“I think I know who he is—probably the fiancé of one my houseguests. Can you do me a favor? Take your phone down to the guy and let me talk to him or at least give him my number?”

“Sure thing, Rafe. Hold on. Gotta find my shoes.”

Rafe rubbed his hand over his face while he waited for Ned to go outside. Finally, he heard Ned say, “Excuse me. Are you looking for the homeowner?”

A deep voice rumbled, “Yes. Do you know how I can get in touch with him?”

“He’s here, on the phone,” Ned said. “Wants to talk to you.”

A second later that deep voice was talking to him. “Where’s Farrah?”

“She’s safe. This is Rafe Sokolov. Are you her captain?”

The man huffed a gruff chuckle. “Yeah. Captain André Holmes. You’re Mercy’s guy?”

Rafe sucked in a breath. “Not yet, but I hope to be. Listen, I have a Fed here telling me that Farrah’s aunt’s body was found. She doesn’t know.”

“I know. I came to tell her in person. She loved Quill.” He cleared his throat. “So did I.”

“Give me your number and I’ll text you the address. She’s here with us at my folks’ house. It’s about forty-five minutes from where you are with traffic.” He put Holmes on speaker, typing André’s phone number into a new text as the man recited it, then adding his parents’ address before hitting SEND. “Did you get it?”

“I did. Thank you. Can you keep her away from TVs and computers for the next forty-five? And her phone. I’ve been calling her for the past two hours. I don’t want her to see all my messages and freak out. Not till I get there.”

“Will do. See you soon.”

Rafe pocketed his phone and limped back to Tom. “Thanks for letting me know. Farrah is a really nice person. I hate for her to get bad news like this.”

“Her fiancé is coming?”

“On his way. So, I guess that explains how Burton knew Mercy’s plans. I get the impression that the Romeros are like us—nothing stays a secret for very long. The aunt must have known and told Burton before he killed her.”

“My family is the same way. My mom was disappointed that I didn’t get assigned to the Chicago field office for my first post, but I was a little glad. I love my family, I really do, but they can be . . .”

“Suffocating?” Rafe suggested, and Tom made a face.

“Exactly.” He stood up and adjusted the knot of his tie. “I’ll get out of your hair now. You take it easy, okay? No chasing after Burton?”

“I will take it very easy,” Rafe promised. And I will chase Burton as soon as the opportunity presents. And I won’t clock him with my fucking cane next time. Next time, I’m pulling my gun.

“I, uh, noticed that you didn’t promise part two.”

Rafe shrugged. “I make it a practice not to promise things I can’t deliver.”