Page 52 of Built of Illusions
He was missing something. Following his intuition, he studied the newest photos, the ones of Irena Black in Fresno. The scene they’d just left. She’d been killed in her home, in the living room. Her tiny house didn’t boast a foyer and it looked as if she’d opened the door and he’d surprised her.
She’d been setting up a train set for her nephew whose birthday was in a few days. She’d set up the tracks on a piece of plywood and added a few landscape pieces. More landscape pieces, buildings and trains sat in a box waiting their turn.
Bright, colourful trains. Old-fashioned used ones along with shiny new pieces. It looked like Irena had scoured thrift stores to put together an awesome present for the boy.
Well, hell.
They’d rifled through the box looking for souvenirs, but had overlooked the bridge piece. Golden Gate Bridge. In San Francisco. Was it part of the original train set or a Nelson souvenir?
“Spit it out, already, Rivera.”
He turned to see Roman had walked up beside him. He pointed at the photo. “Golden Gate Bridge.”
Roman studied it and swore. “That’s probably it. It doesn’t look to be the same material as the other items in the train set. I’ll call over there and give them an update. Maybe we’re ahead of him for once.”
That would be nice, but it wasn’t something Nico was going to count on. His phone rang with a call from Josie, which was weird because she tended to text. Panic bouncing in his blood, he answered. “Josie. What’s up?”
“Nico.”
Relief made him sag against the table. But her voice was small and that wasn’t typical for her.
When she spoke, it was shaky. “Troy just called.” Troy Phail ran Phail General, a store in the nearby town that had been passed down through the generations.
“What’s happened, Josie?”
“A package was delivered for me to the store. It came addressed to me here at Midnight Lake. Do you know of anyone who could have sent me anything?”
Only one and it made his blood chill. “Where’s the package, Josie? Did you touch it?”
“No. Troy was concerned when he saw my name on it. He didn’t have my number, but he called Sam to see what we wanted to do with it.”
Good. Troy was former military and one of the townspeople who had quickly become part of their trusted circle. Nico was glad his friend had recognized the anomaly and had forewarned them. “That’s good.”
“It’s postmarked from Sacramento. Do you think it’s from him? From Adrian Nelson?”
He wanted to lie, but she was worth more than that. “Probably.” And it was all kinds of bad news. He knew more about their investigation that any of them had expected. Or at least, he knew more about Josie’s connection to Nico and his friends.
Josie blew out a breath. “I think so too. If he’s watching, we could leave it there and make him think I’m not here. Or I could go and pick it up.”
“No. Absolutely not.”
Her chuckle was soft. “And there’s Mr. Bossy Spiffy Suit. I can make my own decisions, Nico.”
His skin flushed and he was glad he hadn’t put her on speaker for Roman to hear. “Josie, promise me you won’t do anything foolish.”
Her eye-roll was audible across the miles. “Slightly better, but still a command.”
He shouldn’t be smiling. This was serious. “Fine. Would you please stay on Midnight Lake property and let one of the experts who surround you deal with the package?”
She laughed softly but he could hear the shaking in her voice when she spoke. “Actually, I wasn’t planning to go anywhere. I just wanted your input before Sam and I go tell the others.”
His heart swelled. She’d called him first. Wanted his input. “Damn it, I wish I was there. I’ll be on the first plane I can get.”
“You don’t need to do that. Stay and do your job.”
Screw the job. It didn’t matter anymore.
That gave him pause as he thought it through. It was true. The job wasn’t it for him anymore. Josie was. She was what he wanted.