“Fifty million bucks,” Croft said softly. “But why does DJ need to kill Mercy Callahan? I mean, if he doesn’t want to share the cash, why not simply kill Pastor to get the money?”

“Good question. We do know that DJ tried to kill Mercy once before, but failed.”

“When her mother smuggled her out of Eden. DJ killed her mother.”

Tom nodded. “Right. But we assumed that DJ thought Mercy was dead, or he would have come looking for her years ago to keep her from spilling the beans about Eden. If Pastor finds out that Mercy isn’t dead . . .” He shrugged.

“Then DJ has a lot of explaining to do and Pastor might punish him somehow.”

“From what we know of Eden, punishments are severe, especially for betrayal. It’s likely DJ would be killed and the congregation told that he’d met with an accident. Either way, it’s unlikely he’d get any of the fifty million.”

“No wonder Belmont wants Mercy dead. That’s a lot to lose.”

“Yeah,” Tom said grimly, once again thinking of Liza in the monster’s sights. “This morning Molina asked if Belmont might be dead. I’ve wished it a thousand times in the month since he disappeared, but I didn’t think we’d be that lucky.”

Croft hesitated. “It was Gideon’s girlfriend who shot Belmont, wasn’t it?”

Tom nodded. “One of the shots, yes. Daisy Dawson is a sharpshooter. She climbed a tree to get the shot.” He glanced at his trainer. “Why?”

“Because he probably has a grudge against her, too,” Croft said. “Did you tell Gideon?”

“Nope.” He feigned innocence. “I told Molina that I wouldn’t feed them information.”

Croft snorted. “You didn’t have to tell Gideon. Rafe Sokolov has already filled him in.”

Tom grinned. “But I didn’t tell Gideon.”

She was quiet for a few beats. “I think I like you, Hunter.”

“I’m glad,” he said sincerely. “I’d hate to be stuck with someone who doesn’t. Tell me about the tattoo on Belmont’s back. Which gang is it?”

“It’s a gang out of San Fran called Zhonghua Yanjingshe, which translates to ‘Chinese Cobra.’ It was originally managed by one of the crime syndicates in mainland China, but a few years ago the gang was hit hard by the Bureau. The syndicate had purchased about a hundred houses in Northern California and turned them into grow houses. If you want more info, ask Rodriguez. He was part of the task force that took them out. They seized over four hundred pounds of pot, plus cash and weapons. Grow houses are still a problem around here, but it’s not as organized as it was.”

“I read about that when I knew I was coming to Sacramento,” Tom said, slowing to stop at a red light. “Folks think that illegal pot isn’t a thing in California anymore because it’s legal to buy, but the product seized by the task force was going to states where it’s still illegal.”

“Exactly. Homeowners who rent their houses continue to worry about grow houses. Renters look legit, some even show up with a prop family, then they trash the house, fill it with dirt, and grow weed until they’re caught. By then, they’re usually in the wind, and the homeowner is left with a ruined house.”