“I was saving it up. Can’t give something for nothing, right? Well, you want to arrest me, so consider this the consolation prize. I didn’t hurt the woman, but maybe, you find that car, you’ll find the guy who did. I think I’ve already mentioned that would be in our mutual best interests.”

D.D. had to hand it to the kid. She did want to deck him, and he’d totally shut her down from searching his closet.

She glanced at Miller, saw the same assessment in his eyes. Interview was done. Real or not, a vague description of a mystery vehicle was as good as they were gonna get.

“We’ll be in touch with your PO,” she informed Aidan.

Kid nodded.

“Of course you’ll let us know if you have any change of address.”

“Of course you’ll provide police protection once I’m beaten to a pulp,” he countered.

“Then we agree.”

She and Miller headed for the door. Aidan followed in their wake, pointedly locking the door behind them.

“Well, that was a barrel of laughs,” Miller said as they headed down the walk.

“He totally has something stashed in his closet. A computer, safe, something.”

“So many search warrants, so little probable cause.” Miller sighed.

“No shit.”

They hit the car, D.D. turning around for a last look at the house. She took in the long narrow lot, the trees in the back that offered some privacy between the modest little home and its sprawling neighbor. “Wait a sec,” she called out. “Gotta check something.”

She jogged around the house, leaving Miller to stare after her in confusion. It only took her a minute or two. She’d always been a champ tree climber as a girl, and the old oak offered the perfect ladder of limbs. She went up, looked out, then scrambled back down and around before anyone could be the wiser.

“Get this,” she called out, huffing it back to the car. She opened the door, slid in as Miller started the engine. “From the tree in the back yard—perfect view into Sandy and Jason’s bedroom.”

“Lying sack of shit,” Miller muttered.

“Yeah. But is he our lying sack of shit?”

“I’m not getting warm fuzzies.”

D.D. nodded thoughtfully as Miller pulled away from the curb. They’d no sooner hit the bridge, when Miller’s radio fired to life. He took the call, then hit the switch for his lights and swung into a crazy U-turn that had them roaring back into South Boston.

D.D. grabbed the dash. “What the hell—”

“You’re gonna love this,” Miller reported excitedly. “Report of an incident—at Sandra Jones’s middle school.”

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Jason and Elizabeth Reyes had just exited her classroom when something hard hit Jason from behind. Jason stumbled, almost caught himself, then got nailed a second time behind his left knee.