“He’s fine. He hadn’t gotten there yet, so Daniel and Alex went to stay with your mother. Your mother’s fine, too. Everybody’s fine, except me. I’m working with APD’s IA, but I want this guy watched now, so I drove out to Daniel’s. Five minutes ago Houston got a call on his cell phone and left. I’m following. He’s headed west, driving very fast.”

“Toward us.”

“Maybe. I’ve pulled together a tag-team pursuit, so he won’t detect the tail. I’m hoping he’s going to meet Bobby. Call Susannah, make sure she knows about him. Finish your search and stay within the limits of the warrant. I don’t want Charles Grant slipping off our hook. I’ll call you when I know where Paul Houston is going.”

Dutton, Monday, February 5, 1:30 p.m.

Bobby couldn’t stop grinning. Susannah was exactly where she wanted her, kneeling. That Susannah was kneeling next to piles of cash was the sugar on top.

“Where is Agent Scott?” Susannah asked stonily.

Bobby had to hand it to her. After the initial shock, Susannah didn’t show a flicker of fear. “She’s not dead, if that’s what you’re asking. I didn’t even shoot her. Yet.”

Susannah’s eyes narrowed. Gray eyes, Bobby thought, not blue like our father’s. Or like Daniel’s or Simon’s and mine.

“How much money is in the safe?”

Susannah shrugged coolly. “Couple of thousand. Maybe more. Take it and go.”

Bobby smiled. “I will. But first you’re going to open every safe in this house.”

Susannah’s chin lifted. “Open them your goddamn self.”

Bobby’s foot shot out, kicking Susannah under the chin. She landed on her back, Bobby’s foot on her throat. “I said,” Bobby snarled, “you’ll do it.” Bobby applied pressure to her throat, aiming her gun at Susannah’s head. “Now get up. The next time you give me lip, I put a bullet in Agent Scott.”

Bobby grabbed a fistful of Susannah’s hair and yanked her to her feet. To her credit, Susannah didn’t whimper. The little woman had proven to be tougher than she looked and not to be underestimated. Bobby shoved her out of the study, past Talia Scott, who was only half conscious after being tasered, gagged, handcuffed, and hog-tied.

Halfway up the stairs, Bobby heard a faint ringing and Susannah stopped short. “That’s my cell. It’s probably Agent Papadopoulos. If I don’t answer it, he’ll worry.”

Bobby considered it. Once she’d killed Susannah, she’d have to kill Papadopoulos sooner or later. He was the kind of man who wouldn’t rest until she, Bobby, was punished, especially if Susannah was dead. Which she soon would be.

However, Bobby preferred to deal with Papadopoulos at a time and place of her own choosing. Dealing with two small women was one thing. Papadopoulos was a big man and would likely come with a posse of his own. “Does your cell phone have a speaker?”

“Yes.”

“Then answer it.” Bobby knelt next to Agent Scott and put the gun to her head. “Be very careful what you say, little sister, or her blood will be on your hands.”

Bobby had the satisfaction of watching Susannah grow pale.

“It’s stopped ringing,” she said.

“Then call him back. Tell him you found the records you were looking for. Tell him that you and Agent Scott are starting back to Atlanta. And be convincing.”

Susannah reached for her purse.

“Uh-uh-uh,” Bobby scolded. “I remember your purse from yesterday.”

“I’m not armed,” she said quietly. “Not anymore.”

“Well, I’m not taking any chances. Bring the purse here and dump it on the floor in front of me. Do it now.” Susannah obeyed and Bobby looked through her things. No gun. “Fine. Put out your hands.”

Susannah glanced at Agent Scott, then held out her hands. Bobby found the sound of snapping cuffs satisfying. “Now call your man. Use the speaker.”

Susannah obeyed once more. “Luke, it’s me. Sorry, I wasn’t close to my phone.”

There was a sigh of relief. “I was getting nervous. Where are you?”

“At Mama and Daddy’s, but not for much longer. Talia and I found what we were looking for, so we’re just about to head back to Atlanta.”

“You found the records, then? A connection back to Darcy Williams?”

“We sure did. I’ll see you back at the office.”

“Susannah, wait. Am… am I on the speaker phone?”

“Yeah, I’m sorry. My arms are pretty full, so I hit the hands-free button.”

“Where is Talia?”

“Out at the car,” she improvised, and Bobby nodded approval. “She took a load of books we found in Daddy’s office. Ledgers and diaries.”

“Then why are your hands full if Talia’s got all the books?”

Susannah faltered. “I… I’ve got a box,” she said, injecting a note of brightness into her voice, “filled with some of Mama’s things that I want to keep.” She hesitated. “I love you, Lukamou,” she said quietly. “I’ll see you later.” She hung up, her hands trembling.

“How sweet,” Bobby said with a sneer. With her strong arm she dragged Agent Scott to a crawlspace beneath the stairs and locked her in, then on second thought, opened the door and shot her in the leg. Scott’s cry was muted by the tape on her mouth. Bobby cast an amused glance at Susannah, who looked as horrified as she’d hoped. “Leigh Smithson gave the rundown on the GBI team. She said Talia Scott was extremely formidable and not to be underestimated. A veritable Houdini at escaping.”

“You shot her,” Susannah said furiously. “She was no threat to you.”

“Like I said, I’m not taking any chances. A shot in the leg will slow her down if she decides to run. Now get up those stairs and start remembering the birthdays of all the Vartanian relatives I never got to meet. We have four more safes to open.”

“Six,” Susannah said dully. “There are six.”

Luke hung up, barely breathing, trying vainly to remain calm. “No. Pete. Pete.”

Pete came running, a bound notebook in his big hands. “Look what I found behind Grant’s bedroom closet. The wall had a sliding panel, just like in the movies. There have to be a hundred bound volumes just like this one. What’s wrong?”

“Susannah.” He swallowed hard. “I think Bobby is there with her.”

Pete grasped Luke’s shoulder. “Breathe. What exactly did she say?”

“That she and Talia were at her ‘Mama and Daddy’s’ and they had found all ‘Daddy’s’ records and were on their way back, but she was on her speaker phone because her hands were full of things she was taking away to remember her mama.”

Pete swallowed. “Shit.”

And then she said she loved me, like she’d never get the chance to say it again. “I was going to tell her about Paul Houston, but I didn’t know who was listening.”

“Smart.”

Luke nodded. “I’m going out to the Vartanians’.”

“Not smart,” Pete said, then sighed. “So I’ll go with you.”

Luke was already running. “Call Germanio, tell him to arrest Charles Grant.”

Pete closed his car door as Luke peeled way, tires screeching. “What’s the charge?”

“Start with murder of Judge Borenson.”

“We can add extortion,” Pete said, tapping the notebook he’d brought from Grant’s house. “Charles has the dope on every rich man and woman in this town and they were all paying him through the nose to keep their nasty secrets.”

“I’m not surprised, but I don’t think we can use that yet. That notebook isn’t covered by the warrant. Borenson’s murder is enough for now,” Luke added as Pete dialed.

“Hank, it’s Pete. Pick up Charles Grant and bring him-” Pete frowned. “What the fuck do you mean you lost him?”

Luke grabbed Pete’s phone, his foot punching the accelerator. “Where. Is. He?”

“He left the cemetery,” Germanio said, “but headed out of town.”

“And you didn’t goddamn call me? Fuck.”

“I had him in my sights, but he pulled off to a side road and I had to pass him so I didn’t give myself away. When I doubled back… he was gone. I’m sorry.”