“That will be up to the prosecuting attorney. The fact that you came forward will work in your favor.”

“But I was too late to save Lorraine Meyers.”

“Yes.” Nate stood. “If I were you, I’d line up legal counsel.”

Mullins pushed himself to his feet as if the weight of the world was pressing down on him. “There’s no spare money for that.”

“Did you benefit financially from this scheme with BK?”

“No. And the well is dry, after all of Kimberly’s expenses. I can’t sell the house and put her out on the street.”

“Assuming this progresses to an arraignment, you can ask the judge for a court-appointed lawyer during that appearance.”

“Thanks.” He held out his hand. “I appreciate you treating me with respect despite everything I’ve done.”

Nate took his hand. “I can sympathize with a man being caught between a rock and a hard place, even if I can’t condone your choices. I’ll be in touch.”

He followed Mullins to the door, closed it behind him, and circled around to his desk chair.

First order of business? Call Grace to let her know her instincts had been spot-on and to alert her to work an autopsy on Lorraine into her schedule.

Second, brief Russ so the coroner could fill out the autopsy paperwork.

Third, check out the other two names on Dave’s list to verify they were deceased.

Fourth, alert federal authorities about the fraud case.

Finally, see what he could find out about Lee Jordan and have a talk with her ASAP. If she hated the man who’d jilted her as much as he said she did, she could very well be the tipster.

The odds were slim she was BK, however, despite the rationale he’d offered to Mullins for that scenario. A methodical killer who left no traces had to know that tipping off the police about Mullins’s connection to Fred and Mavis would put the entire scheme at risk if he cracked—as he had.

So while a follow-up with Lee Jordan was appropriate, Nate’s gut told him that investigative trail wasn’t going to lead him to BK.

It also told him the blackmailing, swindling murderer had an ear to the ground. You didn’t commit six flawless murders and amass a small fortune in stolen funds without doing due diligence. Sooner or later, BK would find out that the official cause of death for the victims was morphing from natural to homicide.

Whether they could ever prove that remained to be seen.

But he wasn’t a quitter—and from what he knew about Grace, she wasn’t, either. Between the two of them, they’d solve this case and bring BK to justice.

Or die trying.

A shiver raced through him as the old saying strobed through his mind, but he quashed that notion at once. Now that he was on to the scheme, no one else was going to die on his watch. Least of all himself or Grace.

Yet as he picked up his phone, he couldn’t shake the feeling that despite all they’d learned and all the precautions they might take, someone who knew how to kill people without leaving evidence of murder was a formidable opponent who could attack without warning, wreak havoc, and vanish without a trace.