Page 112 of Line of Sight

Riley’s phone rang. He listened for a moment, then hung up. “Officers went to King’s apartment, in case he went there. Which wasn’t likely, but we’re covering all bases. No sign of him.”

Dan struggled to breathe, his heart hammering. “He has to have a place we don’t know about. What about his parents’ place? The house he inherited?”

“He sold it, remember?” Riley fired back at him.

“But who to? Find out.” He didn’t know why they needed that information, but he’d learned never to mistrust his instincts.

Riley nodded, tapping on his phone. “I’ll put Barry Davis on it. We need his super skills right now.”

Travers came over to where Dan sat on the lower steps of the mausoleum. “We found Gary. We’ll find your brother too.”

“As long as when we do, he’s alive and well.” He watched the departure of the forensic pathologist. “Feels weird not having Del here.” He swallowed. “Thank you, sir.”

Travers smiled. “In case I haven’t mentioned it, I’m very happy to have you working with us. And I hope you’ll continue to do so for a long time.”

Dan gave him a hopeful glance. “I don’t suppose you have any cold cases that involve missing cats? Or something equally bland?”

Travers chuckled. “I wouldn’t say that if I were you. The last time you did that, the pair of you ended up in South Africa. Not that I know a thing about it.” His eyes gleamed.

Riley came over to them. “How you doing?”

Dan couldn’t even manage a half smile. “Better now I know Gary’s going to be okay. But not as good as I will be when we find Matt.”

Riley’s phone rang. “Hey, Barry. What have you got for me?” He listened intently and then froze. “You genius. I owe you one.” He hung up, his eyes gleaming. “The house was sold to a Patrick Bateman.”

Dan was on his feet in a nanosecond.

“What’s the address?”

THE HOUSEsat behind a brick wall and high locked gates. The two squad cars and ambulances waited, their engines running, while a couple of officers made short work of the chains looped around the gates, using a tire iron.

Riley drove through them the second the officers opened them. There was no sign of life. “Search everywhere,” he told them. “Jennifer Sullivan, Senator Kelly, and Matt Porter have to be here someplace.”

Dan didn’t give his opulent surroundings a second glance. He went from room to room, searching every closet, every corner.

Matt wasn’t there.

Riley held up his hand as he touched his earpiece. “They’ve found the Senator and Jennifer in one of the bedrooms. Both tied up but conscious. They were luckier than the other two members of the Secret Murder Club.” He gave Dan a sympathetic glance. “They haven’t found Matt.”

“He has to be here. Let’s search the grounds. Maybe there’s a pool house or something.”

“There’s a huge garage, sir,” an officer informed them. “It’s locked. There’s a door leading into it from the kitchen.”

“Then kick it in,” Riley flung back at him. “The owner sure isn’t gonna complain.”

A minute later, Dan and Riley were standing in a garage that housed five cars. Apart from the shelves, there was nothing else in there.

“I’ve got officers searching the yard. There’s a guest cottage at the far end. He could be in there.”

Dan forced himself to breathe, attempting to inject a little calm so he could think. He tried to recall King’s last words.

“Wait a minute. He said something about a good set of wheels.” Dan scanned the vehicles. “Which one of these cars is the fastest?”

“But where would you drive to?” Riley seemed bewildered.

Dan’s gaze alighted on the Mustang GT, and his pulse quickened. “That one is parked over an inspection pit.”

Two officers broke into it, and between them, they rolled the car forward.