Matt considered their resources. Finding the ATV would be terrific, but was that the best use of their time and energy?

“Start at the crime scene and move out from there. Go out two, three miles. You figure out the logical perimeter. But you’re right—it’s a matter of time right now, which is against us, and we’re going to need your people. We can’t focus on maybes.”

“Are you sure?”

“No, but the guy jumped in the fucking lake—he had to be freezing. Do you think he’d go back twenty miles to where he dumped the car to dump the ATV?”

“Probably not.”

How the hell was the killer getting around? From the very beginning, Catherine had said he worked alone, but this murder seemed to need two people if the car was miles from the body. Matt needed more people he could trust. He asked Andy, “You vouch for Quinn, correct?”

“Yes, why?”

“He’s going to kill again, sooner rather than later. She sat through my briefing, she must be interested, and I can use another set of eyes, especially an experienced detective.”

“I don’t think she understands what it means to be on a vacation. Emily, her grandmother, plays Bunco with my aunt Dee, so I called Dee to check up on Kara. She says Kara hasn’t had a vacation in years, that Emily calls her a workaholic with no social life.”

“So if we need her, would you object to using her?”

“Not at all. Like I said, she’s a good cop, has Maddox’s trust.”

“Good,” Matt said.

“I appreciate your confidence in my department.”

“I’m confident in you. I’ll glad-hand the chief as much as necessary, but I’m relying on you and Maddox to cut through the bullshit and get what we need. Call me if you find anything.”

Matt hung up and went outside. He called Ryder to ask if he finally reached Quinn’s supervisor or the FBI office, then ended the call before Ryder answered when he saw her.

She was leaning against his rental car, eyes closed, her gray hat and scarf blending into the gray day.

“You must be freezing,” he said, expecting to startle her.

She didn’t jump. She smiled and opened her eyes. “It’s not LA.”

“What do you want?”

Her eyes weren’t smiling. “You verified my credentials. Please don’t call there again.”

“Excuse me?”

“Whatever you want to know, I’ll tell you, but if you start calling every agency in Southern California, I’m going to be burned.”

“That makes no sense.”

“I’ll give it to you straight. I don’t have many friends in the LA-FBI office, and I’d just as soon not have DC calling them and stirring the pot.”

“Why would my inquiry cause a problem?”

“I might tell you sometime, but it’s not relevant now. I assume you were following up—after verifying my ID—to see if you can read me in. I saved you the time by going to your briefing. Do you want my help or not?”