Not Rebecca.
Me.
And for the first time since she arrived, I saw fear.
"Jack," she said, "before I tell you, you need to understand something."
"Gloria isn't the person who brought you here."
"Arthur Bell isn't either."
"The person who did has been close enough to monitor the investigation from the beginning."
My stomach tightened.
"Name."
She swallowed.
"Daniel Rourke."
For several seconds, my brain refused to process it.
Chief Deputy Daniel Rourke.
My supervisor.
My friend.
The man who attended Lily's baptism.
The man who brought Rebecca soup after her first surgery.
The man who kept telling me:
Stay out of the investigation.
Be a husband.
Do not access federal systems.
Do not touch the case.
I stood slowly.
Rachel reached into her coat.
I almost drew.
"Photograph."
I nodded.
She pulled out an old Polaroid.
Set it on the table.
Three men stood outside the Pine Hollow clubhouse in 1997.
And a younger man with dark hair.
Twenty-nine years younger.
But unmistakable.
Daniel Rourke.
On the back, Thomas had written:
HOLLOW CREEK — D.R.
My phone rang.
It rang again.
Rachel whispered, "Don't answer."
Then the phone stopped.
A message appeared.
Jack, get your family out of the house. Now.
I stared at it.
Then another message.
Do not trust the woman at your door.
Rachel's face went white.
I looked toward the front window.
A black SUV had stopped outside.
Not police.
No markings.
Rachel whispered, "He found me."
I moved.
"Lily, shoes. Now."
"Back door."
Rachel said, "They'll have it covered."
"Basement?"
Then at the hallway.
Then remembered the property maps detectives had shown me.
Pine Hollow homes were built on oversized utility easements.
Our rear fence opened onto a drainage corridor.
"Mrs. Delgado."
I called her.
She answered immediately.
"Yes?"
"Turn on every exterior light."
"It's daytime."
"Do it."
"And start recording."
"I never stopped."
God bless terrifying neighbors.
We went through the laundry room.
Out the side door.
Across Mrs. Delgado's yard.
The first man came around our rear fence as Lily cleared the hedge.
I drew.
"Federal officer! Stop!"
He froze.
Then ran.
I didn't chase.
That wasn't the moment.
Rebecca, Lily, Rachel.
That was the moment.
We reached Mrs. Delgado's house.
She locked us inside.
Then handed me a baseball bat.
"I have this."
"I have something better."
"Oh."
She looked disappointed.
Within minutes, marked police units flooded the block.
The SUVs left.
One was stopped outside the gate.
The driver was a private investigator.
His phone contained messages from an encrypted account.
Investigators traced the account.
Not to Rourke.
To Arthur Bell.
For one hour, I thought Rachel had been wrong.
Then Rourke arrived.
He stepped from a Marshal Service vehicle.
Saw me.
Saw Rebecca.
Saw Rachel behind the glass.
And stopped.
His face answered the question before his mouth did.
I walked toward him.
"You know her."
Rourke looked exhausted.
"Do you know her?"
Every officer nearby went still.
"Are you Hollow Creek?"
His eyes closed.
"Thomas wrote your initials."
"Because that was my undercover name."
I stared.
Rourke looked at Rachel.
Then at me.
"Thomas wasn't the only federal officer inside the organization."
Rachel came outside.
"You told my father you were Hollow Creek."
"You ran the account."
"I used the identity."
Rourke shook his head.
"The real Hollow Creek was never identified."
"Then why did my father write D.R.?"
"Because he thought I was the leak."
My head was pounding.
"How convenient."
Rourke looked at me.
"Jack, if I wanted that ledger, do you think I needed Gloria Whitcomb to get it?"
That stopped me.
He continued.
"I could've searched your house the first night. I could've taken the swing before you ever moved."
"Then who brought us here?"
Rourke looked toward the house.
"Rebecca did."
Rebecca whispered, "What?"
He pulled out his phone.
Opened an email.
Sent eight months earlier.
From Rebecca's account.
To a property brokerage.
Subject:
PINE HOLLOW RENTAL REQUEST.
Rebecca stared.
"I never sent that."
Rourke nodded.
"Then who did?"
He looked at Rachel.
Rachel shook her head.
Rourke said, "Someone has been using Rebecca's identity for months."