Page 9 of Absent Remorse

He saw Amber nod. She went and fetched a cube that seemed to have multiple old-fashioned watches embedded in the surface. There was something else, too, something that looked like a cover for the cube, made of smooth metal.

“What is this?” Simon asked. “How did you get it?”

“Joseph gave it to me.”

“Joseph?”

“He’s a reporter for theWashington News,” Amber said. Simon got the feeling that there was more that she wasn’t saying. “We’re seeing one another. We were out at dinner together, and he mentioned that someone had sent him what they claimed was the most difficult puzzle in the world. I thought it was just a boast, a way of them gaining attention for their puzzle by getting some newspaper coverage, but when I heard about the note that had been left at this murder, I thought … well, I thought there might be a connection.”

Simon nodded. He could see that possibility too. Someone sending something that they claimed was the hardest puzzle to a reporter at the same time that the killer told the police tosolvethe hardest puzzle seemed like it might very well be connected.

“Does this Joseph know who sent the puzzle?” Simon asked.

“They left a false name,” Amber replied.

That made it more likely to Simon that the two things were linked. Someone who was just publicity hungry would want to leave the means to get in touch with them to talk more about whatever they’d made. That meant that this was a link to the killer, somehow.

Simon picked up the puzzle. It was obvious that Amber had been handling it, meaning that it wasn’t likely that forensics would be able to get much off it.

“Did it come like this?” Simon asked.

Amber shook her head. “I already solved one layer of it, although that wasn’t easy.”

Meaning that there might be multiple layers left to resolve. Simon stared at the puzzle as if it would give up its secrets to him. Then he shook his head. He knew that he wasn’t going to be able to solve something like this.

“I need to take this into evidence,” he said. “See if we’re able to pull anything from it.”

“Or you could letmework on it,” Amber replied. Simon could see a hunger there that felt familiar. Obviously, this puzzle had caught her interest.

“Amber—”

“Think about it. This is a puzzle. Who else are you going to find who’s better at solving them, short of going to the NSA? And you know that they won’t have the time to spare for this.”

Simon nodded. Amber was right, of course. An object like this might catch the attention of the code breakers at the NSA, but they might also tell him that they were too busy dealing with communications relating to international terrorism or state espionage.

Could he really bring Amber in on this, though?

“We worked well as a team last time,” Amber said, obviously guessing his objection.

That was true as well. Simon found himself nodding. He needed her if he was going to solve this.

“All right,” he said. “Let me make a call.”

Getting out his phone he rang his boss, Agent Palliser. She answered the call quickly, “Phelps, have you made any progress on the double murder?”

“Possibly, ma’am,” he said. “There’s a chance that this might be linked to a puzzle object sent to theWashington Newsin the last couple of days. I need your permission to bring in an expert to assist me with that angle.”

“What expert?” Palliser asked.

“Amber Young.”

“The one who helped you on the Puzzle Killer case? Wait, isn’t she going through the FBI training course?”

“She is, ma’am,” Simon said. “Meaning that she has additional skills she can bring to this.”

“Meaning that she hasn’tfinishedher training,” Palliser countered. “If you want to partner with another agent on this—”

“This isn’t about partnering with an agent,” Simon said hurriedly. “It’s about the specific expertise in the field of puzzles that Amber can bring to the table on this. It worked well last time around. It was really the only reason we were able to catch the Puzzle Killer.”

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