“Fine, just so long as I know what I’m looking at.”

“You want me to send it right now?”

“Please.”

“Can I ask why?”

“Jimi Brewster’s name came up in another context. A conversation I had with Max Clinter. I’d like to get a better sense of who he is.”

As Gurney ended the call, he was turning into the parking lot of New York State Police Zone Headquarters. He passed a row of trooper cruisers and pulled in next to a gleaming silver BMW 640i.

An eighty-five-thousand-dollar flash-and-dash vehicle would be a questionable choice for a civil servant, but for a high-flying consultant who was moving up in the world it could make sense. It hadn’t occurred to him until then that Rebecca Holdenfield might be attending the meeting, but now he’d be willing to put even money on it. It was her kind of car.

He checked his watch. He was five minutes early. He could use the time to return Connie Clarke’s call, with an honest excuse to keep the conversation short in case she actually picked up. As he was retrieving her number, one of the NYSP’s black Crown Victorias pulled in beside him. Bullard was in the passenger seat, and Andy Clegg was driving.

Bullard motioned to Gurney to join them, pointing toward the big sedan’s rear seat. He did as he was bidden, bringing his Priority Mail envelope with him.

Bullard began speaking like someone who’d carefully thought through what she wanted to say. “Good morning, Dave. Thanks for coming on short notice. Before we go inside, I wanted to make you aware of my position. As you know, BCI’s Auburn unit is investigating the murder of Ruth Blum. The murder may or may not be related to the ten-year-old Good Shepherd case. We may be dealing with the same perp, or a copycat, or with some third option still undefined.”

To Gurney there was no possibility of any “third option”—but he understood that Bullard wanted to establish the broadest rationale for retaining investigative control.

She went on. “I understand that there’s an established theory of the original case, and I understand that you’ve been questioning it aggressively. I want you to know that I come to the table with an open mind. I have no vested interest in any particular version of the truth. I also have no interest in ego-driven pissing matches. My interest is in facts. I have a great fondness for them. I asked you to join us this morning because I sensed that you might share that fondness. Any questions?”