Page 137 of State of Retribution

“I still don’t get why they had to kill four people,” Avery said.

“The only connection we can make is that they were killed to draw me out into the field where they could continue their sick plan.We’ve had a break on that part of the case with a witness to the second murder coming forward to identify a white Nissan Altima with District plates as the car the murderer was riding in.He was walking behind the victim and saw the whole thing go down.We’ve put out the info to Patrol, and Detective Green is working on getting a full list of every white Altima registered in the District.”

Cameron looked up from his phone.“My contact at the DMV said he’d have the list of owners to me within the hour.”

“I don’t know about you,” the chief said to Hill, “but I want that warrant for Offenbach’s property, and I want it right now.”

Hill nodded.“You read my mind.”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Awarrant was issued for Offenbach’s property in Herndon less than an hour later.To keep things clean, the FBI was handling the raid with no involvement by Offenbach’s MPD colleagues.The FBI would request backup from the Herndon Police Department at the last minute, in case Offenbach had friends in that department who might tip him off to the pending raid.

“What if we’re wrong about him?”Sam asked Freddie when they were alone in the conference room.

“Do you really think we are?”

“I don’t know what to think.”

“You do know,” he said.“You just hate to realize that yet another of our fellow officers has turned out to be a criminal.”

“We don’t know that yet.”

“Don’t we?”

“You seem very sure.”

“That guy has had it out for you since the minute you reported he wasn’t at that conference.He thinks everything that’s happened to him since then is your fault.He doesn’t take one ounce of accountability in that situation.He even got away with punching you in the face when you refused to press charges.”

A thought hit Sam like a bolt of lightning from above.“Freddie.”

“What?”

“Remember when we were eliminating sniper suspects, and I sent you upstairs to ask Archie to track Offenbach’s phone, and he objected because it didn’t sit right with him to treat a fellow officer like a criminal?He said he wouldn’t do it without a damned good reason.”

“It’s starting to come back to me.”

“Archie was adamantly opposed.You brought him down to the pit to tell me that himself, and I took him to the morgue to see Vanessa Marchand’s body.”The six-year-old had been shot by the sniper while leaving a city park with her father.“Remember?I told him she was my damned good reason.”

“I do.”

“That’s why he snatched Harlowe.Offenbach knew I never would’ve found him without Archie’s help.He’d been following Archie and knew he was seeing her.This is why!”Sam pulled her phone out of her pocket and called Avery.“I’m now almost one hundred percent sure that Offenbach is involved.”She filled him in on what she’d remembered.“He also has a beef with Archie, and he’s waited all this time for revenge against both of us.”

“This is good info, Sam.We’ll add this info to the file.”

“I’ll let Archie know what’s going on.Keep me posted.”

“Will do.”

She slapped the phone closed.“Can I admit to being a tiny bit relieved that there’s a direct connection to Archie and that Offenbach wouldn’t have grabbed his girlfriendonlybecause of his connection to me?”

“That’s some twisted logic there, but shockingly, I get what you’re saying.”

“I didn’t want what happened to her to be my fault.”

“Sam, none of this is your fault.”

“Feels like it is, you know?”

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