She shrugged. ‘Okay, but it’s a waste of time. He hasn’t done anything.’

Stride and Maggie let themselves out of the small house and returned to his Bronco. He turned on the engine, and a song by Sara Evans began playing on the stereo. ‘Born to Fly’. He put the truck in park but kept his foot on the brake.

‘You think it’s the same guy?’ Maggie asked him. ‘That Jay Ferris spotted Ross Klayman at Ely’s Peak?’

‘Probably, but I don’t think we’ll be able to prove it. We don’t have enough for a warrant to test their guns.’

‘The jury’s already out. Do we need to tell Dan about this?’

‘Yeah, I’ll tell him, for what it’s worth,’ Stride said. ‘It’s up to him whether he wants to disclose it to Gale. I don’t think this changes anything at all with regard to the case.’

Maggie glanced at the house, where Jessie Klayman stood at her front door, watching them. When the woman turned away, Maggie slid sunglasses over her face. ‘You don’t have any doubts about the case, boss?’

‘What, that Janine killed Jay?’ Stride asked. ‘No, I don’t.’

‘None at all?’

‘No reasonable doubt,’ he said. ‘That’s the only thing that matters.’

*

An hour later, Jessie jumped as she felt a hand tickling the back of her neck. She spun around and saw Ross standing behind the sofa. His lips folded into a grin. He could always sneak up on her.

‘You scared the crap out of me!’ she exclaimed.

‘Sorry.’

He wore an army hat, with the brim pulled low, and wraparound shades. A black tank top left his shoulders and skinny arms bare, exposing his tattoo of a skeleton dressed for combat. His skin glowed with sweat from the heat of the day, and he smelled of pine. He wore camouflage pants and heavy trail boots.

Jessie went back to her game show. ‘The police were here for you,’ she told him.

Ross didn’t say anything. She turned and saw her son staring down at her from behind his shades. The grin was gone. His mouth had no expression. She saw a twitch ripple through his bones.

‘Did you hear me?’ she said. ‘The police were asking about you.’

‘I heard you. What did they want?’

‘I don’t know. They didn’t say.’

‘What did you tell them?’ he asked.

She heard accusation in his voice, which annoyed her.

‘What do you think I told them? Nothing. I said they should leave us alone.’

Ross went to the living room window and pushed aside the curtain to watch the empty street outside. He did that a lot, as if he were waiting for someone who never showed up. She heard the muffled engine of a lawn mower in the neighborhood. Typical summer day.