It was good to visit. Sean was going to have to do it more often.
But he couldn’t wait to go home and see his son, Jesse.
After catching up with Duke, Sean saw John Black talking with Jack on the back porch. He excused himself and went over to talk to them. John said, “I was just telling Jack that I was late because I was at the hospital. Ellen Dupre is out of her coma and gave her statement.”
“She’s okay? Really okay?”
“Yes—they expect a full recovery, though they’ll be monitoring her closely for the next forty-eight hours.”
“What did she say about the attack?” Jack asked.
“She saw the man on the roof and thought it was fishy, so she went back with the drone. She planned to enhance the tape and turn it over to authorities, and admitted she was preoccupied when she stepped out of the van to retrieve the drone. She didn’t see who attacked her and doesn’t remember getting hit. She remembers nothing until waking up last night.”
“Is she up for visitors?” Sean asked.
“Call Marc. I’m sure she’d love it.”
“Lucy and I will stop by tomorrow morning on our way to the airport.”
“You nailed it, Rogan.”
Jack smiled. “Sean’s really good at making us mere mortals feel inferior.”
“I’m just glad that no one got seriously hurt,” Sean said. “You have them all in custody, right?”
“No one slipped away. Beth Robinson is being held separately. Though she was a crime scene technician, she’s still law enforcement, we want to make sure she’s safe. The DA is concerned about her previous cases, so he’s going to interview her himself on Monday—what we don’t want is every case she worked to be a potential reversal. I don’t think it’ll happen—from what she said, she and her husband kept their thieving separate from her work. They were hired thieves. She’s going to make a full statement in exchange for leniency, but they’ll all be doing some time. I’m going to talk to the DA— if they agree to testify against Feliciano’s uncle, they’ll probably do three to five. Frank Robinson, Doug’s brother, will do additional time for the assault on Ellen. No less than ten years.”
“What kind of things did they steal? They weren’t just embezzling?”
“They started in corporate espionage. Doug used to work for a computer software company, which is where he met Andy Ralston, the fourth partner. The company paid Doug and Andy to hack into a new competitor’s system to retrieve proprietary data. They discovered they were good at it. Doug told Beth—he apparently felt guilty—and she waylaid his fears, and started seeking out other jobs. During a divorce case she stole jewelry from the wife to give back to the husband. Made ten thousand on that. Another time they stole an heirloom given to one kid in the parents’ will, the other kid was jealous. In fact, most of their crimes paid between five and ten thousand, usually personal things, personal griefs. Andy was good at breaking security systems, Doug was better at computer hacking and planning. But none of their crimes would have jump-started a major investigation because the dollar amounts weren’t all that high. Probably could have done it for years. Then they brought Doug’s brother Frank aboard, and he got them several big jobs. I think they got greedy, so when Nick Feliciano’s uncle hired them to steal Nick’s trust—and paid a half million up front—they didn’t think it through.”
“Did you find Ralston?” Jack asked.
“Yep, when they changed the plan from hacking the system on-site to using Lesko, Ralston wasn’t needed. We arrested him while he was binge-watching Netflix. We don’t have much on him, other than Beth’s statement, but when we ran his prints we learned he’s wanted by the FBI for cybercrimes. The FBI will take custody of him on Monday.”
“Sounds like a win all around,” Jack said.
“It is. I owe you both. And your wife, Sean. She was a great partner on this case. I already told her that, and will be sending a note to her office for her file.”
“She would appreciate that. Thank you.”
Sean excused himself and tracked down Lucy, who was talking to Dean Hooper. Dean said, “What a night you two had. I’m surprised you made it out here today.”
“We’re going back to San Antonio tomorrow, and we wanted to see everyone before we left. But I’m actually taking my wife away from all this.”
“You’re not staying?”
“Like you said, we had a night. I think early to bed is on the schedule.” He looked at Lucy.
“I completely agree,” she said.
They said their goodbyes to everyone and left.
“You’re not upset that we bailed early, are you?” Sean asked.
“Not at all. I like everyone there, but we did the rounds, and all I want is to relax. And isn’t there a rooftop hot tub on the concierge level?”
“Yes, there is.”
“Sounds like heaven.”
“Are you still sore?”
“Nothing that the hot tub, a glass of champagne, and making love to my husband won’t fix.”
He leaned over and kissed her. “Your wish is my command.”
* * *
ALLISON BRENNAN is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over thirty novels. Most recently, she was nominated for Best Paperback Original Thriller by the International Thriller Writers and is a two-time winner of the Daphne du Maurier Award by Kiss of Death. Married for more than a quarter of a century, Allison and her husband Dan raised five children. They recently relocated from California to Arizona with their two youngest where they are looking forward to baseball’s Spring Training and exploring the Grand Canyon.
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Look for Allison Brennan’s other bestselling Lucy Kincaid novels
COLD AS ICE
NO WAY OUT (novella)
CUT AND RUN (with Maxine Revere)
STORM WARNING (novella)
NOTHING TO HIDE
TOO FAR GONE
BREAKING POINT
MAKE THEM PAY
THE LOST GIRLS
NO GOOD DEED
BEST LAID PLANS
DEAD HEAT
COLD SNAP
STOLEN
RECKLESS (novella)
SILENCED
IF I SHOULD DIE
KISS ME, KILL ME
LOVE IS MURDER (novella)
LOVE ME TO DEATH
And don’t miss the thrilling Maxine Revere series
ABANDONED
SHATTERED (with Lucy Kincaid)
POISONOUS
COMPULSION
NOTORIOUS
MAXIMUM EXPOSURE (novella)
All available from St. Martin’s Paperbacks
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Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
First published in the United States by St. Martin’s Paperbacks, an imprint of St. Martin’s Publishing Group
“A Deeper Fear” copyright © 2021 by Allison Brennan.
All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Pub
lishing Group, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271.
www.stmartins.com
Cover design by Ervin Serrano
Cover art: woman © FotoDuets/Shutterstock; street © KoreaKHW/Shutterstock
Author photo © Brittan Dodd
eISBN 9781250767875 (ebook)
First eBook Edition: 2021
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