“Loud and clear. Sir.”

There is a beep, and Ryan holds the phone out. Jackson Sullivan is ringing through. I take the phone from Ryan.

“Dad, Jack is calling. I’ll call you later, okay?”

“Keep me updated.”

“Love you, Dad.”

I click over and catch Jack before it goes to voicemail.

“Jack?”

“Alex? I heard what happened. Are you okay?”

“Yes.”

“Where are you? Did Ryan set up security for you? The guy in charge at our house didn’t know.”

“I’m with Ryan.”

“Oh. Good. But you’re okay?”

“Yes.”

“Any idea why they would go after you?”

“My best guess is that when we countered the ransom, we fractured the group. The remaining members aren’t working cohesively and are working without all information at their disposal.”

It’s truly my best theory. The more I think about the man who came earlier, posing as a student, he wasn’t a professional. If he had been a professional assassin, I would be dead. He seemed interested in the contents on my board. He might have been listening to me talk about the case with Tim.

“Jack, I noticed something earlier today. I don’t know if it has any relevance or not. But sales at Sullivan Arms spiked the year after Cassandra died. Any idea why?”

“We had some big contracts come through. But that was the biggest sales year on record for the entire industry. When the pandemic hit that March, gun sales exploded. Are you still working with the FBI?”

“No. I’m just—”

“Alex, drop it. I don’t want you getting hurt. Just let it go.”

“Jack, you understand that they killed Larry Reyes, right?”

“It was suicide.” His voice quivers, and his tone is low. He’s uncertain.

“No, it wasn’t. The investigation is ongoing, but the FBI doesn’t believe it was suicide.”

“I know. That’s why Ryan beefed up security. Do you agree? You believe they’re coming after Sophia?”

I catch concerned blue eyes watching. He hears everything. The volume setting on this phone is high.

“He told you that, right?” I ask, squinting at Ryan. Surely, he’s been keeping Jack in the loop.

“I was told the extra security was out of an abundance of caution.”

Everyone has been treating Jack with kid gloves. I angle my head, silently accusing Ryan of being overprotective. Hiding the truth is a poor strategy.

“Well, after today, we know it’s quite necessary. You have to be careful. Has Sophia told you or the FBI anything? Did she see her captors?”

“She’s given them descriptions of her captors. She never saw Larry Reyes, so he was staying out of her line of sight, knowing she’d recognize him.”

“So, they really may have planned on returning her for the ransom.”

“Possibly.” A door clicks in the background. “She’s told the FBI everything. She’s been interviewed by three different agents and an FBI psychologist. Everything she knows, she’s already told them. There is no reason for someone to take her. Coming after you does not make sense.”