Page 68 of One Final Target

Martin shrugged. “He had this war-hero brother, Kent. Denny hated him but idolized him in some way. I think...”

“What?”

“I’m not a psychiatrist or anything, but somehow I think Denny wanted to become a cop in order to prove he was as much a man as Kent. His parents treated Denny like a redheaded stepchild—those were his words. Kent was their pride and joy. He told me they died after Kent did because they didn’t want to live without him.”

Sam made a note to double-check on how the parents died. Given what they were learning about Dennis, anything was possible.

“Did he take it hard when he wasn’t hired?”

“I guess. He cut me off because I was hired. Though I didn’t last long.”

“What happened to you?”

“I had trouble identifying threats from suspects in role-playing. I can identify any virus on a computer, just not in real life.” He rolled a pen around in his hands. “I guess I’m more of a machine guy than a people person.”

“Was Dennis more friendly after you washed out?”

“Yeah, but it wasn’t the same as before. When I was rehired here, I hoped we could go back to the way things were.” Martin made a face. “He was different, more secretive. He had no time for me.”

“Does Dennis have a knowledge of explosives?”

Martin nodded. “Kent was a bomb tech. After he died, Dennis got all his stuff. From what he said, the stuff sounded classified.But I just thought Dennis was boasting, making things up. The Army doesn’t let classified stuff slip out, does it?”

“Bomb-making information is all over the Internet. Dennis is a hacker, right?”

Martin cast a furtive glance toward the office. “Dennis has skills for sure.”

“Is there something you want to tell me? I’m here about Dennis, not you.”

Martin swallowed, Adam’s apple bouncing, voice a whisper. “He bragged about hacking the bank at the corner. Claimed he had plenty of time to take a lot of money from a dormant account. They never had a clue.”

“When was this?”

“He told me about it after I was rehired, so he must have done it before then. When I got back to work, he hated cops, or so he said. He said cyber cops were the easiest to bamboozle.Bamboozlewas his favorite word. He thinks it makes him look sophisticated.”

“Back to the explosives. Did you ever see what he said he had?”

“No, but he and his cop trainer friend did stuff with it. One time he said something about them hiking into the wilderness and blowing up trees, using Kent’s equipment. I honestly thought he was fantasizing.”

“You never found out who this other friend was?”

“I never met him. From the way Denny talked, he was smart, and he had money. It was a lot for Dennis to say someone was smart. He really thought he was always the smartest guy in the room.”

“You sure it was ahim?”

Martin laughed. “Yeah, Dennis couldn’t talk to girls.”

“You were close when he sold the family home and moved, weren’t you?”

Martin nodded.

“Did he say why he moved? Was the other house a dump? I mean, he barely moved half a mile away.”

“All I remember was Dennis said he moved because of the memories.” Martin rolled his eyes. “Dennis is not the sentimental type. He owned the house free and clear, so I guess it was his prerogative to sell.”

Sam sat back and thought for a moment. According to Estella, Dennis didn’t have a car. He wondered if Martin knew anything different.

“Do you know what kind of car Dennis owns?”

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