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Back Goodbye to the Dead
Chapters (73)
  1. Goodbye to the Dead
  2. Also By Brian Freeman
  3. Title
  4. Copyright
  5. Dedication
  6. Epigraph
  7. CONTENTS
  8. PROLOGUE
  9. THEN
  10. 1
  11. 2
  12. 3
  13. 4
  14. 5
  15. 6
  16. 7
  17. 8
  18. 9
  19. 10
  20. 11
  21. 12
  22. 13
  23. 14
  24. 15
  25. 16
  26. 17
  27. 18
  28. 19
  29. 20
  30. 21
  31. 22
  32. 23
  33. 24
  34. 25
  35. 26
  36. 27
  37. 28
  38. 29
  39. 30
  40. 31
  41. 32
  42. 33
  43. 34
  44. 35
  45. NOW
  46. 36
  47. 37
  48. 38
  49. 39
  50. 40
  51. 41
  52. 42
  53. 43
  54. 44
  55. 45
  56. 46
  57. 47
  58. 48
  59. 49
  60. 50
  61. 51
  62. 52
  63. 53
  64. 54
  65. 55
  66. 56
  67. 57
  68. 58
  69. 59
  70. 60
  71. 61
  72. FROM THE AUTHOR
  73. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

‘No, but we’re monitoring their activity. So far, Lakelover and Mattie are both lying low. They haven’t been online in days. In fact, not since Erin Tierney disappeared. Again, I don’t think that’s a coincidence.’

‘Troy still thinks there’s an international connection because of the murder in Amsterdam,’ Stride said. ‘We’ve got data from the night Kelly was killed. The boats in port included four salties outbound to Europe. The Relko, the Venstaat, the Ingersstrom, and the Pietra Ragazza. It’s possible they could use lakers instead of salties and transfer the girls elsewhere in the seaway, but the more times they move them, the bigger the risk.’

‘Is there anything suspicious about the individual boats?’ Maggie asked.

‘Not on paper. Chances are, the corporate owners don’t know a thing about what’s going on below deck.’

‘What about recent activity?’ Serena asked.

‘None of these boats has been back in Duluth since the murder. Two of them are due in this week, the Venstaat and the Ingersstrom. The Relko is in Asia and isn’t expected back this season. The Pietra Ragazza will return in September.’

‘That makes it likely that Erin Tierney is still in Duluth,’ Serena pointed out.

‘I hope so,’ Stride said, ‘but we also could be wrong about the transport network. Or they could have their hooks into multiple boats. Regardless, you’re right, let’s plaster Erin’s photo all over the city. Same with her car. If she came to meet this Mattie_1987, someone may have seen her.’

Maggie waited until Stride was done, then said: ‘We’ve got another angle working for us, too. The black pearl ring.’

‘Were you able to trace it?’ he asked.

‘Yeah, I talked to Caffy at Zenith Pawn. Once he found out the jewelry was connected to a murder investigation, he started talking. He got the black pearl ring back in May from a Minneapolis accountant named Neal Fisher, who was in town for some Democratic political hoo-hah at the DECC. I talked to Fisher. He was dating a girl, and he bought the ring in Canal Park for her, but before the convention ended, she sent him a Dear Neal e-mail. So he pawned it before he left town. He figured he was making out pretty well, because he didn’t think the guy who sold it to him knew what it was worth.’

‘Where’d he buy it?’ Stride asked. ‘One of the antique shops?’

Maggie shook her head. ‘No, Neal knows a buddy of ours.’

Stride leaned forward. ‘A buddy?’

‘Remember Curt Dickes?’