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Chapters (57)
  1. Welcome to the Game
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedication
  5. Epigraphs
  6. 1
  7. 2
  8. 3
  9. 4
  10. 5
  11. 6
  12. 7
  13. 8
  14. 9
  15. 10
  16. 11
  17. 12
  18. 13
  19. 14
  20. 15
  21. 16
  22. 17
  23. 18
  24. 19
  25. 20
  26. 21
  27. 22
  28. 23
  29. 24
  30. 25
  31. 26
  32. 27
  33. 28
  34. 29
  35. 30
  36. 31
  37. 32
  38. 33
  39. 34
  40. 35
  41. 36
  42. 37
  43. 38
  44. 39
  45. 40
  46. 41
  47. 42
  48. 43
  49. 44
  50. 45
  51. 46
  52. 47
  53. 48
  54. 49
  55. Six months later . . .
  56. Acknowledgments
  57. Back Cover

She waited for a moment, expecting more for some reason. Nothing else came. “I had taken his case over from my colleague, Lonnie, but that’s only been official since she, uh, you know Lonnie was killed?”

Scott paused before answering. “I am aware.” Another pause. “My condolences.”

Again Caitlyn thought he might say just a little more and again she was mistaken. The hell with it. This wasn’t her first rodeo when it came to dealing with people of few words. She shifted gear.

“Do you have a current address for Spencer Burnham?”

“Not at this time.”

“He left town shortly before Lonnie was killed. I know that you and your partner asked her to encourage Spencer to leave the job he had in Detroit. Can you tell me anything about his line of work?”

“I’m not at liberty to say.”

“Why?”

Silence.

“Is that because it’s an ongoing investigation, Detective?”

Another pause. “I have nothing for you on the guy, Miss Dunn. Anything else I can help you with?”

“Officially, Lonnie Estevez was still his case officer when she was killed. And that happened a short time after he left town. I think he went on the run. I assumed it was from us.”

“From CPS?”

“We filed a petition with the court to gain custody of his daughter. Do you think his leaving and Lonnie’s death are connected?”

Yet another hesitation. “Not to our knowledge.”

“OK, Detective, thank you so much for your time. One more thing, before I let you go. The safety of Abby Burnham is our responsibility. And when I say ‘our,’ I include you; we serve and protect the same people. If you become aware that she might be in further danger, it’s your duty to ensure her safety or help us to ensure it.”

Scott didn’t respond, but she’d seen that coming. “I’m going to need to hear an affirmative from you on that, Detective.”

“Yes, Miss Dunn, we fully understand each other.”

“Have a nice day, Detective.”

38

38

Life Insurance

I’ve always believed that you should never, ever give up and you should always keep fighting even when there’s only a slightest chance.

—Michael Schumacher

“Rev it,” said Chris.

Abby obliged.

A cable ran from Chris’s laptop over her legs, under the steering column, and into the car’s diagnostic box.

“Little more,” called out Spencer from under the hood.

“Let’s lock and load this bitch and set her to kill,” said Abby to herself.

Chris made a mental note to check the age recommendation on whatever driving game she was hammering these days. He tried to finalize the engine remap, but the sinking sun was in his eyes. He flipped down the visor. The expired insurance certificate fell out.