At the cabin, Jordan listened, mesmerized, as Tim Rockwell reported that he had not seen the killers inflict those fatal injuries, stabbing and slashing. But he admitted that he witnessed the aftermath. Rocky had found the body.
In a park in Flagstaff not far from his home, he’d gone for an evening jog and noticed her, broken and bleeding, at the side of the asphalt path. In a ragged voice, he told them how he recognized her, remembered her beauty and her gentle smile. “I knew right away that she was dead. So much blood, so much. Her eyes were wide open, staring up at Heaven.”
He’d made an anonymous call to the police, not wanting to get involved, and then he went back to his house and pulled down the shades.
His cowardice disgusted Jordan. Too frightened to sit with the body, he’d left Bianca alone and unattended in the night. A final insult.
Taggart pressured him for more details. “What time was it? Did you see anyone else? Why would Bianca be in that neighborhood? Who killed her?”
“I don’t know.” She imagined Rocky wringing his small hands. “I didn’t really know her, didn’t know anything about her, except...”
“Tell me,” Taggart insisted.
“She had a beautiful singing voice. Sweet as an angel.”
“Where did you hear her singing?”
“Sometimes, she worked at the Flagstaff house as a kitchen helper. She wasn’t on the regular payroll but filled in when necessary. Waltham throws a lot of dinner parties and needs extra staff to help out.”
Taggart instructed him to repeat his testimony again and again. Each time, Rocky recalled more detail. He spoke of the scratchy chirp of crickets in the night and the strangely metallic smell of blood when he neared the body. On the fourth repetition, his description had expanded from a few sentences to a long, complicated story. Still, he swore that he hadn’t seen the murderer.
Finding an actual witness to Bianca’s killing represented a big leap forward in Jordan’s investigation. She wished Rocky had taken pictures with his cell phone, especially when he described the body being blood-soaked and lying in the green, green grasses. Had Bianca been killed somewhere else and moved to the park? The police description of the crime scene had been too vague to draw meaningful conclusions, but the police couldn’t ignore the similarity between the scars on her wrist and the medical examiner’s photos of Bianca’s wounds. She had new evidence. With the addition of Rocky’s testimony, she could force the Flagstaff police to reopen the cold case.
Right now, she had something more urgent to worry about. Rocky had recognized Blake and knew about this cabin. If he knew, she suspected the others were aware of her supposedly safe hideaway. They needed to move. The time had come to tuck the kids away in a safe house.
After punching in the code to deactivate the alarm at the front door, she went outside and headed down to where Chester had taken the boys, to the edge of Paddington Lake. She saw them at the end of the dock, throwing pebbles at the water and watching the ripples spread.
Still holding the cell phone, she listened to Taggart and Blake questioning Rocky about his other clients. His employers, including B and W Employ as well as two smaller casinos, formed a web of connections with Hugh sitting at the center like a poisonous spider.
She waved to the kids and signaled for them to climb the hill. As soon as they got here, she’d herd them into the Suburban and drive to Chester’s house. A prudent solution.
Over the cell phone, she heard a door slam. Someone else joined the group at Rocky’s house. The voice of her ex-husband came through the cell phone and echoed through her memories like a nightmare.
“YOU MUST BE Captain Blake Delaney,” Hugh Waltham said. “Finally, we meet.”
Blake sized him up. When he saw Hugh on TV, he thought the guy was good-looking. In person, he wasn’t as polished. Hugh wore appropriate clothes for the mountains: boots, jeans and flannel shirt under a fishing vest with multiple pockets. Jordan’s ex-husband appeared to be a confident, successful gentleman, but Blake saw a monster who had ordered an attack on Jordan and had locked her away at the Institute. Hugh’s velvety, politician’s voice oozed with treachery, ready to lie at the slightest provocation. Though he wore expensive aftershave, a rank smell emanated from him. Their handshake reminded Blake of the scaly appendage of a lizard.
Blake turned his back and distanced himself.
Taggart presented himself in a more civil manner. “What brings you to Colorado?”
“I’m here to visit my old pal, Rocky.”
Blake saw terror in the small man’s eyes. Though Rocky tried to smile, his mouth trembled. All his self-control focused on a simple question. “Would you like coffee?”
“You bet.” Hugh sat at the table and leaned back in his chair. “Well, gentlemen, what are we talking about?”
“Murder,” Blake said.
Hugh bobbed his head, and his carefully barbered blond hair skimmed across his tanned forehead. Everything about him showed a careful, camera-ready polish, from his buffed fingernails to his perfect teeth. His eyes were a swampy green instead of bright blue like Jordan and the twins. He gave a condescending chuckle. “Murder, eh? That’s a big issue. You like to jump right in, don’t you?”
“I don’t waste time,” Blake said.
“And so, Captain Delaney, who do you think Rocky killed?”
“Not funny.” The small man darted back into the room with a fresh mug of coffee for his former employer. Wielding a glass carafe, he refilled for the others. “Please help yourselves to cheese and sausage.”
“Charcuterie,” Hugh said. “One of my favorite snacks.”
“I know,” Rocky said.
Blake wondered if he’d been expecting Hugh to drop by or if he kept stocked up on sausage and cheese just in case. The tension around the table was enough to give anybody indigestion, but Hugh and Taggart continued to fill their square appetizer plates with cheese, crackers and sausage, as if to show they weren’t disturbed.
“The victim’s name,” Taggart said, “was Bianca Hernandez.”
“Oh, yeah, I remember.” Hugh stacked Swiss cheese on top of something that looked like pepperoni but was probably ten times more expensive. “It was a while ago. Did she work for me, Rocky?”
“I believe she did. In the kitchen.”
Blake much preferred Rocky’s earlier angst and nervousness. The more casual attitude offended him. Bianca deserved better. “She was sixteen years old and pregnant with twins.”
“Tragic,” Hugh said. “But I don’t know what this has to do with Rocky. Or me.”
“The killer was never arrested. The murder became another cold case, tucked away in the depths of the police archives,” Taggart explained, with a bitterness that made Blake think he’d been in this position before. “The initial police investigation was sloppy, with questionable handling of DNA. And—surprise, surprise—we have new evidence.”
“Good for you,” Hugh said as he reached for a fat, red, smoked chorizo sausage. “I’m surprised the FBI has time to check on local police matters. What am I missing? Is a serial killer involved or another murder?”
“One brutal death is enough,” Taggart said.
“I didn’t mean to imply otherwise.” Hugh placed the sausage on his appetizer plate beside a sliver of Gouda cheese. “I seem to recall that the young woman worked for Stanley and Abigail Preston. A shame about her accident.”
The bodies had begun to pile up, and Hugh had cleverly implicated his coworker and friend, Stanley. As if to refute this bit of misdirection, Blake fastened a hard-edged stare at Hugh Waltham—the man responsible for this death and mayhem. Somewhere under that mask of cruelty, there must be a glimmer of decency and kindness that had drawn Jordan toward him and convinced her to marry the monster.
Blake watched as Hugh reached into a pocket in his fishing vest and took out a pocketknife with a buffalo horn handle. While talking about the unfortunate rise of violent crime in the city, he pulled out the long blade, probably four inches. Damascus steel, with a serrated edge near the hilt. Hugh sliced into his chorizo and lifted his gaze to return Blake’s glare.
Brandishing the knife, a weapon that matched the scars on Jordan’s wrists, was a direct challenge. The bastard thought he was bulletproof, and nobody could catch him.
Blake intended to prove him wrong. “Your ex-wife tried to investigate the murder of Bianca Hernandez,” he said. “She mentioned that you helped her gather evidence.”
“Another one of her causes,” Hugh said as he cut another slice of sausage. “Jordan always gravitated toward the underdog. Have you spoken to her recently?”
Blake kept his expression calm. “Have you?”
“She took the boys on vacation, but we didn’t really speak.”
“Do you know where she went?” Blake stretched out his long arm and took a slice of chorizo from Hugh’s appetizer plate.
“Not really.”
“I have a pretty good idea.” Taggart leaned forward and held out the phone with the video of Jordan at the Magic Lamp. “That’s her in Las Vegas with your pal, Caspar Khaled. She’s kicking his butt.”
Hugh looked away from the screen. “Jordan has a strange sense of humor.”
“Doesn’t look like a joke to me,” Taggart said. “Last night, Khaled paid a visit to Rocky. And now you’re here. Can you explain that coincidence?”
“Whatever my ex-wife does isn’t my problem.” He pointed the tip of his knife at Blake. “Maybe you should ask him where she is.”
“Captain Delaney couldn’t possibly have had anything to do with the death of Bianca Hernandez. He’s been overseas.”
“In the Middle East?” Hugh asked.
“I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.” Blake hoped that his slow grin indicated how much he’d like to inflict grievous bodily harm on this scumbag. “Many of my missions were classified.”
“Mine, too.”
“In Congress, which is where you hope to work after the election, that’s called a cover-up.”
“What’s it called for a marine?”
“My covert activity was done in the service of my country,” Blake said. “I’m guessing that your secrets are to advance yourself and your bank account.”
“What a shame.” Hugh put away his blade. “I heard that you’ll be retiring soon. You’re no longer fit for battle.”
I could take you with my eyes blindfolded and one hand tied behind my back. He wasn’t surprised that Hugh knew the extent of his injuries. “I might be stationed in the Pentagon where I can keep an eye on people like you.”
“If you’re lucky, you might be standing guard outside the Oval Office.”
“Another place you aspire to work,” Blake said. So many elected officials set their sights on the highest office in the land. “You keep your eyes on the ultimate prize, and you don’t allow anybody to get in the way.”
Instead of backing down, Hugh leaned toward him. Blake stared back, but this was more than an old-fashioned contest to see who’d be the first to blink. Hugh was issuing a threat.
“I always win.” Over his shoulder, he spoke to Rocky. “Isn’t that right?”
The small man responded quickly. “Yes, sir.”
“Any person—male or female—who tries to stop me will be sorry,” he said. “He or she will lose everything, maybe even their life.”
Blake clenched his fists to keep from strangling the man who sat with him at the table. Message received. Blake understood. Hugh would kill to reach his goal. Bianca’s murder was only the start. Abigail had also been eliminated. Jordan was next.
“Excuse me,” Blake said as he rose to his feet. “Special Agent Taggart, I need to speak with you.”
Taggart followed him out of the dining area and into the hallway. After a stop at the office where Taggart sent one of the other agents to keep an eye on Rocky and Hugh, Blake took SSA Taggart into the lavish bathroom with gold fixtures and a marble tub. Even after turning on multiple jets in the luxurious shower to cover the sound of their conversation, he kept his volume on extra low. Anybody could be listening with long-range devices or the whole house could be bugged.
“You heard him,” Blake said. “Hugh admitted that he’s going after Jordan. It’s time for her and the kids to go to a safe house.”
“Agreed,” Taggart said. “I’ll talk to Chester.”
Blake took the cell phone from his pocket and spoke into it. “Jordan, are you there?”
“We’re leaving your cabin and going to Chester’s place.” She adjusted her cell phone, so the screen showed her face. Her smile twitched nervously. “The boys just realized that it’s almost Halloween. They couldn’t care less about costumes, but they want the candy.”
“How much of my conversation with Hugh did you hear?”
“Most of it. I wish I could have seen what was going on.”
He thought of Hugh gesturing with the knife that had probably been used to slash her wrists and possibly to kill Bianca. He shuddered, glad that she hadn’t witnessed Hugh’s oversize ego in action. Jordan didn’t need to be confronted with any other sick images. “Your ex-husband is an ass, but we have to take him seriously. He’s dangerous. If he doesn’t come after you, Khaled will. Or Gruber. It’s time for you and the boys to go to a safe house.”
“We’re on the same page.” Her head bobbed, setting her dark curls into motion. “Chester and I already talked about the safe house. He’ll stay with the twins, so they’ll have someone familiar. Put Taggart on the line so he can make arrangements with Chester.”
“Wait,” Blake said. “What about you?”
“I can’t put the final pieces of my investigation together if I run away and hide. I’m so close, Blake.”
Though he understood her feelings of ownership when it came to the evidence it had taken years for her to compile, he wanted her to step aside. “Please, Jordan. Go with the boys. Let the FBI handle this.”
“I can’t quit now.”
His protective instincts surged. He doubted she would change her mind but made one more try. “Nobody is taking you off the case. You’ll be informed every step of the way.”
“I know how investigations work.” She spoke with the authority of a reporter who had been embedded with the troops because she needed to see and experience the battles for herself. A secondary source wasn’t good enough. “I’ll be careful.”
The best he could do was to stay by her side and keep her as safe as possible. Before he handed the cell phone to Taggart, he said, “Wait for me, Jordan.”
The doctors who treated his recent injuries might not think he was fit for duty, but Blake had to find the strength and skill for this mission. He had to guard this woman and defend her against the many people who wished to do her harm.