“Detective,” she said, being the mediator, “we all want the same thing: to find out what happened to the Albright family. Did you follow up on the investigator’s report and, if so, what did you learn?”

“Of course I followed up on the claim. The investigator’s report was mostly accurate. I also talked to a witness that said a man who fit Mr. Albright’s description traded the Escalade for another vehicle. We did due diligence, Agent Dunning. We have no authority to pursue suspects across the border. The FBI had the same information and far more resources to track criminals in Mexico, so why you’re putting all this at my feet I can only imagine is because your people dropped the ball.”

“Where’s the witness statement?” Nate asked.

“It should have been in the file. If it wasn’t, it was an honest mistake.” He cleared his throat. “I’ll find it and send it to you, though what good is it going to do three years later?”

Lucy said, “In light of the fact that the bodies were found in Kerr County, and that they have been dead for three years, we don’t think they actually went to Mexico.”

Douglas shook his head. “You’re making this far more complicated than it needs to be. My theory has always been based on the evidence we had. They left the country. Now that their bodies were found, it’s clear they returned for some unknown reason. Maybe they didn’t have all the money Denise Albright stole and needed to come back for it. Or maybe she felt guilty and wanted to make amends. Maybe they had new identities and were trying to re-assimilate. Hell if I know. But they left, I had the Border Control photo, and I had the witness.”

“The photo is bullshit,” Nate said. “That driver could have been any white male.”

Lucy jumped in before Douglas kicked them out. “If Denise wanted to make amends, who killed her? It’s a valid question. Say your theory is correct and they returned for an unknown reason, was she working with someone? That’s the only explanation. If so, they might have a reason to kill her—a partner in crime.” Killing Denise is one thing, but her children? Still, what else made sense?

“Exactly,” Douglas said, as if she had come around to his way of thinking.

Lucy had … in a sense. She just didn’t believe they’d left the country. Her partner likely took the money, killed them, and fled. Someone with the technical skill to push the three million through multiple entities until he became virtually untraceable.

“Then we need to find her partner,” Lucy said calmly. “When you investigated the original embezzlement and missing persons case, did a name come up? Someone who may have been working with her to steal the funds?”