“What are you leaving out? What’s the part you’re afraid to tell me?”

The two men looked at each other. In the corner of the room, Murph conspicuously studied his shoes.

“He left a note,” Decker finally said. “It was folded into a tiny square and placed in a small plastic bag, which was nailed to the roof of Cortez’s mouth. The note was addressed to you.”

“Of course it was,” Jessie said, more resigned than shocked. “Do you have it with you?”

“It’s with forensics right now. But we scanned it.”

“May I see it?” Jessie asked.

Decker nodded and pulled up the image on his phone, then handed it to her. She immediately recognized Crutchfield’s handwriting, a realization she didn’t know what to make of. The note was shorter and more straightforward than she’d expected, with only a bit of the flowery language the man usually used. It read:

Miss Jessie,

I hope this correspondence finds you well. I apologize for the method of delivery. I know you were fond of Ernie, though I suspect that affection has abated of late. I thought you might want to know that I recently had a get-together with your father. He was…concerned that my loyalty to him may have been compromised by my time with you. What a charge! But he is moving past that. I anticipate that soon he’ll be recovered enough from his injuries to attempt another reunion with you. Expect to see him presently. It should be a killer meeting. May the strongest Thurman prevail!

Respectfully,

Bolton

Jessie looked up to see the three men in the room staring at her, waiting for her reaction. She knew that any hint of apprehension would reinforce their collective inclination to return her to the safe house immediately. So she stifled it.

“If he wasn’t a brutal killer, I’d say the guy had a future writing for Hallmark. He really has a way with words, don’t you think?”

“It’s okay to be unsettled,” Decker replied, ignoring her bravado. “I’m unsettled by it.”

“I’m not unsettled,” Jessie insisted, unsure how convincing she was. “If anyone understands how these guys operate, it’s me. I have two serial killers fixated on me, one of whom is my own father. If I had let that affect me, I’d be curled up in a ball by now. I actually view this as a good thing.”

“How’s that?” Dolan challenged.

Yes, how is that, Jessie?

“First of all, Ernie’s off the board now. That’s one less psycho I have to worry about. Second, in his weird way, I think this is Crutchfield helping me. He’s trying to warn me that my father is almost ready to come after me again.”

“It’s not clear to me that he’s picked a side in that fight,” Decker countered.

“I’m not saying he’s picked a side,” Jessie said. “I just think he wants a fair fight. And he believes that letting me know Xander Thurman is almost back to hunting and killing strength makes it fairer.”