This surprised Devine, especially after she had told him about Dak, but he nodded, and they drove away from the place where a dead man lay on a cold floor.

Chapter 42

Alex answered the door. Devine quickly explained the situation, and it was gratifying to see Alex put her arm around the woman’s shoulders and usher her into the house.

“You can sleep in Jenny’s old room,” she told Palmer. “You know where it is. I’ll be right up to help settle you in.”

As Palmer headed up the stairs, Alex turned back to Devine. She had on a pair of men’s pajama bottoms and a turquoise sweater and pink socks. Her hair fell around her shoulders, and she had a smudge of charcoal between her thumb and forefinger.

“What happened, exactly?” she said, her voice weary, but her expression anxious.

He recounted the events in a few sentences and Alex’s look grew more and more anguished as he did so.

“My God, when is enough going to be enough? Annie’s now lost everyone.”

“Well, she wanted to come here, so she has you.”

“She can stay here as long as she wants. We can get some things from her apartment in the morning.”

“I can load her scooter in the back of the SUV and bring it over in the morning.”

“Thanks. Do you want some coffee or tea?”

“No, you and Annie need to get some rest, and I’ve got some things to do.”

She furrowed her brow at this statement. “Things to do? Do you know what time it is?”

“My job’s like yours; it’s not nine-to-five.”

She smiled and that lifted his spirits a little. “Okay, but please be careful.”

“Thanks for helping, Alex, I know Annie appreciates it.”

“That’s what we do here, we help each other because each other is all we’ve really got.”

“Where’s Dak? I didn’t see his Harley?”

“I am not my brother’s keeper.”

They gazed at each other. Devine didn’t really want the moment to end, but...

“Good night,” she said.

She closed the door, and he hurried back to the Tahoe and drove off.

He could feel things escalating now and he needed information, a lot of it.

As he drove he hit a number on his phone. Campbell picked up on the second ring.

Devine went over finding Earl Palmer’s body, and then the fact of the missing rape kit and Chief Harper’s having been the last one to check it out.

“And Annie Palmer’s parents found Alex right after the event happened. And three days later they were dead in a house fire.”

“And you believe they saw who did it, but didn’t report it for some reason, then they were murdered by the man who raped Alex to ensure their permanent silence?”

“It’s a plausible theory.”

“But you have to get proof.”

“The puzzling question is, if I’m right, why didn’t they report it?”

“Putnam is a small town.”

“Meaning they might have known the person who did it and didn’t want to expose them for some reason?”

“That’s also a plausible theory,” noted Campbell. “Now, let’s focus on Earl Palmer’s death.”

“If he was murdered, and there’s no proof of that yet, one reason could be he was paid off or forced by someone to pretend he found Jenny’s body.”

“So the murderer silenced him in case he had a change of heart and decided to tell all?”

“Yes.”

“Why involve him in the first place?” asked Campbell.

“I don’t believe Jenny was killed where she was found. I think she was taken there. And it wasn’t just any location. It was near the spot where Alex was found after she was raped.”

“So you think the attack on Alex and the murder of her sister are connected even though they took place fifteen years apart?”

“I’m beginning to. Otherwise, the locations are just too much of a coincidence, particularly if the place where she was found was staged. That means the killer intentionally picked it.”

“Wouldn’t most people up there know that was the spot where Alex was found?”

“No, I don’t think so. It was apparently hushed up. But I may still have a town full of suspects. Now, Jenny told her mother that she had unfinished business up here. And then I found out that she visited Alex and asked her if she remembered anything about that night. To my mind that means the unfinished business has to do with Alex’s rape.”

“Do you think Jenny had found out something?”

“Yes, I do. And maybe you could check with her colleagues at CIA to see if she said or did something there that might help us.”

Campbell said, “You know, it’s possible that she could have used some of her government resources to do some sleuthing on her own.”

“From the sounds of it the lady was tenacious as hell.”

“You’re describing yourself, too.”

“It’s what the Army taught me, as you know. Speaking of, any luck on breaking through the seal on Dak’s military record?”

“Yes. He was found in bed with the wife of his CO.”

Devine said, “Okay, I can see why he got the OTH rather than a DD. The Army didn’t want everyone to know about a cuckolded superior officer.”

“But I don’t see how that helps you.”

“It tells me that Dak will take a big risk if the reward is large enough.”

“But it also shows a degree of recklessness,” noted Campbell.

“Which makes him unpredictable and more dangerous.”

“Exactly.”