“No. And I doubt we will. Just as we’ve never been able to recover the money Matty made on his burglaries. We find the goods from time to time, but I’m sure the money’s been safely stashed.” Her fingers tightened on a handful of sweater at his waist. “The man is incredible, Jared. He pulled a burglary the night after the kidnapping and tossed it in as a red herring. He had a standard alibi to offer when he was questioned. He always has an alibi. This time it was a trip to Mexico, and it covered five days, starting one before the kidnapping.”
“The police are checking it out?”
“You bet. He had travel brochures and plane tickets and hotel receipts to show, but he’s done that before. It’s his typical MO. He’s always gone,always,when one of these brilliant burglaries takes place. No doubt he sends someone in his place while he hangs around here to do his thing. In the past our resources have been limited, so we’ve only been able to go so far in our investigation. This time, the FBI’s working right along with local and state police. Unless we get a positive ID from someone like a flight attendant or hotel clerk, Matty will be in big trouble. Megan’s testimony will hang him.”
Jared could feel her anger. “You want that.”
“Yes, I want it. Life in prison is too lenient for someone who did what he did to Megan.” Hearing her own vehemence, she let out a breath and said meekly, “I take that back. The death penalty gives me the willies. I’ll settle for life in prison.”
Jared shot her a half-grin. “You’re a tough one.”
She returned the half-grin a bit dryly. “Don’t you know it.”
He kissed the tip of her nose this time. “What’ll it be? Coffee, tea, or me?”
“Tea now. You later.”
“I work later.”
“So?”
He grinned and went for the tea. Savannah watched him, thinking how comfortable he was in her home, how natural it felt to have him there. And how good it was not to be alone. Because on nights like this, when she couldn’t easily put aside the events of the day, she liked having someone to talk with. She had never fully realized what she had been missing before. Talking to Jared gave her an outlet for her tension.
“Savannah?” His back was to her.
“Mmm?”
“What about music? Did Megan say anything about his listening to CIC?”
Savannah didn’t answer at first. He had to turn to catch her headshake. “I asked her about that when we were questioning her about where she was held. Apparently, Matty played music constantly. Not country, though. Classical.”
“Classical.” Jared was relieved. “Then he wasn’t inspired by the station.”
She shook her head.
“His wording of the ransom note was pure coincidence?”
“Either that, or another red herring.”
“Incredible,” he murmured, turning back to his work, and Savannah knew just what he meant. Had it not been for the ransom note, they would never have met. It was a sobering thought which kept them preoccupied until Savannah’s tea was ready.
“Can you imagine,” she said, “the gall of the man walking around this town like nothing’s happened? Most kidnappers would take the money and run. Not Matty. He was too clever for that.”
“Why do you think he did it?” Jared asked as he put her cup on the tiled countertop.
Savannah wasn’t sure about that, and it bothered her. “Greed, maybe, but I’d have thought he had plenty of money in Switzerland already. Maybe he had sexual motives, though Meg said the other one started the rape.” She gave the ghost of a shudder and wrapped her hands around the teacup for warmth. “I’m guessing it was an exercise for Matty. He’d already done his burglary thing and he knew he could stump us with that. He wanted to see how much more he could get away with. Maybe he wanted toshowus how much more he could get away with.” She threw back her head. “Well, his days of getting away with things are over.”
Jared stirred instant coffee into a cup of boiling water. “I take it he’s locked up for the night?”
“You bet. Given the charge, we asked for high bail and got it. Matty didn’t dare come up with it, or we’d have wondered where he got the money. So he’s safely stashed. He’ll be arraigned in the morning. If all goes well, I’ll take the case before a grand jury next week, then he’ll be indicted and formally charged. With any luck, we’ll be on trial within ninety days. The sooner this is over for Megan, the better.”
“And for you,” Jared added as he studied her features. There in her home at the end of a long work day, she looked far more delicate than she did at other times. “It’ll be a strain. Would you consider letting someone else try the case?”
“Absolutely not. I have the know-how and the drive. I want to do it.”
He reached across the counter to touch her cheek. “I know you do, but is it wise?”
“I’m trying this case, Jared,” she said determinedly. “I’m trying it, and I’ll win. Men like Matty can’t be allowed to get away with what they do. There are laws to protect us from the Stavanoviches of the world, and if I can’t enforce those laws, what good am I?”
