They all turned to Alex whose eyes were fixed on the carpet at his feet. "Time for more research, I guess. Let's find out everything we can about William Tenner. There's bound to be something we can snag him on, right? If Jack Tate can find goods on Tenner then so can we."
Elliot, Lucy and Zach rose in unison and descended the stairs, heading for the dining room table, which quickly became their command post. There was a current of energy pulsing through all of them now. Their mission had moved to a critical point and they couldn't afford to give in or screw up now.
Chapter 15
LUCY
"Okay, so William Tenner is the Special Agent in charge of the San Francisco branch of the FBI. We already know that."
My fingers froze around the mug of coffee in my hand. It was starting to dawn on me that the guy had been living right on my doorstep this whole time. The idea of pulling all those cons in the city he lived in made my skin crawl.
"It says here he has one son, fifteen years old. Billy Tenner. "
Oh my gosh, had I met him? What if I'd run a con at his school?
"You alright?" Zach nudged my knee with his as I watched Alex scribble Billy (William Jr.) on the large sheet of paper we'd pinned to the wall. He put a box around it and drew an arrow back to William Tenner.
"Where does he go to school?" Alex poised his pen against the paper.
I tensed, my muscles straining tight as I waited for the answer.
"San Francisco University High School."
I held in my relieved sigh and gave Zach a sharp nod, but he didn't buy it.
It was getting close to dinner time. I was tired, wrung out and in desperate need of sleep, but I couldn't let it show. These guys were working their asses off for me. Elliot had already tracked William Tenner's past from L.A., to Sacramento and then across to San Francisco.
"What is it?" Zach's hand glided up my arm, squeezing my shoulder.
"I saw him in San Fran. The day he killed Shorty. He was at our apartment. He nearly got me, but I managed to run..." I closed my eyes, hearing the glass shatter around me as I threw myself through the ranch slider and then over the balcony.
"When did this happen?" Alex's voice was mercifully soft.
"December." I swallowed. "Just after Marlin was taken."
"Did he talk to you?"
I sipped at the coffee, delaying my response to Alex's question. "A little, he was pretty triumphant at finally catching me. I've become a game for him. He was mad that he didn't get me the night he killed my parents. Your revenge theory might be spot on, you know. Not for my parents, but for me." I shook my head, knowing I sounded completely confusing. "I don't think he meant to kill my dad that night, well not when he did anyway. He was really pissed when that the gun went off. He wanted that information. Whatever my dad had found out obviously scared him. That's why he was threatening my dad with the thought of hurting me. If he'd got to me that night, I have no doubt in my mind, that he would have tortured me in front of my father until he had every scrap of evidence Dad had on him." I gripped my now empty coffee mug until the pads of my fingers started hurting. "When he first saw me in Sacramento after all that time and then realized it was me, I think it must have sparked something within him. Maybe he could never let that night go, knowing there was even a chance I was out there."
"Your testimony could bury him." Alex nodded.
"Only if it were believed, which he could easily make sure never happens."
"Then why the obsession?" Zach squeezed the back of his neck, obviously struggling to hear me talk about this all so openly.
"It's like he needs closure on this case and my death will be that for him. He told me that he's a man of his word. He promised my dad that he'd make me suffer and I don't think he'll rest until then."
Alex's eyes rounded as he ran a hand through his wayward curls. "I'm surprised he hasn't started a nation wide manhunt for you."
"I've often wondered that too, but I think he just wants to do this quietly. Find me alone one day and end me...all by himself. Like if it doesn't happen that way, he's somehow lost the game."
The stillness that followed my blunt statement was unnerving and I was actually grateful when the doorbell rang. Zach jumped up from the table, checking his watch as he headed for the door. Alex scrambled to pull down the sheet of paper, sliding it behind the curtain then leaning against the wall to cover the remainder sticking out the end.
I held my breath as Zach eased the door open.
"Hey, Jae." The cheer in his voice was forced. We all heard it and looked at each other as we waited for the red-headed firecracker to walk through the door.
"Where have you been? I called you like five times yesterday."
"Yeah, sorry, my phone ran out of battery."
"That's why you recharge it, dumbass." I saw a flash of her curls as she chuckled, playfully punching Zach in the arm. "So, where've you been?"
"Um..." Zach let out a breath. "I...uh...well, you know, Elliot and I decided to spontaneously head to L.A."
I closed my eyes as Alex let out an irritated huff. "What is he doing?" he whispered to Elliot.