Matt stared at the photo of his father, stomach acid crawling up his throat at the thought of their last words:

“It would be great if you could appear with us on the show.”

“I’m not going on the Today show, Dad.”

“The lawyers say public attention on the case could make a difference at the Supreme Court. The justices don’t accept many cases, so anything we can do to—”

“What part of no don’t you get?”

“You’re being selfish.”

“Oh, that’s just rich, coming from you.”

“What’s that supposed to— Never mind. Fine. Do nothing, go back to school, and enjoy your carefree college life while your brother sits in a filthy prison cell.”

Matt stomped to the front door, grabbed his coat, yanked it on. “I will. You know why, Dad?” Matt paused a beat. “Because that’s where Danny fucking belongs.”

He had charged outside into the cold night, snowflakes floating peacefully in the sky, the strange quiet of a recent snow. He recalled how alone he’d felt that night. How alone he’d felt carrying around the truth about his brother, watching his father and sister spin their wheels trying to prove Danny’s innocence. But it was nothing compared to what he was feeling right now.

The shuttle finally jerked to a stop in front of a blocky cement building. No one would know it was a police station save for the black-and-white Dodge Charger fitted with sirens parked out front. The van’s back door swung open and Matt pulled himself out, tipped the driver, and raised a hand to the kids waving at him until the van disappeared down the road. He took a deep breath. It was time to claim the remains of his family.

One bite at a time, Matty. One bite at a time.

CHAPTER 16

SARAH KELLER

After her trip to the airport, Keller sat in her small windowless office in the FBI’s New York field office, poring over a report. It was the initial data set analyzing the Pine family’s digital footprint. Without their laptop computers or smartphones, the report was lighter than usual—limited to internet searches, social media posts, GPS locations—but the file was still three inches thick. There was no known crime, the word so far was freak accident, but something was gnawing at her.

Many agents scoffed at the notion of cop intuition, arguing that it was the kind of magical thinking that led to tunnel vision and convicting innocents. But Keller always followed her gut. And here it told her two words: foul play. So under the pretext of her money-laundering investigation of Marconi LLP, she’d had the IT nerds work their relationships with the internet companies and get the data. Once Mexico delivered the phones and laptops, she’d have a more complete picture.