Page 78 of Ace

"Love always is," Jericho says, an abrupt sadness in his voice.

We all have our reasons for doing what we do, but I get a feeling his goes a little deeper than just wanting to put bullets in bad guys’ heads.

"It is possible they are connected?" Hemlock asks, the first of the two jerks to get back on task.

"With what reasoning?" I ask.

"What if there's someone connected through Cora, a stalker maybe? The sister died not long after the argumentthey had, right? Maybe this is some sort of fucked-up peace offering," Hemlock explains.

"That would explain the heart card connection."

"I don't think that's the line of reasoning the Agency has unveiled," I argue.

"The Agency doesn't know everything. Why do you think I cut ties?" Jericho challenges. "They get a whiff of something and predict the outcome before looking into the details. Their investigations lead them where they want not where they would organically go. You should know that as much as I do."

"I can see what he's saying," Hemlock says. "If the connection to the suit of hearts is love, then the stalker's love for Cora could be the Full Deck Killer’s reasoning for using that one."

"So it would have to be someone in her personal life? A different suit would mean a different connection," I say.

"Not necessarily. I think that seeing it that way narrows your scope too far. They could be a business associate who also loves her," Hemlock says. "I think the deep dive into William's history is where it went wrong. We should be focusing on every associate all three of them have."

"Even Chris?" I say, not wanting to waste time on looking into shit that won't pan out.

"I say we start with Cora and work our way down. There has to be that love connection," Jericho says.

"Or the killer wants us to think it is. What if someone hired the hit to frame the brother, knowing he’s a complete asshole, because they're wanting to prevent him from taking office?" Hemlock asks.

I pull in a deep breath. "Would the killer compromise his calling card to suit someone else's needs?"

"He makes a living killing for money. How committed to the deck of cards do you think he actually is?" Jericho challenges.

"Plus, everything they know about him has to do with one confession and the rest is speculation. If they got anything from the guy who caved, then they could've caught him by now," Hemlock adds, making complete sense.

"So we're right back at square one, not knowing a fucking thing?"

They both look at me with sad faces.

"I have to go back to South Carolina," I say. "I can't leave her unprotected."

"They have security on the house, don't they?" Hemlock asks.

"Mike mentioned that it was a closed circuit, impenetrable," I answer.

"We might need to call in Wren," Hemlock says.

"I've heard about him," Jericho says, a little awe in his voice. "He's the guy that works for Blackbridge up in St. Louis?"

"That's him," Hemlock confirms. "If there's a way to get into their system so we can at least keep eyes on the house, he'll know how."

I want to argue with the guy. Wren's methods are less than legal, but we aren't talking about a case I'll need to testify for. We're talking about Cora. I can't let anything happen to her, no matter the cost of keeping her safe.

"I say we give it a shot," Hemlock offers.

Knowing I'd gladly go to jail to protect her, I dip my head in agreement, but when Hemlock gets on the phone with Wren, he tells the man everything, including details about the Full Deck Killer's case that I hadn't heard about.

"Put him on speaker," Jericho urges and we all take seats around the conference table with Hemlock's phone right in the middle.

The clack of keys fills the line and we wait.

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