Dolan stepped forward, a dubious expression his face.

“How do you know he’s not just trying to manipulate you, to lure you into a false sense of security in order to draw you out into the open?”

Jessie almost snorted her incredulity.

“In what world does slicing a man open, pouring his innards into an alley, and hammering a note into the body’s mouth with a nail give me a false sense of security? I know who I’m dealing with here.”

“So do I,” Decker interjected, “which is why, now that we’re sure this Valley case is unrelated, I’m sending you back to the safe house.”

Jessie’s heart sank. This was what she’d feared. But she barely let a second pass before responding.

“No way,” she retorted. “Now that I know the waiting game is over, there is not a chance in hell that I’m going back to some ranch house in Palms to wait to be attacked.”

Murph stirred at that.

“You make it sound like they’re just waiting to descend on the place,” he said. “Neither of those men has a clue about that house. That’s why the body was dropped near here. This is the only location Crutchfield can connect to you, which is why the Service didn’t want you to come. But now that you have, we plan to secrete you back at the house and keep you there until this is resolved.”

Jessie could feel the energy in the room working against her. Unless something changed fast, she was going to lose this fight. Then, from the least likely source she could have imagined, came a lifeline.

“Or we could try something else.”

Everyone looked over at the speaker. It was Dolan.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Jessie’s mouth dropped open.

She saw Captain Decker’s do the same. This crusty FBI agent was about ten seconds from parting ways with her for good. That he would do anything to undermine that was a shock.

“Come again?” Murph said, equally stunned.

“I actually can’t believe I’m about to say this myself, but hear me out,” Dolan said. “Maybe the best way to keep Ms. Hunt safe is to keep her on the move.”

“What are you talking about?” Decker asked, trying to rein in his hostility to the idea.

“Look, Hunt could still go back the safe house at night. But now that we know the Stanton case has nothing to do with either Crutchfield or Thurman, maybe we should stick with it. Following up leads and interviewing witnesses—all of that will have her in unexpected places at unpredictable times. Her whereabouts will be virtually impossible to track. And the whole time, she’d have an FBI agent and a small army of US marshals by her side.”

Decker and Murph both looked unconvinced but neither spoke. Dolan took advantage of their silence to press harder.

“Look, Captain,” he continued. “I’m sure you have full confidence in everyone in your precinct. And Marshal Murphy—I know you feel the same way. But if Ernie Cortez was compromised, someone else on the inside might be too. But if we’re constantly on the move and even we don’t know where we’re going next, that makes it pretty hard for an accomplice to tip off Crutchfield or Thurman. It just means fewer holes to plug.”