“Shoes. I don’t want to leave here in my socks.”

“Lisa or Douglas can bring them. I’m staying here.” She turned to the two men. “Frank, I can go through the house later. If something’s missing, I’ll let you know. Cory, I’ll get a ride, so there’s no sense you hanging around. If this break-in is tied to Jonathan’s murder, then you’ll want to compare notes with Frank.”

Mancini looked at the bag of Jesse’s clothes. “I want to take these. Fibers or DNA from the assailant might be present.”

“Good point,” Bradshaw agreed. “Since we’ve got Finch’s clothing, why don’t we run Jesse’s through our lab? I’ll share results.” Without waiting for an answer, Bradshaw unclipped the bag from the bed.

“All right,” Mancini said. “But Ethel and Jesse are witnessing that you’re promising to play nice.”

The men left.

Ethel waited until she was sure they were out of earshot. She leaned close to Jesse. “What else can you tell me?”

“The gym bag was there when I started down the stairs. When I came to, it was gone.”

“I figured as much. They knew it was in the house. I think if Jonathan originally had the money, why would he have gone to the parking deck in Clarendon with only half of it? Makes more sense that he got both bags there and was followed and ambushed. He either gave them something or had something over them.”

“That sounds like an unusual approach to an investigation. Has Bradshaw any theories?”

“No. But he doesn’t know about the money. I need to tell him.”

“And Detective Mancini?”

“No. I’ve learned the counterfeit money had been in an evidence room for the Secret Service. It’s missing. I’ll let Cory connect those dots, but it’s his call as to what to share with Frank. If there’s dirty laundry in the Secret Service, Cory won’t want it aired in public. I respect that.”

Jesse lay quiet for a minute.

Ethel moved to leave. “I’m going to find out how long they’re going to keep you in this holding pattern.”

“Ethel, there’s something else. I told my girlfriend, Tracy, some of what’s going on. Not the money, but the murder. I was Skyping with her when it happened. I hope that was all right.”

“There’s no harm in that.”

“Tracy made a good point. Something of value must be on Jonathan’s laptop. And if it was important enough to kill for, then it should have been important enough to back up. I think that could have been a physical hard drive. Like the way I back up my MacBook. That’s what I was looking for when I heard a noise through the air duct in Jonathan’s room.”