Page 139 of Dead Man's List

Navarro waved her apology away. “I told you that Drummond offered to exchange information for a deal,” he reminded the captain. “I also told you that we didn’t want to allow it.”

“I remember,” the captain said. “I also remember telling you to find out what he knows.”

Kit swallowed, the food she’d eaten taking a nasty roll in herstomach. But she trusted Navarro. He’d had her back on numerous occasions.

He’d also heard Rita quietly confess to having been assaulted by Drummond.

“He murdered a woman in cold blood,” Navarro said evenly. “That is not something we want to reward.”

The captain looked displeased. His mouth was set as if he planned to further discuss this with Navarro later.

Kit cleared her throat. “Captain? We now know who was involved in the plot to kill Brooks Munro, in part because of Drummond’s offer. We weren’t looking at the country club connection before that. It makes sense that the country club set was the information he wanted to trade. Every one of the nine people we talked to tonight is implicated by Munro’s dead-man’s-switch list. And when we find the list, my bet is that Drummond is on it, too.”

Navarro nodded. “I’m thinking the same thing. If the country club/blackmail connection is what Drummond intends to offer, he wouldn’t have known unless he was being blackmailed, too. Whatever we find on that list, we can use to charge him with later. If he’s given an immunity deal, he could include any past crimes included in this case. I’d rather wait until we find the list and not immediately give away an opportunity to get Drummond for something more.”

More than the murder of Rita’s mother. More than the rape of a child. Either should have been enough to put Drummond away forever, but Kit knew that wasn’t how the system always worked.

Evil people knew how to get away with their crimes. Especially smart, rich evil people.

The captain considered Navarro’s words. “That makes sense.All right, then, I can be patient. I guess Drummond isn’t going anywhere for the time being. He needs us at this point.”

“His attorney called my office all day yesterday,” Joel said, having wolfed down a sandwich and taken another. “Asking when we’re going to sit down and discuss this with his client. I told the attorney to back off, and my boss is in agreement. We don’t want to give Drummond the time of day if we don’t absolutely have to. We believe that Drummond is responsible for making a threatening overture toward his victim’s fourteen-year-old daughter and we want to get him for witness tampering too, if we can. Giving that man a deal is the last thing we want to do.”

Kit briefly closed her eyes, relief washing over her.Thank you, Joel.

“I didn’t know he’d been in contact with the child,” the captain said in a quiet, furious way that made Kit wonder if Navarro actually had disclosed the rape that Rita wasn’t yet ready to report.If she ever is.

“Not with the victim’s daughter personally,” Joel said. “She received an anonymous letter that—understandably—made her believe that she was being watched. I think it was Drummond and my boss agrees. Drummond is scum, plain and simple. I’d rather give immunity to a million Veronica Fitzgeralds than one Christopher Drummond, and that’s only because Fitzgerald doesn’t know exactly who’s on the list and what they’ve done. Munro and his PI knew and now they’re dead. If the PI had survived, I wouldn’t want to give him a deal, either.”

“Understood,” the captain said. “Where is Veronica Fitzgerald now? Is she out on bail yet?”

Joel shook his head. “Given that both Munro and Grossman are dead, her attorney and I agreed that she’d be safer inprotective custody, so she’ll remain your guest until things are settled.”

The captain nodded. “I concur with what you’ve all said. This is good work, people. I know you’ve been working nearly round the clock on this and we appreciate it. Just…try to work faster.”

“And on that note,” Navarro said, “go home and get some rest while you can. Simon Daly and his wife are already in a safe house. The remaining eight will be out on bail soon, so you’re going to have to hustle to get the evidence to bring them down.”

San Diego PD, San Diego, California

Thursday, January 12, 6:30 a.m.

Kit found herself stumbling as she walked to her Subaru, which was parked in the employee lot. She hadn’t been so tired in a long time.

Getting soft.

No, not true.She’d just gotten used to what it felt like to take care of herself. For the longest time, her life had been only work, eat, sleep, and repeat. Occasionally she’d break to have Sunday dinner with her family. In the past nine months she’d gotten better about prioritizing. This wasn’t the first time she’d gone twenty-four hours without sleep during that period, but it didn’t happen nearly often enough anymore to become the norm.

Her bed at McKittrick House beckoned. Mom and Pop would have the girls off to school by the time she got home. She could cuddle up with her dog and get some rest before it all started again.

“You.”

Kit spun around at the voice, filled with venom. And she froze.

“You,” she repeated, her heart beginning to hammer. Not from fear, but from fury.

Christopher Drummond loomed over her, his toes not even an inch from her own. He was a tall man, and he used that height to try to intimidate her.

“You’re responsible,” he hissed, his breath foul. He smelled like whiskey and desperation.