A couple of framed photos sat on the sideboard that Shane took snaps of and forwarded to the task force to investigate. Maybe the guy had lost someone he loved or had some sort of bad experience that had set him on a life of crime. Except the guy was hardly living it up. If Shane had a few million dollars of ill-gotten gains in the bank, he’d at least have a beach house in Barbados or Mexico and not keep working the boring day job.

Not that Shane’s job was boring. People would pay good money to get even a glimpse of the sort of excitement he lived every single day.

He was wandering into the kitchen when Yael replied to his photo of the computer. “There has to be something else. Maybe a laptop?”

Shane checked the freezer but it contained nothing more exciting than ready meals and ice cream. The fridge had a bunch of salad and cheese. He stepped out to the garage but the place was empty except for a new lawn mower, some paint tins, and some unused-looking sports equipment.

He carefully pried the lid off one of the cans with a screwdriver he found on a shelf. He wore gloves. Found nothing except an inch of old varnish. The other cans were heavy enough to contain paint. He supposed the Bitcoin could be hidden inside in some sort of waterproof container but he wasn’t sure that would be the safest place. He left it for the evidence techs who were better at this stuff than he was.

He texted Ashley Chen the image of the office. Wrote back to Yael. “No sign of a laptop here. Maybe it’s at the office or in his car? I’ll get Ashley to check.” He fought the urge to call Yael, wanting to hear her voice.

He headed back inside. Dexter had placed the electronics near the door and was proceeding to remove every light switch, electrical socket and forced air grate. The other guy was examining the light fittings and sweeping underneath furniture.

Shane got that feeling again that something wasn’t right. “Does this feel like the home of a computer geek?”

Both men paused and looked at one another, and then at him. They shook their heads.

He called Ashley and she picked up immediately. “Did you find anything except that desktop?” she asked sharply.

“No, ma’am.”

She swore.

“Did agents find anything at his work desk or in his vehicle?” Shane asked.

“I’ll tell them to look again. We haven’t found his vehicle yet and he’s not saying a word about where it might be but then again, he’s been shot. We have people scouring the streets and nearby parking garages.”