“Four years older,” supplied Ray.

“We don’t know anyone from that area,” said Sally. “If Justin does . . . did . . . I didn’t know about it.” Her voice wavered.

Mason raised a brow at Ray. Anything else? A subtle shake of the head answered him. “We’re going to head out. There will be at least one Washington County deputy in front of your house for the next few days to help with any crowd control—”

“Crowd control?” Eric grabbed at his wife’s arm to steady her. “You think that’s going to be necessary?”

“I hope not,” Mason lied. “But if you need them, you’ll be glad they’re there. They can keep media away, too.”

Mason took a breath and pushed out the words that’d been on his brain for the last half hour. “A word of advice from my experience in this sort of situation. Stay away from social media sites and reading any comments on news articles. This sort of thing brings out the trolls and haters posting bullshit, looking to stir up trouble. You won’t find any information there that you can’t get from us. You’ll only find heartbreak and anger.”

An awkward silence filled the room. He’d had to say it. They deserved to be warned.

“Call us if you think of anything else,” he added, placing his cowboy hat back on his head. He touched the brim and nodded good-bye to the couple. Ray followed him out the door.

Mason welcomed the slap of heat on his back. The Yoder house air conditioning had been running at full blast. He was relieved to see no media vans or trucks on the street.

“They’re holding back the name as long as they can,” said Ray, looking down the quiet street. “This neighborhood is going to be in shock in a few hours.”

Mason thought of Sally Yoder’s fragile mask and the cracks that’d opened during the interview.

Losing her son was just the beginning.

11

“They found his car!”

Sergeant Shaver rose out of his chair at the officer’s announcement and started to leave the video he’d been watching with Ava and Zander, but Zander stopped him. “I’d like to go.”

Ava opened her mouth to chime in. And then closed it.

Not my case.

That’s not going to stop me.

She knew how to make herself indispensable. Or invisible. Whichever was needed to get a look at Justin Yoder’s vehicle. Shaver glanced at Zander and nodded. Ava said nothing, but she caught Shaver’s gaze. She saw him take a quick look around the room and then give a tiny jerk of his head toward the door.

Yes!

The three of them rode in Shaver’s car to a quiet neighborhood roughly a half mile from the mall. “They got the history of the weapon, too,” said Shaver on the drive. “It was reported stolen two months ago.”

“Two months?” Ava repeated. “Has he been planning this that long?” Her mind raced. So far every movement that had been made by Justin Yoder spoke of extensive planning.

“Who knows how long he’s had the fantasy,” answered Shaver.

“Where was the weapon stolen from?” asked Zander.

“A private party. The owner has an extensive weapons collection. All aboveboard according to my investigator who talked with him. He’s not positive of the exact date when the weapon was stolen. He has a special locked room for them in his basement and returned from vacation to find his house broken into. Several items were missing, including three other weapons and some small electronics. According to my investigator, he could have lost a lot more, including several large flat-screen TVs. They theorized the crooks took what they could carry.”

“If they were on vacation, the crooks could have come back and cleaned them out,” commented Ava. “Where does he live?”

Shaver met her gaze in the rearview mirror. “Less than a mile from the Yoders.”

“The other weapons haven’t turned up?” asked Zander.

“Not yet. The burglary investigation went cold. No prints, no witnesses, no leads.”

“Until now,” said Ava. She looked out the window. It couldn’t be a coincidence that Justin lived so close. “But that many missing items could indicate more than one thief. Has anyone talked to Justin’s friends?”

“Not yet. We’re putting together a short list based on his parents’ suggestions and asking his boss who Justin hung out with at work.”

So many threads to follow.

“Zander, the link to your international jewelry fence is looking weaker and weaker,” Ava said. “I don’t think they hire guys who work at Big John’s to do their dirty work.”

He turned in the front seat and gave her a wry grin. “Never say never. Until we have a motive for Justin I’m not ruling it out.”

Her mind continued to race through possibilities. “What about the shooter in the Eugene incident in June? He was about Justin’s age, right? Has that connection been explored?”

“That’s been assigned to Callahan,” answered Shaver. “He’ll follow up on that lead.”

Zander scowled. “That shooter was a bit older.” Ava watched his fingers tap a rhythm on his thigh. “Were the weapons stolen before or after the shooting in Eugene?”

“Can’t tell. The owners were gone for a week over the date of the June shooting. It could have happened right before or after, but the weapon in the Eugene shooting didn’t belong to him. The leads on that weapon have gone cold.”