting on it,” Kim put a smile into her voice and then turned to more serious matters. “Reacher told Alice Aaron that he was going somewhere to find Maria Greer’s killer.”
Gaspar paused briefly. “So he’s at the morgue? Or the cemetery?”
“Very funny. A point Cooper mentioned suggests Reacher’s onto something.”
“Which is what, exactly?”
“You know about the Double Death Task Force. They’ve had two murders in less than two weeks,” Kim said, stopping to perform a few squats.
“That they know about.” Gaspar sounded distracted by something else going on in his office.
“What?”
“Sorry. Working on a fresh coffee con leche.” Gaspar slurped his favorite espresso with milk and loads of sugar. “The task force has identified two murders in two weeks. There could be more they haven’t discovered yet.”
Kim nodded slowly. “Yes, I suppose that’s possible. Anybody else in Texas been murdered lately by a killer who died at the scene?”
“Funny you should ask,” Gaspar replied, after a moment.
Kim stopped walking and stood very still. “You’re serious?”
“Completely.”
“When did this happen?”
“Last night. It’s all over the news. I’m surprised you didn’t see it,” Gaspar said. “Victim was Emily Brandon.”
Kim widened her eyes. “Emily Brandon, wife of Kevin Brandon, one of the richest men in America?”
“Ten four. One and the same,” Gaspar replied
“Wow.”
“Yep. Seems she was at a big fundraiser in Austin. Stabbed to death,” Gaspar said.
“And her killer?”
“Burned beyond all recognition when his sedan parked at the scene exploded shortly thereafter,” Gaspar said.
“Vehicle-Born Improvised Explosive Device attached to the ignition?”
“Most likely.”
“Very reliable weapon. Use it when you want to be absolutely positively sure,” Kim replied.
“You bet. Saw a few of those VBIEDs deployed during my army days, myself,” Gaspar said.
Kim resumed her slow pacing along the street in front of Alice’s house, thinking things through. She’d walked up and back the length of the lot three times before Gaspar interrupted.
“You want to call me back? Or should I just keep sitting here while your gears are turning?” he said.
“I guess the Emily Brandon killer’s body is not identifiable,” Kim said slowly.
“They’ll try DNA, see if they can get a match as soon as they can. But it’s not likely to lead anywhere, given the condition of the body. I saw the photos. It’s bad,” Gaspar reported. “That’s all I know at the moment. I’ll keep you updated. Meanwhile, why don’t you tell me what you’ve found out and maybe I can contribute some of Pepe’s brilliance.”
She cleared her throat, which was as dry and scratchy as the gravel under her feet. She gave him all the same intel she’d shared with Cooper in a raspy whisper. After she’d finished, she had barely a drop of her own saliva to swallow.
“Got any good news?” she said.
“Possibly. The fundraiser was held in a mansion owned by some tech billionaire. The place was loaded with surveillance cameras. There’s tons of footage,” Gaspar replied.
Abruptly, Kim stopped walking. “Way to bury the lede, Pepe. So you’ve got images of the murder as it happened?”
“The killer was wearing a tuxedo and his face somehow escaped all the cameras.” Gaspar explained slowly, as if he were running through the video feed as he spoke. “But it looks like Emily Brandon’s companion was served an appetizer by one of the staff. He collapsed almost immediately. She knelt down to help him. At that point, the server kneels down, seems to be offering assistance, and then stands up and hurries out through the kitchen. Shortly afterward, it’s apparent that the server stabbed Brandon.”
“She must have bled out quickly.”
“Very. She was already dead when first responders got to her. Emily and her companion were standing apart in a quiet corner of a large open ballroom. She cried out when he fell,” Gaspar said.
Kim thought about the logistics. Stabbing was personal. The killer needed to be very close to the victim. A woman like Emily Brandon would also have been closely guarded, presumably.
“Seems extremely risky. The killer has to get in close enough to touch her, deliver the vicious attack, and then escape. Not a crime of opportunity, surely. Something like that would have been meticulously planned.”
“Dunno enough to say that for sure yet. But that’s a reasonable theory. I’ll follow up. You should let Cooper know. The task force can do more with the intel than I can.”
“Yeah. I’ll call him back as soon as we hang up.”
“Can you get anything more out of Elana Fernandez?” Gaspar asked after a few moments to digest everything and finish slurping his coffee.
“Probably. But not until later. Could be a couple of days, even.” Kim could drink a gallon of his coffee right about now. If she had access to it. Which she didn’t. “Elana will be headed to the hospital very shortly.”
“Send me a photo of her. I can run it through facial recognition. I’ll run the boyfriend, too. I might get a hit if either of them is listed in Mexican databases,” Gaspar said, clacking the keys on his keyboard, probably looking for the names.
“Yeah. I’ll send you a snap of the one she’s using on her screensaver as soon as we hang up. You’ll have to upgrade it, probably.”
“You have her phone still? She may have more photos on there. Try to send them directly to me. And anything else on the phone that might be useful. Such as fingerprints.”
“Copy that,” she said, mimicking one of his standard responses.
“So you’re on your way to Presidio, then?” Gaspar said, distracted now by his new direction. “Flint can fly you down there. The place is small enough to cover quickly, but not on foot. I’ll arrange a vehicle. It’ll be there when you land.”
“We’ll need to ask some delicate questions of the locals. Do we know anyone working that border crossing?” Kim asked. “Because if we don’t, check out a member of the Michigan National Guard. Martin Weber. He might be deployed there. He should be friendly enough to tell us the truth.”
“And who is he, exactly?” Gaspar said, preoccupied with whatever was going on in his office.
“He’s apparently dating my sister. But that’s not why I want to question him,” Kim replied.
“Sure, Suzy Wong. If you say so. Your plan to interrogate Weber has nothing to do with the lovely and adorable Sunny. Absolutely nothing at all,” Gaspar teased before he hung up.