Hal looked put out. “Yes, that’s Dom Finch’s boy,” he finally said. He paused, and then continued in a warning tone: “Tread lightly there, Jake. A family like that attracts a lot of attention. And jealousy. I’d hate to see them get dragged through the mud for no reason. Focus on the O’Connor boys; that’s a sure thing.”

Jake kept his face, and his tone, neutral. “Got it, boss.”

Back in his office, however, he immediately googled Dominic Finch, pulling up pictures of ribbon-cutting ceremonies and news items about massive real estate purchases. It looked like one of the kids who had destroyed the house was the son of a real estate developer. Now, that was a case. And if he made that case, that could mean real headlines, not to mention more public sympathy for the Jensens. June Jeffries was clearly playing her own game, but with her list of names, she’d delivered Jake a very promising hand.

26

“This is it,” Detective Murray said, pulling off of Greenwood Road and stopping in front of an iron gate. He rolled down the car window and pressed the bell. A red light on a camera mounted above the gate blinked on. After a minute the gate swung open and they drove up a long lane, past a pond with the old springhouse still intact and across a wide lawn dotted with oak trees. The driveway wound through flowerbeds and up to a large stone house.

Jake Tillman let out a whistle. “Very nice.”

“You think they have a butler?” Murray asked, only half joking.

Tillman laughed. “Remember what Hal said. We have to tread lightly here. We’re just following up on a lead. We already have June Jeffries’s testimony that Hunter Finch was at the party. If we can get Hunter or his parents to say anything that confirms it, we’ll have a much better case.”

“We’re not going to get anything out of these people. I bet we don’t make it past the front door.”

“Twenty bucks?” Tillman wagered. “I bet they offer us coffee and tell us nothing.”

“You’re on,” Murray said, and pressed the bell.

The door was opened almost immediately by a blond woman in jeans and an oversize white dress shirt. She looked at them warily, but her voice was polite.

“Good morning, Officers. How can I help you?”

“Mrs. Finch?” Murray asked, and the woman nodded. “I’m Detective Murray, and this is Jake Tillman, from the Hart County prosecutors’ office. We’re asking around about a property crime that occurred nearby a few weeks ago. Could we ask you some questions?”

For a minute Mrs. Finch looked like she was going to say no, but instead she gave them a tight smile and invited them in. “Would you like some coffee?” she asked.

“That would be great,” Tillman said, flashing a smile at Murray as they followed her into the kitchen.