“Thanks for running interference for me last night.”
“I take it the detectives assigned to the case have made contact?”
“Early this morning. They’re playing nice.”
“Good. We have been monitoring Area 51. It’s still shut down.”
“I had a buddy of mine dig up some things on the Locust Group.” He went on to tell the general about how many companies and assets and countries were involved.
“My folks are finding the same thing. And it goes far beyond the Locust Group. We saw a great many entities that appeared regularly on the surveillance feed, even in the short time we had access before it was shut down.”
Devine also told him about his theory on the name Anne Comely being an anagram.
“Clean Money? I think you must be right.”
“Were you able to trace those emails? Because I just got another one.” He showed Campbell the latest message.
The general sighed and sat back. “The long and short of it is, no. The general consensus is that none of my IT people have seen anything like this.”
Devine said, “I received that first email on the day that Sara’s body was found. As you saw, it had intimate details about the murder that only the killer would know. At first I thought someone else had found her body and emailed me because, well, they knew that I liked Sara.”
“I think it was more than liked, Devine.”
He looked at the general with a blank expression.
“I have three sons and two daughters, soldier. I’ve seen broken hearts before.”
Devine looked at the general with a new level of respect. “As far as I know, I’m the only one who got those emails.”
“The killer must be someone at the firm. We thought that all along, didn’t we?”
“Yes, and there’s something else. The way the people were killed. Sara hanged. Stamos . . . Stamos . . .”
“Yes, I know all about that, continue.”
“And Sara’s parents stabbed through the heart. I think each was symbolic.”
“What’s your take on what each one represents?”
“Sara the traitor. Stamos, well, I’m not sure. But her wounds reflected the killer’s anger at maybe losing Sara, and Stamos and Sara were in love. And Sara’s parents’ hearts were destroyed. And from what I learned of their relationship it might mean the killer knows about Sara and her mother’s estrangement, too. The killer intimated that it was difficult for him to find their hearts, and that the world was better off without such people.”
“You know what all that adds up to, don’t you?”
“Sir?”
“That the reasons these people were killed have nothing to do with Brad Cowl and Area 51, and everything to do with Sara Ewes. Which means the matter is more for the police than it is for me and you. We need to focus on the scheme at Cowl and Comely, Devine. The police can solve the murders.”
“But it could still be someone at Cowl’s firm who committed the murders,” countered Devine. “Sara was pregnant. And even though she had artificial insemination through a donor, we don’t know who that donor was.”
Campbell looked intrigued by this theory. “You think it might have been Cowl? Because that would put it back in our camp.”
Even though Devine had been told the donor had died, there was no proof of that. “It’s certainly possible. He said he never slept with her, but he could have donated his sperm. And he had motive, means, and opportunity.”
“So, you have two different cases to solve, but maybe with a related core element: Brad Cowl. And then there’s the question of who might be next,” added Campbell.
Devine looked up to see Campbell staring at him and perhaps reading his thoughts.
“And that someone might be you,” Campbell said.