“No. She worked for me, yes, but I was one of at least a dozen clients. Mostly small to medium-sized businesses, it was her specialty. She worked for me for eight years—eight years! I trusted her. And then this. I’d wanted to leave a legacy, a solid business for my grandchildren. Now, I’ll be working here until I retire because I don’t have the heart or energy to start another business from scratch, not now. I’m not complaining—I have a job, a good job. Good, honest work. But it’s not my company, my people. And I’ll never forgive her for stealing that from me. My reputation and my legacy mean more to me than the money.”

Chapter Three

Lucy and Nate stopped at a small cafe in Bandera for a late lunch. While waiting to be served, Lucy called Zach Charles, the analyst for the Violent Crimes Squad, and asked if they had a list of Denise Albright’s other clients. “Laura Williams with White Collar might have that information,” she told him, “but it wasn’t in the file that Rachel gave us.”

Zach promised to have something by the end of the day.

As they ate, Lucy said, “While I think everyone is capable of killing under the right circumstances, I don’t see Kiefer hurting this family.”

“I agree,” Nate said. “Whoever killed this family is uniquely cold. Brutal. Absolutely no regrets—he killed three kids.”

Two, Lucy thought—two because they hadn’t found Ricky Albright’s remains. She still leaned toward the idea that he was dead, but until they found his body there was a chance, however slim, that the boy was still alive.

But if he’s alive, where has he been for the last three years?

She sent Zach a message and copied in Laura Williams, in case she already had the information, and asked if there was any evidence of Albright—husband or wife—having a gambling or drug problem, or any other addiction or debt that might explain the theft. Or a family member who had an addiction. It didn’t quite feel right, but it was something—a reason for her taking the money in the first place.

How does someone go from law-abiding to criminal overnight?

Denise Albright had no criminal record … but Lucy also knew that might not mean anything. Maybe she wasn’t as squeaky clean as she seemed to be. Yet … she had a family, roots, friends, a career. How did someone with so much to lose end up embezzling so much money?

She didn’t see drugs—on the little they knew about the family, she didn’t think one of them would have such a serious problem that it would cost millions to cover up. Gambling? That was possible. Gambling could incur huge losses that Albright may have been desperate to pay off. For her or her husband.