Page 94 of Dead Man's List

Tension fell away like shrugging out of a heavy coat. “Thank you. She wasn’t necessarily wrong.”

Sam shrugged. “Well, neither were you. Kindness isn’t a zero-sum.”

Navarro cleared his throat. “So now what?”

“I’ll draft a deal,” Joel said. “It’s up to Veronica if she takes it. How much is the start of their scam worth to you?”

Connor scratched his head. “We don’t know. If we can’t get at least one person from the blackmail list, it’s worth nothing.”

“We’re back to square one on the damn list,” Kit said. “Sam, did you believe Veronica when she said she didn’t know who was on the list?”

“I did, actually. Something that big would be valuable in negotiating a better deal. If she knew, Joel would already have heard from Laura.”

“I agree,” Joel said. “I’ll talk to my boss about it. We’ll come up with something. In the meantime, what’s next?”

Kit looked at Navarro. “Have Marshall and Ashton had any luck finding the guard from Munro’s neighborhood guard shack?”

Navarro shook his head. “The man wasn’t from San Diego and his family hasn’t heard from him in several years. Marshall and Ashton are still tracking down his friends. Guy was kind of a loner, it seems, but he was a reliable employee. He hasn’t shown up for his shift all week.”

“Not good,” Joel said grimly. “I don’t want to borrow misery, but we need to assume he’s dead. Have we put out anything on TV or online, asking for community help?”

“A press release went out this afternoon,” Navarro said. “We listed him as a person of interest, posted his photo, and asked if anyone out there has seen him. So far, nothing, but I’ll keep you up to speed. What else do you have?” he asked Kit and Connor.

Kit sighed. “Other than the guard, our main leads involvetracking the Chevy Suburban pulling an unwrapped trailer and hoping some of Brooks Munro’s belongings ping on Bruce Goddard’s robbery radar.”

“We also have the threatening emails Munro received from his constituents,” Connor said. “That fits the ME’s multiple-hands theory.”

Navarro slowly shook his head. “I don’t think it was his constituents. Just my gut.”

Joel raised his hand. “Same.”

Sam nodded. “Me too. The blackmail makes all the sense, especially given the theft of the Ferrari. Someone wanted to claim that car because Munro had stolen from him. It’s the only thing that makes sense.”

“I wonder where Munro kept his cash,” Connor said thoughtfully. “Weaver, the guy Munro ruined to win his last election, said that one of Munro’s household staff claimed he had a safe where he took cash from to pay them. But the safe in his office was empty.”

“We’ll search the house again for another hiding place,” Navarro said. “Let’s call it a night. We’ll all think more clearly on a decent night’s sleep.”

Kit was so tired that she didn’t even argue. And when Sam offered to walk her to her car, she was grateful.

“You were good with Laura,” Sam said once they’d reached her Subaru. “She can be…sharp-tongued.”

Kit sighed. “Like I said, she wasn’t entirely wrong.”

“But she didn’t used to be so bitter. I’m sorry she said those things to you. You were—and are—kind. End of story.”

Kit found herself leaning into his shoulder. He was warm and safe and smelled so good. “Thank you, Sam.” She realized what she was doing and pulled back. She was tired, which meant that it wasn’t a good time to be leaning on anyone. She wasn’t asclearheaded as she needed to be to take that step. “That means a lot coming from you.”

He opened her car door for her, stroking his hand over her hair as she climbed behind the wheel. “Are you going to the boat or to McKittrick House?”

“Home. To Mom and Pop’s.”

“Good. Text me when you get there so I know you’re safe.”

She smiled up at him. “If you do the same when you get home.”

“Of course. I pinkie-swore to be careful.”

Kit was laughing as she drove away, her heart a little bitlighter.

---