“I miss you, Lola, and I love you with all my heart and soul. I want to tell you that I will come for you when it’s safe. If there is a way, I will come get you. But that might not happen. More likely is that I will be a wanted man—wanted for doing what I believe in my soul is right. But know this: my heart is pure, my conscience is clean, and my conviction in the cause is as unwavering as my love for you.”

Burke raised the remote control and the image on the screen went to black.

Lou sat quietly, stunned by what he had just watched. Nothing leaped out at him, except that the emotion expressed in the recording was as true as a bullet—as bright as the torch Lou still carried for Emily’s mother, Renee. Also, it was clear that Burke was not simply a hired gun. He was invested in the principles espoused by the Neighbors. Their cause was his, and he was willing to kill to support it.

Lou shared those thoughts with Vaill.

“Anything else?” Vaill asked. “Anything that would give us other insights into the man, or maybe something that would give us a clue as to where this was made?”

Lou shook his head. “The only things I saw were ocean, trees, grass, the stool, and a few large rocks, mostly embedded in the earth.”

“Come on, doc. More. You’re doing fine.”

“Well, I feel stupid even saying it, but he was up high.”

“On a cliff,” Vaill said. “It’s like he chose the most scenic, romantic spot around wherever he was. And his face was well lit—no shadows.”

“Good. His shadow sitting on the stool wasn’t very long, and it went out behind him, toward the water, so he’s probably facing west.”

“Past noon, facing west. That’s it, partner. That’s the idea.”

“I can’t make out the few trees to his right, but there are leaves with some color on them, and just a few on the ground. Doesn’t look like winter.”

“Or summer,” Vaill said, “judging from his clothes. There are a few wispy clouds and the water is a little choppy, so that’s a half point against summer and winter, too.”

“I agree. My money’s on autumn, maybe six months ago. Sorry, Tim, but at the moment, I can’t come up with anything else.”

“Then we’re going to do what any decent FBI agent would do in this situation.”

Lou shot him a curious look. “And that would be?”

“First we’ll go over the other material I recorded in order to bring you up to speed. Then we watch this recording again, and we keep watching it until we’re fried—until our eyes bleed or we find something else of value. At the moment, it’s really all we have.”