Back The Lying House Save as PDF
Chapters (103)
  1. Cover
  2. Back Cover Text
  3. Praise
  4. Booklist
  5. Dedication
  6. Epigraph
  7. 1
  8. 2
  9. 3
  10. 4
  11. 5
  12. 6
  13. 7
  14. 8
  15. 9
  16. 10
  17. 11
  18. 12
  19. 13
  20. 14
  21. 15
  22. 16
  23. 17
  24. 18
  25. 19
  26. 20
  27. 21
  28. 22
  29. 23
  30. 24
  31. 25
  32. 26
  33. 27
  34. 28
  35. 29
  36. 30
  37. 31
  38. 32
  39. 33
  40. 34
  41. 35
  42. 36
  43. 37
  44. 38
  45. 39
  46. 40
  47. 41
  48. 42
  49. 43
  50. 44
  51. 45
  52. 46
  53. 47
  54. 48
  55. 49
  56. 50
  57. 51
  58. 52
  59. 53
  60. 54
  61. 55
  62. 56
  63. 57
  64. 58
  65. 59
  66. 60
  67. 61
  68. 62
  69. 63
  70. 64
  71. 65
  72. 66
  73. 67
  74. 68
  75. 69
  76. 70
  77. 71
  78. 72
  79. 73
  80. 74
  81. 75
  82. 76
  83. 77
  84. 78
  85. 79
  86. 80
  87. 81
  88. 82
  89. 83
  90. 84
  91. 85
  92. 86
  93. 87
  94. 88
  95. 89
  96. 90
  97. 91
  98. 92
  99. 93
  100. 94
  101. Epilogue
  102. Acknowledgments and a Personal Note
  103. Excerpt

“That’s the point. But Miami-Dade has embedded GPS tracking chips in some items, set up cameras and silent alarms in the homes, cameras in the neighboring homes. The neighbors will watch, and so will we.”

“Not bad. Think it’ll work?”

“Time will tell.” Dillard’s face hardened as he searched the neighborhood, then looked at Jeff. “I will not accept what happened in my backyard on my watch.”

“Believe me, I get that. I don’t like it either.”

“We’re going to catch this guy. When I think about what he did and what he said to Lisa…” Dillard shook his head.

“Wait, you know what he said to her?”

“I’m an ex-cop. People trust me. They tell me stuff.” He looked at Jeff. “Doesn’t it piss you off that the asshole who assaulted your wife is out there?”

Jeff searched the neighborhood as a vein in his neck throbbed.

“More than you know.”

21

A pair of crutches was leaning against Jake Zhu’s workstation when Terri Morrow approached his desk at the FBI office Monday morning.

Bandages covered Zhu’s forehead and elbow.

“What happened to you?” Morrow asked.

“Fell off my bike on the weekend.” He turned from his keyboard, revealing red scrapes on his cheek. “Banged my head and elbow, sprained my ankle. They kept me overnight in the hospital for observation and wouldn’t let me near any devices. Got to your messages on the task force this morning. All six of them.”

“Sorry, Jake. I didn’t know. We’ve got a new case out of Cleveland.”

“No problem. I read the report this morning when I got in.”

“You’re okay to do this now? Can I get you anything?”

“A little sore, but I’m fine. Pull up a chair, Terri.”

Soft-spoken, Zhu had been recruited by the FBI from Caltech after his team was a runner-up in a hacker competition. Now, two years out of Quantico with top secret security clearance, Morrow thought he looked no older than fifteen, making her feel old.

“Okay, so…” Zhu began by pulling up a number of maps on his monitor. “You’d asked me to take key facts of the task-force cases and look for similarities in South Florida.”

“Right.”

“Been doing that all along, and we haven’t got much to get excited about. As I’d mentioned, when you get to local levels, the quality of databases varies.”

“I understand.”

“I’ve been reaching out to other jurisdictions. Late Friday, I got an interesting response from Frances Thorne, a crime analyst with Miami-Dade. Recently, she’d completed an analysis for an ongoing investigation into a series of burglaries that may or may not be linked to each other.”

“Burglaries?”