‘There are so many things wrong with that I don’t know where to start,’ Thistle says. ‘Leaving aside the fact that there are thousands of attractive blonde women in Houston—’

‘But only one hanging around our victim’s office.’

‘If Biggs escaped, why didn’t he contact us?’

‘Didn’t his file say he had heart surgery?’ I ask. ‘Maybe he had a heart attack while he was running away.’

‘But the killer didn’t notice the body?’

‘Maybe he fell down a hole or something,’ I suggest, thinking of the deer trap near the log cabin.

‘This is a metric fuck-ton of speculation,’ Thistle says. ‘Even if I bought it, why would I let Gomez go?’

I still think there’s a chance that Warner is behind this. But if she is, I’m screwed—so I’m desperate to make this theory work.

‘Because if you don’t,’ I say, ‘the killer will find a new stooge at the dump, or a new dump. We’ll be back to square one. But if we put Gomez back into play, eventually the killer will call him for help with her next victim. Or maybe she’ll try to kill him, now that she knows we’re onto her. Either way, we have a chance to catch her. She told Gomez she was approaching him on someone else’s behalf—if that’s true, I’d like to know who it was.’

Thistle looks appalled. ‘You want to use Gomez as bait?’

‘Yes,’ I say.

‘And how do I explain to the director that we’re letting our only suspect go?’

‘He’s not our only suspect, we don’t have the evidence to hold him, we’re worried about him suing the state because we shot him while he was unarmed.’ I shrug. ‘Take your pick.’

Thistle takes a long, deep inhale, like a drag on an imaginary cigarette.

‘We’ll keep him under surveillance, obviously,’ I add. ‘The risk to him and his family is minimal.’

‘Fucking hell, Blake,’ Thistle says finally, ‘you better be right about this.’

Her phone rings. She answers. ‘Thistle.’

A long pause.

‘Okay. We’ll be sending a covert surveillance team. Stick around until they arrive.’

She hangs up. ‘Gomez’s family is fine,’ she says. ‘Shaken, but fine. Forensics found the skin flap. They’re taking it to Dr Norman.’

‘Was the wife worried about getting deported?’

‘She sounded more worried about her husband. The kids protect her, for now, as long as she can prove they were born here.’

We walk back into the hospital room. Thistle unlocks Gomez’s cuff.

‘You’re free to go,’ she says. ‘You and your family will be monitored round-the-clock by plainclothes agents for your own protection until further notice.’

‘Thank you,’ Gomez says, clasping Thistle’s hand.