How had it come to this? He’d had it all, and he’d had it all under control. He and Lisa had left Cleveland to start a new chapter in their lives. Everything was going the way it should, going beautifully, until Vida got in the way. Yes, he’d thought he had it all under control, but the truth was he’d lost control, and now his world was crashing down just like it had that day when his dad was…

…bleeding on the ground…his dad’s face ashen…eyes burning with surprise and sadness…his dad dying on the ground…his last words begging to know…“Why, son?…Why did you…?”

His father’s death gasps dissolved into the air conditioner’s hum.

And now here he was: a suspect in handcuffs.

“All set there, Jeff?”

Waiting across the table from him was Reddick. Beside him was the gum-chewer, Bogan. And beside him was Morrow, the FBI agent.

“You don’t have to say anything,” Bogan said, “but this is probably the best time to come clean, believe me, because we’ve got a shitstorm coming down on you.”

The investigators let that sink in.

“We know you killed Vida,” Reddick said. “We’ve got a lot of people doing a lot of work. The evidence against you is overwhelming, and it’s building. Our team of detectives has talked to a lot of people. We’ll give you a sampling of what we know.” Reddick opened a folder with official summaries.

“We’ve gone through her phone, her laptop and yours. We know you worked together in Cleveland. We know you had a sexual relationship with her. We know that she came to your office and that she threatened to do more than reveal your affair.” Reddick set down a page, marked as evidence, a screen grab of a text Vida had sent.

I know what you are, and I know what you did in Cleveland. Soon everyone else will know. Time is running out on you, Jeff.

The investigators studied Jeff’s reaction, then Reddick moved on.

“You pleaded with Vida, argued with her. You needed to silence her.”

Reddick then played the footage of Jeff manhandling Vida at the café.

“Her body was found near the airport with a message written on stationery from the Oceanwave Gardens, the motel where she was residing. We know you went to her motel. We found the exact stationery in your home.

“We know you have rage issues, Jeff,” Reddick continued. “Roland Dillard and Ned Tripp told us how you nearly beat Loften to death the night he was caught. Heck, we saw the result of your rage on his face.”

Reddick opened the file folder, then one by one placed on the table before Jeff photos from the crime scene and the autopsy of Vida Warren.

Jeff clenched his eyes for a moment, then opened them.

Vida’s body was mutilated, perforated with stab wounds.