The flowers were rust-red mums, and the stems were wrapped in yellow tissue—seemingly identical to those left by Panikos on the rock by the tarn.

What did this mean? Processing the implications, Gurney came quickly to the conclusion that the flowers by the tarn had most likely come from the fair, which meant that Panikos had been there prior to his visit to Barrow Hill, which raised an interesting question:

Why?

Surely he hadn’t gone to the fair originally for the purpose of acquiring a bouquet to bring to Gurney’s property—since he would’ve had no way of knowing such a thing would be available there and a local florist would have been a more obvious source in any event. No, he’d gone to the fair for some other reason, and the mums had been secondary.

So what was the primary reason? It sure as hell wasn’t for the rustic amusement, cotton candy, and cow-flop bingo. Then why on earth …?

The ringing of his phone interrupted his train of thought.

It was Hardwick, highly agitated. “Shit, man! Are you all right?”

“I think so. What’s going on?”

“That’s what I want to know! Where the fuck are you?”

“I’m at the fair. So is Panikos.”

“Then what the hell’s happening at your place?”

“How do you know—?”

“I’m out on the county route, approaching your turnoff, and there’s a fucking convoy—two trooper cruisers, a sheriff’s car, and a BCI SUV—all heading up your road. Fuck’s going on?”

“Klemper’s up there by my house. Dead. Long story. Looks like the first responders found the body and called for help. The convoy you see would be the second wave.”

“Dead? Mick the Dick? Dead how?”

Gurney gave him the fastest run-through he could—from the flat tire to the lumber explosion to the fatal joist hanger in Klemper’s neck to the flowers on Barrow Hill to the flowers at the fair.

Reviewing it all underscored in his own mind his need to call Kyle ASAP.

Hardwick listened in complete silence to the narration of events.

“What you need to do,” said Gurney, “is get over here to the fairgrounds. You’ve seen the same videos I have, so your chance of recognizing Panikos is as good as mine.”

“Which is close to zero.”

“I know that. But we’re got to try. He’s here, somewhere. He came here for a reason.”

“What reason?”

“I have no idea. But he was here earlier today, and now he’s here again. It’s not a coincidence.”

“Look, I know you think that getting Panikos is the key to everything, but don’t forget that somebody hired him, and I’m thinking it’s Jonah.”

“You find out something new?”

“Just what my gut tells me, that’s all. There’s something off about that slimy bastard.”

“Something beyond a fifty-million-dollar motive?”