Page 60 of Dead Man's List

“Are you suggesting that Mr.Munro was blackmailing the people on this list?” Kit asked, already knowing the answer. Now Munro’s Ferrari made more sense.

“Ding, ding, ding,” Tasker sang. “The pretty lady wins the prize.”

“Who helped him uncover all the secrets?” Connor asked. “Or did he manage it by himself?”

Tasker gave Connor aduhstare. “Who do youthink, Detective?”

“His admin,” Connor said grimly. “Veronica Fitzgerald.”

“Ding. Ding,” Tasker deadpanned.

“She’s the brains,” Kit guessed but made it sound like she knew.

Tasker touched his nose.

So Veronica was unlikely to be on the list herself, Kit thought. She might be the person Munro had chosen to make the list public after his death.

Kit nodded slowly, mentally reviewing Tasker’s testimony incourt. How his wife had learned that he’d been keeping two sets of books and had threatened to turn him in. How, with him in prison, she’d be able to control his money. And then, when he’d been so full of rage, a folder of photos had miraculously appeared in his mailbox—a folder that contained photos of his wife having sex with another man. He’d gotten mad, he’d testified. Like any man would.

He’d also chopped her into little pieces. Kit supposed he’d beenreallymad.

“Which is the real reason you’re telling us this,” she murmured. “Because Veronica Fitzgerald’s the brains of their operation. Were you late with your payment to Munro? Is that why he told your wife about your illegal business deals? Is that why he sent you the photos of your wife and her lover? He wanted to show you what you stood to lose if you didn’t pay him?”

Tasker gave her an up-and-down leer. “I didn’t give you enough credit. You have a brain to go with that body of yours.”

Once again, Kit ignored the sexual barb. “Munro’s dead, but you also want Miss Fitzgerald to pay. They destroyed your marriage, your business, and took your freedom.” Tasker had done all that himself, Kit knew, but Sam wasn’t the only one who could play along. “So you’re willing to spill the tea for us. You’re not going to squeal on the others on that list, because you don’t know who they are. But now we know what to look for, so your job is pretty much done. And when we do find the list, it can’t keep you in prison any longer than you’re already facing, but at least you will have had your revenge.”

Tasker only smiled and said nothing. It appeared he was done sharing.

Sam had been quiet through this exchange. When he spoke, it was gently. “It’s personal for you, then. Whatever’s on that listis something you don’t want a person who you respect to find out. You might not get any more prison time, but someone you care about will no longer love you.”

Tasker’s eyes widened with shock. “How—” He shook his head hard and pushed away from the table, jangling the chain that attached his handcuffs to his ankle shackles. “I’m done. I expect those comic books, Dr.Reeves.”

“I keep my word, Mr.Tasker.”

He nodded once. “I’m counting on it. You’ve got ethics and I don’t know many people who do. You can relax. I won’t be coming after you. Even if I never get the comics.”

Sam shook his head. “I said that I keep my word. I will send them, but they’ll have to go through one of the approved package vendors. It might take a few weeks.”

Tasker looked over his shoulder to the guard standing by the door. “Take me back to my cell.”

Kit, Connor, and Sam remained seated as the guard led Tasker through the door of the interview room. Tasker looked back at the last moment.

“She’s my daughter. I did some things I’m not proud of and I don’t want her to know. None of that was illegal. But I still don’t want her to know. But it doesn’t really matter because she disowned me after I ki—” He drew a breath. “After I was convicted of killing her mother. So if you find the list, go ahead and tell her. She hates me anyway.”

Shoulders slumped, he shuffled away, leaving the three of them to sit in stunned silence.

Finally, Connor cleared his throat. “I think I just attended a master class. Sam, you are the man. How did you know about the comic books?”

“I researched him,” Sam said simply.

“So did we,” Connor said.

“We were looking at his priors, work history, and business associations. Sam was looking athim. Like he was a person.” Kit needed to remember that in the future. She’d let the magnitude of the man’s crime blind her to the vulnerability most humans had on some level. But Sam hadseenhim. “I think we’re ready to go.”

Sam’s laugh was shaky. “I know I am. I need a drink.”

Connor stared at him. “You’re freaked outnow? It’s over, dude.”

---