I thought for a moment. A kidnapping? I hadn’t thought of that angle. It was a possibility, though. The Ayerses had tons of money. It wouldn’t be a stretch to believe somebody out there might have wanted a piece of it. I let out a deep sigh, a mournful exhale. I’d wanted easy work I could do without thinking too much about it. This wasn’t it, not by a long shot. I’d have to go up against the police department again, up against Marta specifically, and no way was she going to make that easy. I had a very bad habit of tilting at windmills, poking the bear. Why? What the hell is wrong with me? Why couldn’t I let a loose thread be, why’d I always have to be the one to worry it? Jung Byson, sandwich guy. Nobody wipes their prints before downing a lethal dose of pills, hurling themselves off a bridge, or drinking themselves blind and jumping into a cold, dark lake. So, in Tim’s case, if he didn’t do it, who did? Who didn’t want to leave any trace of themselves behind?

“My office. Monday morning. Ten,” I said resignedly. “We’re going to have a long talk.”

Jung nodded, then closed the door and stepped back, watching as I sped away.

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Jung stepped into my office on Monday as though he hadn’t woken me up at 3 a.m. the previous Saturday and forced me down to Area 4 to get laughed at by battle-worn cops. I’d spent all day Sunday getting my mind right for this meeting. I was still a little put out, but at least now I was ready to hear his side of things. I shut down my computer and gestured toward the client chair facing my desk, watching as he folded his skinny body into the seat.

He stared at me sheepishly. “So, about what happened?”

“First, explain the shoes.”

Jung glanced down at his feet. He was wearing flip-flops.

“Not those,” I said. “At Area 4. You dressed all in black, you brought along a crowbar. Your shoes were neon green with yellow laces.”

He blinked. Lost.

“Conspicuous,” I said. “Rookie move.”

“I didn’t think of that.” It’d been a while since I’d seen a face as blank as Jung’s was now. Even Bucky T.’s hadn’t come this close. “The shoes are new. I needed to break them in.”

I shook my head. It was sad, really. Jung Byson, clueless, out in the world, a babe in the woods. “Tell me what you think you know.”

Jung’s eyes met mine. “You’re still mad.”

“I’ve passed mad. Don’t make me go back for it. Go.”