“Listen,” Cunningham said, leaning in himself now. “I don’t have any problem getting into the details, obviously. If I had killed this guy you’re talking about, I’d admit to it. But I’ve only killed two people in my life. Trust me. I thought I was going to increase the total tonight. You might remember that.”
He smiled nastily as he added that last bit. But Jessie was no longer focused on his tone. As her mind raced, she felt a familiar, creeping dread rise in her chest. She leaned back in, boring holes in Cunningham’s eyes.
“To be clear,” she said, adopting a composed tone she didn’t feel inside, “you’re saying that you did not kill Garland Moses.”
He stared right back with unblinking eyes.
“To be clear,” he replied, “I wish I had. This guy obviously meant a lot to you. And I’d love to know that I had ripped him away from you. Nothing would fill me with greater pleasure. But sadly, it wasn’t me.”
Jessie looked over at Ryan with an urgency he immediately recognized. They hurried out of the room, leaving Cunningham in the care of Officer Shaw, who looked like she wouldn’t mind a few minutes alone with the guy.
“What is it?” Ryan asked when they were safely alone.
“I believe him,” Jessie told him. “And if he didn’t kill Garland, that almost certainly means the person who did wasn’t there by chance. It means someone followed him there, stalked him, hunted him. The killer used Priscilla Barton’s murder as a cover to kill Garland, knowing everyone would assume they were committed by the same person.”
“You can’t know that for sure,” Ryan protested. “It was a murder scene. Maybe some curious local snuck in to check it out and panicked when Garland walked in on him.”
“Maybe, but I don’t think so. Don’t forget that just this afternoon, you were attacked and almost killed right after we found Kelly Martindale’s body.”
“Believe me, I remember, Jessie.”
“Okay. We know that couldn’t have been Cunningham. He fled the scene in pajamas and there was no way he could have changed into black clothes and a ski mask in the intervening time. Besides, you said your attacker was stronger than you. Cunningham clearly isn’t.”
She saw Ryan started to connect the dots of the picture she was drawing.
“What’s your point?” he asked.
“I think the same person who used Priscilla Barton’s murder as cover to kill Garland tried to do the same thing with you. I think he was following you and took advantage of the chaos in the aftermath of the Martindale murder to go after you. I think he did these things so that I wouldn’t catch on to the pattern.”
Ryan clearly knew the answer but asked anyway.
“What pattern?”
“The pattern of going after the people closest to me. This has Kyle’s fingerprints all over it.”
“But didn’t Dolan say his people never lost sight of Kyle? There’s no way he could be in a Claremont library studying finance and here trying to kill me.”
“Dolan’s people missed something. I don’t know how but they did. Kyle’s been planning this for two years. I’m sure he anticipated having an FBI tail. Even if it wasn’t him on Tuesday night or this afternoon, that doesn’t mean he didn’t mastermind the thing, get one of the cartel heavies to kill Garland and come after you.”
Ryan didn’t argue with her. She could tell that he was coming around.
“Then let’s go get him,” he said. “Call Dolan and get his address in Claremont.”
Jessie was about to do exactly that when she suddenly gasped as the real truth of the situation hit her.
“What?” Ryan demanded, concerned.
“He’s not in Claremont. He’s been going after the people closest to me. He killed Garland. He tried to kill you. There’s only one person left.”
She was already running to the car as Ryan muttered the name to himself.
“Hannah.”
CHAPTER THIRTY TWO
“I’m telling you, I’m fine.”
Hannah repeated it for the third time, trying to keep from sounding annoyed at her big sister.
“Put Officer Nettles on again,” Jessie demanded.
Hannah rolled her eyes as she handed the phone to him.
“Jessie,” Nettles said calmly, “Beatty and I have been here all night. No one has entered the condo. We just did another search of the building and the floor. We have another car out front and they haven’t seen anything unusual either.”
Hannah could hear her sister’s raised voice through the phone.
“You guys will stay put until we get back, right? We’re only fifteen minutes away.”
“I promise we’re not going anywhere,” Nettles assured her.
“Kyle Voss is smart,” Jessie barked loudly. “Don’t let your guard down.”
“We won’t.”
Jessie hung up and Nettles gave Hannah back her phone, smiling sympathetically.
“She can be a little intense at times,” he said.
“That’s an understatement,” she agreed. “But she’s just trying to keep me safe. And from what I’ve heard, her ex-husband is a stone cold psycho. So I’m inclined to cut her some slack.”
“She’s usually spot on,” Nettles said, “so me too. This isn’t the first time we’ve been at this building protecting her from a killer. She doesn’t tend to cry wolf. In any case, Beatty will be downstairs and I’ll be right outside if you need me, okay?”
“Thanks.”
“And remember the confirmation code,” he added. “Don’t answer the door unless you get two knocks, a pause, and then two more knocks. Ask who it is, even if you see me or Beatty through the peephole. If I don’t answer ‘not the pizza guy,’ you don’t open up. Got it?”
“You’ve told me this three times, Officer Nettles.”
“I’m just being thorough,” he replied. “I don’t want your sister to kick my ass.”
Once he’d stepped outside, Hannah sat on the couch and allowed herself a moment to breathe. She closed her eyes and tried to think of something pleasant, like leaves falling gently from a tree in a cool forest. But it was no good. Her eyes popped back open.
Even though Nettles and Beatty had done multiple searches, as had the other officer before them, she still felt skittish. She resigned herself to the fact that she wouldn’t get a wink of sleep until Jessie and Ryan returned. Considering that was supposed to be in less than fifteen minutes, she turned on the TV and fixed her attention on whether Sophia was going to tease Blanche for telling another anecdote about one of her sexual conquests.
*
They parked right in front of the building.
Jessie ran inside while Ryan reconfirmed with the unit across the street that they’d seen nothing unusual all night. By the time he got to the lobby, Jessie and Officer Beatty were already at the elevator waiting to go up.
They found Officer Nettles right where he said he’d be, just outside the condo door. He gave the official knock and code phrase and Hannah opened the door to let them all in. Jessie could tell that despite her pretense of nonchalance, her sister was relieved to see them.