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showed they were linked to a smuggling operation. Guns and drugs. Additionally, their leader is suspected of murder. We’ve arrested the perpetrators, and relocated the witnesses into protective custody.”
    â€œWhat about the primary objective? The kidnapping.”
    â€œMy brother wanted the FBI gone,” Carolyn said. “AfterDylan talked to Nicole, he was convinced that she’s all right and doesn’t want to come home.”
    No victim meant no crime. Jesse understood that part of the equation, but a million dollars had gone missing. “What about the ransom? That money is as much Carolyn’s as Dylan’s.”
    â€œTrue,” she said through gritted teeth. “And I want the ransom back. But Dylan called off the investigation. He’s saying that the million dollars is a divorce settlement.”
    â€œAssuming that it went to Nicole,” Jesse said. “That she ran off with one of her abductors.”
    â€œFinding the body at Fiona’s house sheds a new light on the situation,” Burke said. “We’ll have to wait for DNA to be certain of his identity. Based on his height, hair color and the custom-made belt buckle, I’m pretty sure the dead man is Butch Thurgood.”
    Jesse had never heard the name before. “Was he one of the kidnappers?”
    â€œYou tell me.” Burke placed the computer in front of him. “Scroll down and tell me if you recognize the men who shot you.”
    Concentrating, Jesse stared at the computer screen. Though he didn’t have a clear view of Nicole’s abductors, he’d been close enough, and he was good at remembering faces. The line of a jaw. The curve of a nose.
    The first three images were unfamiliar. Then came the fourth. “This man,” he said. “He’s the one who shot me.”
    â€œAre you sure?”
    Jesse studied the weak chin and narrow lines of the face. In the computer image, his eyes were visible. His cruelty, apparent. “He didn’t have as much facial hair as in this photo, but this is him.”
    â€œPete Richter,” Carolyn said.
    Tapping the computer key, Jesse looked at other faces. Most of them were average—the kind of men who didn’t stand out in a crowd. One of them looked like a cowboy from the Old West with a thick mustache and lantern jaw. “This might be the victim we found at Fiona’s place.”
    â€œIs he the other kidnapper?”
    Jesse shook his head. “The guy who grabbed Nicole was fair-haired. No mustache.”
    He stopped on another image. “This is the second kidnapper. He’s the one who said that Dylan would pay a lot of money to get his wife back.”
    Carolyn gasped. “It’s Sam Logan. Damn him. I should have known.”
    â€œLogan was the leader of the SOF,” Burke explained. “We suspected he was behind the kidnapping but didn’t think he was also the primary kidnapper.”
    â€œHe’s been taken into custody?”
    â€œCorrect.”
    Jesse had a lot more questions about the delivery of the ransom and the evidence that had been gathered in the prior investigation. “I’d like to review your files on the case.”
    â€œIt’s all on this laptop,” Burke said.
    â€œIf you print it out, I can take a copy with me. I’ll be staying at Fiona’s until we’re sure there’s no danger to her or her daughter.”
    â€œGood plan,” Carolyn said with obvious relief. “I was going to suggest that she and Abby move over here, but I’m sure the little girl would feel better in her own house.”
    Fiona marched back into the dining room with a tray that she placed in front of Jesse. “Milk and oatmeal,” she said.
    â€œNo coffee?”
    â€œNot until you have something else in your stomach. You probably haven’t eaten solid food for days.”
    He glared into the bowl of mushy oatmeal. “I want