“Yes, he pulled the trigger. Both times. He was the one with the gun, but I’ll bet we can prove she was an accessory to Julian’s murder.”

They stared at each other, adrenaline pumping through them.

“I think you’ve got it,” Nick said.

“It took a knock to the head and forty stitches, but yeah, looks like we’ve got it nailed. Finally. Is Captain Malone still here?”

“He’s asleep in the waiting room.”

“Would you mind getting him for me?”

“Sure.”

While he was gone, Sam closed her eyes in an effort to calm the pounding pain in her head. It had definitely gotten worse overnight. The smallest of movements made her nauseous.

Nick returned with Captain Malone in tow.

“How’re you feeling, Sam?” Malone asked.

“As long as I don’t move, I’m fine.”

“Ouch. Nick tells me you’ve managed to crack the Sinclair case from your hospital bed.” His face lifted into a proud smile. “Only you, Holland.”

Sam told him her theory. “Here’s what needs to happen. We need to get Austin Sinclair away from his mother. Get him to confirm that he told his father about Devon being involved with his roommate Tucker. I need to know how and when that happened.” A blast of pain reminded her of the need to stay still.

“Take it easy, babe,” Nick said.

She took a shallow breath, fought back the nausea and continued. “We have to find Preston. He’s armed and unhinged. We need to get him before he hurts someone else. If he has any capacity left, he’s probably aware of what he’s done and feeling desperate about his son. Maybe we can use Devon to somehow lure him in.”

“What about the wife?” Malone asked.

“Have Cruz trace the purchase of the rope that was used to tie Julian. I’ll bet my life she bought it. She set this whole thing up. She convinced her husband that killing his brother was the only way. The brothers were estranged because of her. She violently disapproved of Julian. He came to town for Supreme Court nomination hearings just as she was due to realize the dream of a lifetime by seeing her book published. No way was she going to let him deny her that. When Preston found out about Devon, he went off on a rogue mission to neutralize that threat, too.”

“He shot his own son,” Malone said, incredulous. “Preston saw him as a threat to the wife and took action.”

“Yes,” Sam said. “His lawyer will argue diminished capacity, and it’ll probably fly. He’ll end up in the psych ward. She’s the one I want behind bars. She didn’t pull the trigger on Julian, but she made sure her husband did.”

“We’ll get them both,” Malone assured her. “You worry about getting better.”

“I hate that I can’t go after them myself.”