“Did you tell Oliver that?”
“I called him when I had the information, and said I didn’t know what good it would do because Lowe was dead.”
“Did you know he died the night after Taverton and my mom were killed?”
“That’s what Oliver had said. And he said one other interesting thing. He thought Lowe was alive.”
“Did you give him the files?”
“No. Never had the chance. He was going to come by, never did. I left a couple messages, but never heard back from him.”
“Why didn’t you go to the police?”
Bill frowned, shook his head. “And say what? I have no evidence of anything. And I didn’t know he was missing until this morning when Dave told me he was dead.” He seemed to age in front of her.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean-”
“Believe me, Claire, I wish I had pushed Oliver harder. I wish I had told him to be more careful. But the truth is, I was hopeful that he was going to find something to help Tom, and I let him go at it. He was a law student. I honestly didn’t think he would get hurt digging through archives and court cases.”
“When was he supposed to meet you to pick up the files?”
Bill sighed and stood. He walked over to a small desk near the back door and flipped his calendar back to January.
“Monday, January 21. He wanted to come by first thing in the morning, and I said anytime after six. I get up as if I’m still working the day shift.”
“He went missing that Sunday night.”
Bill blanched. “Claire-”
“I need to go.”
“Claire, be careful. Talk to Dave.”
“I can’t.”
Suddenly Bill straightened. “You’re talking to Tom.”
“Don’t.”
“Claire, you need to-”
“Don’t tell me to go to the police. I can’t do that. Maybe two days ago I could have-two days ago I would have-but everything my father told me you just confirmed. Something is going on here, and I need to figure it out. But I can’t tell Dave. I love him, but he’s a cop. He’ll risk everything to help me, and lose everything as well.”
“Because he loves you, Claire. You’re the little sister Maggie and I could never give him.”
“I need to do this.”
He nodded. “I understand. But Claire, watch your back. And don’t be afraid to call for help.”
“Do you have the files on Frank Lowe?”
“I’ll get them.” He left, then returned moments later and handed her a thick manila envelope.
“Thanks.”
“You know you can always call Dave or me. We’ll be there in a heartbeat.”
“I know.” She hugged him. “But you see why I can’t call the authorities now.”
“No-” He stopped. “They want Tom in custody.”
“And they don’t care about the theory of a dead law student. At least not now. And the execution date is six weeks away. Dad has no more appeals.” Tears coated her eyes and she blinked them back. “He’s innocent, Bill.” Her voice cracked. For the first time, deep down, Claire knew that her dad was innocent. “I don’t need proof to know it. But I need proof to get him out from under the needle.”
She walked to the door. Bill followed her and said, “Remember, you’re following in Oliver’s footsteps. Which means someone he talked to is involved. Oliver may not have known he was interviewing a killer. You might not, either.”
“I’ll remember.”
TWENTY-ONE
It was nearly five when Mitch and Steve walked into the Sacramento regional FBI office to meet with their supervisor, Megan Elliott.
Meg was at her desk. Mitch suspected she worked longer hours than anyone else here, but even if he was concerned about her workaholic lifestyle he didn’t feel right commenting on it. “Come in,” she told them when Steve knocked on her open door. She finished up the report she was typing and turned to them. “I hear you two have been busy.”
They sat in the chairs across from Meg. Her blond hair was pulled back into a long, sleek ponytail. Her casual look. When she was in the field, she wore her hair up tight. Having it down made her look softer and more like the woman Mitch had cared for all those years ago.
A lifetime ago. It was all water under the bridge.
Steve began, “Like I told you earlier, we have a positive ID on Oliver Maddox. I sent off the flash drive found in his stomach to our office in Menlo Park. Don’t know that we’ll get anything off it, but it was in a titanium case. Instead of screwing with it here, I thought it best to get an expert.”
“Good.” She made a note. “I’ll follow up first thing in the morning.”
“We have a missing person of interest. Professor Don Collier, Maddox’s advisor, made a conflicting statement to the police. Maddox told his girlfriend he had a meeting scheduled with his advisor, but Collier told the police Maddox canceled the meeting. The girlfriend said Maddox was too excited about his project, and that Collier told her that Maddox didn’t show up-he said nothing about Maddox canceling. We went to clarify with the professor and found out that he canceled his classes for the day. We went to his residence, but he wasn’t there.”
“Do you have enough for a warrant?”
“Doubtful,” Steve said. “We’re digging a bit more into his background.”
“I’ll get in contact with the U.S. Attorney’s office and give them a heads-up.”
As always, crossing her t’s and dotting her i’s, Mitch thought. Meg wouldn’t allow anything to slip by under her watch.
Steve filled Meg in on everything except their suspicion that Claire O’Brien was working on something related to Oliver Maddox. However, he said, “According to his girlfriend, Maddox was still working on the Thomas O’Brien case.”
“The file says that the Project didn’t take the case.”
“True, they didn’t. But Maddox was writing his thesis on it nonetheless, and he told his girlfriend that it was called ‘The Perfect Frame.’ ”
“O’Brien’s guilt was established in a court of law,” Meg said. “We are here to uphold those laws. Whether he was wrongfully convicted is not something that our office considers.”
Mitch leaned forward. “Hypothetically,” he said, catching her eye, “if O’Brien was framed and Oliver Maddox found evidence for such, that is a strong motive for his murder.”
“As far as I’m concerned, you have two separate cases here. You have a fugitive, and you have a homicide. Whether Maddox had information that may have exonerated Mr. O’Brien is irrelevant to the fact that O’Brien is a fugitive. I expect you both to be equally diligent on both assignments. And don’t forget that the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department has jurisdiction on the Maddox case. The only reason you two are still on it is because they asked for our assistance with the evidence, and they haven’t told you to back off.”
“If we find O’Brien, can we keep him in federal custody?” Mitch asked spontaneously.
“We have no cause. We’d keep him at the county jail until transport back to San Quentin or wherever the State of California wants to send him is arranged. We don’t have jurisdiction over him. He was convicted in a California court, he is the state’s problem. The only reason he’s on our radar is because they asked us to help in tracking down the escapees. His crime wasn’t federal.”
“What if I could prove O’Brien is in danger if he’s remanded to state custody?”
“What proof? More of the same you gave me when justifying disobeying my orders in February?”
Mitch let that dig slide. “Megan, there’s something here. I can’t prove it yet, but-”
She put up her hand to silence him. He hated when she did that. “Hard evidence, Mitch. I’m not going to go to bat for you without something solid. Not again.”
He nodded. “Full disclosure,” he said, glancing at Steve. “I befriended Claire O’Brien.”
Meg stared at him, her jaw tightly shut. “Against my direct orders?”
“Yes, ma’am. I agreed to house-sit for Nolan while he’s teaching at Quantico, and I ran into her by accident.” Small lie. “I took the opportunity when I saw it.”