“Who’s not dead?” Daria asked.
Caden muted his phone. “Ava? Look at me.”
She blinked and stood. Raked a hand over her sloppy ponytail. She spun and gripped the back of the chair and met his eyes. “I have to find him.”
He held up a finger. “Hold on just a second. Let me finish talking to Daria and then you can show me what you found. Okay?”
“Yes. Yes, of course. I’m sorry. Finish your call.” Color had crept back into her cheeks and now her eyes sparked with renewed life. She settled back into her chair and swiped a finger over the trackpad to bring up the screen once more. “I’m going to keep searching and see if I can learn anything else.”
“Okay. Good.” He unmuted Daria. “I’m back. What were you saying?”
“Everything okay?”
“For the moment.”
“All right, well, anyway, I sent this to Zane, but he may be passed out somewhere, thanks to his cold medication. Facial recognition got a hit, but we might need Ava to verify. There were several to choose from. I had our forensic artist take a look, and she said she had no doubt it was the first one the system found.”
Caden straightened. “Who?”
“A guy by the name of Nicolai Kuznetsov.”
“Wait a minute. Isn’t that the last name of the—”
“Couple found dead in New Mexico? Yeah.”
“Whoa.” Okay, he had to admit that one had come out of left field for him.
“I know, right? Here’s the big one, though. Brace yourself.”
“I’m braced.”
“The mask had some DNA on it, but the person isn’t in the system.”
Shocking. They couldn’t expect to be that lucky twice, could they?
“However,” she said, “it does match DNA found at a particular crime scene.”
“Which one?”
“The couple who was found dead in New Mexico.”
“What!”
Ava’s eyes went wide at his shout.
“The couple who was—”
“I heard you.”
Daria fell silent and so did he. Then he realized Ava was still watching him. “So, the mask that Ava pulled off the guy in the hospital has DNA that matches the crime scene in New Mexico.”
“Yes.”
“Wow.” Now they were getting somewhere. “How is Nicolai related to the dead couple?”
“Looks like a son. Not the one they called to the crime scene. That was Yvonne’s kid. Nicolai is a son from another woman.” Daria paused. “I just don’t know who yet, but I will. Talk to you when I know more.”
She hung up and Caden did the same with a frown, then filled Ava in. “So, this Nicolai went to his father’s home and killed them. Then set out on a killing spree that spans all over the US.” He paused. “What in the world did that father do to send his kid over the edge and incite him to murder?”
“Not just murder,” Ava said. “Suicide. He killed himself. Why? What could your son do or say that would be so awful that you would rather kill yourself than face it?” Ava shook her head. “I can’t imagine.”
Caden narrowed his eyes. “Okay, your turn. Why do you think your father’s alive?”
“Because of all of the scuba stuff that he bought about a week before he supposedly died.” Ava drew in a deep breath and scrubbed a hand down her cheek. She might have been tired earlier, but her adrenaline was now surging like nobody’s business. She was wide awake and ready for action. “Where did they get Nicolai’s picture for the facial recognition database?”
“Looks like they flagged him at the airport about eight months ago. He flew in from Japan, I believe.”
“Japan!”
“Yes, why?”
Ava pushed the laptop to the side and leaned forward. “Caden, my father was on the Donghae–Vladivostok ferry. He was headed to Donghae when he went over the side. And you’re telling me this Nicolai Kuznetsov flew to the United States from the same place my father was headed?” She scoffed. “I’m having a hard time believing that was a coincidence.”
“I would have to agree that it seems a bit of a stretch.”
“A major stretch.” She paused. “Can you get the security footage from the airport? I want to watch it and see if my father arrived around that time.”
Caden hesitated, then nodded. “That would prove without a doubt that he’s still alive, wouldn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“All right. Let me make some calls.”
While he got on his phone, Ava went back to the laptop. Folder after subfolder, file after hidden file, she worked her way through the conglomeration of information. Her father had tons of documents and intelligence that she sifted through, scanning for something that would capture her attention. Finally, with the next click, she straightened. “Caden?”
He was at her side in an instant. “You found something?”
“Maybe.”
He sat next to her and she pulled up the black-and-white photo. “Wonder if that’s the picture that disappeared from the Fields home.”
He pointed. “And that looks suspiciously like a young Jesse Fields.”
“Maybe we need to make another trip to ask him a few more questions?”
Caden sighed. “I’m not sure that’s going to accomplish much.” He paused. “But what if we get his wife alone? She seemed like she might have something to say before Jesse shut her down.”
Ava raised a brow. “That’s a possibility, but how do you plan to do that? Jesse seems to hover pretty close.”
He rubbed his chin. “Yes, he does. Maybe there’s a reason for that other than offering comfort.” He studied the picture. “There are five men. The one on the left is the one whose family was killed in San Diego. The one beside him was Houston. The next one was Jesse.”
“He’s killing them in order of the picture,” she whispered.
“What?” He blinked. “I don’t think so. The fourth family killed was the sister of the San Diego family. Wouldn’t she have been second?”
“Maybe.” She shrugged. “What if she wasn’t home and he had to move on?”
He frowned. “But he’s obviously been watching and studying these families. He’d know if she was going to be home or not.” He paused. “Unless she broke routine and he had to adjust the plan.”
“It happens all the time.”
“Yes,” he said, “it does. I’ll get Daria to check.” He tapped the request, then turned back to the picture. “This is getting awfully convoluted. Who are the fourth and fifth guys in this photo, I wonder?”
“I don’t know, but we need to find out quickly and warn them to protect their families.”
“Assuming it’s not too late,” he muttered. “Can you send me the picture? I’ll have Daria run them through facial recognition and see if she can track them down.”
“Of course.” She logged into her own email account and sent him the photo.
While he busied himself once more with his phone and contacting Daria, Ava went back on the hunt. Two hours later, Caden was in her recliner napping while he waited for a response from Daria, and Ava finally stood up from the computer to stretch and rub her eyes.