“We’re one hundred percent on the same page.” Tom had put the SUV into gear when his work phone buzzed. “Special Agent Hunter.”

“Special Agent Hunter, this is Sergeant Farley with the Yuba City PD. I got your name from Sergeant Howell of SacPD. We have a crime scene you should see.”

Howell was the guy they’d met on the rooftop the morning before. This has to be about Belmont. “Can I put you on speaker? I’m with my partner, Special Agent Croft.” The man agreed and Tom put his phone on the center console. “Agent Croft, we’ve got Sergeant Farley, Yuba City PD, on the line. What do you have?”

“A homicide. Victim is Minnie Ellis, seventy-five, Caucasian. Found by her friend this morning, dead in her bed. There are signs of forced entry. The night before last, Mrs. Ellis told her friend that she suspected her neighbor of fishy business. Nobody is answering at the house next door. It appears to be empty, but we found trash in the can on the curb. Dusted a beer can for prints and came up with a match. Seems Mrs. Ellis’s neighbor’s prints were also found on a railing of a rooftop yesterday morning at Sergeant Howell’s crime scene. DJ Belmont. Ring a bell?”

“Can you text me the address?” Tom asked, his pulse ticking up. “We’re on our way.”

THIRTEEN

YUBA CITY, CALIFORNIA

THURSDAY, MAY 25, 12:00 P.M.

We’re looking for Sergeant Farley,” Croft said when they got to Minnie Ellis’s home in Yuba City. She held out her badge, as did Tom. “Special Agents Croft and Hunter.”

The uniformed officer standing guard at the front door frowned. “Hunter? Tom Hunter?”

Tom knew that the cop had recognized him from his pro days, but Croft seemed oblivious. “Farley is expecting us,” she said tartly.

The cop blushed. “It’s just that I—Never mind. Here are your booties. Follow me.”

Slipping the booties over his shoes, Tom gave the man a smile. “She’s not a basketball fan.”

The cop laughed. “Well, I am. Miss seeing you on the court. Didn’t know you were . . .” He gestured at Tom’s badge. “You know.”

Tom lips twitched. “I know.”

Croft finished putting on her booties with a frown. “Really? You have fans?”

“Only a few,” Tom said.

“A few,” the officer agreed with sham gravity.

She sighed. “Officer, can you just take us to Sergeant Farley?”

“Of course.” He led them to a bedroom, where Farley stood next to a CSU tech standing on a stepladder, pulling something from the ceiling. “Sergeant Farley? The FBI is here, sir.”

Farley turned, his expression sour. “Hunter and Croft, right? Okay, this went from bad to worse. The victim, Minnie Ellis, was found in her bed by her friend, like I told you. I’ll show you the rush job the killer did to repair the broken door frame. Might have passed muster if the friend hadn’t made a fuss. ME found a needle prick in the victim’s arm.” He touched the inside of his elbow. “They’ll test for the usual heart-stoppers. Again, it might have passed muster as natural causes without the friend’s testimony. And now this.” He pointed to the CSU tech.