“Fair enough. You asked why I told you this now. It is because Monte Leburne is now dead.”

“But he confessed to the killing.”

“Indeed. He also said that I had nothing to do with it.”

“Right, but he also said you had nothing to do with the other two hits. Are you going to deny those too?”

He turned his head toward her just a little bit. His face hardened. “I’m not here to talk about the other two. Not in any way. Do you understand my meaning?”

She did. He wasn’t confessing, but then again, as opposed to her father, he wasn’t denying it either. The message was clear: Yeah, I did those two, but not your dad.

But that didn’t mean she had to believe him.

Cozone wanted her off his back. That was the point of all this. He would spin any tale to get his way.

“What I’m going to tell you now is confidential,” Cozone said. “Are we clear on that?”

Kat nodded because, again, it didn’t matter. If he gave her information and she needed to use it, her quasi promise to a prominent killer wouldn’t stop her. He probably knew that too.

“Let’s travel back in time, shall we? To the day Monte Leburne was arrested. You see, when the feds nabbed Monte, I was somewhat worried. No reason to talk about why. Monte had always been one of my most loyal employees. I reached out to him immediately.”

“How? He was in isolation.”

He frowned. “Please.”

He was right. Cozone would have his connections. It was also irrelevant.

“Anyway, I promised Monte that if he continued to be the loyal employee I knew that he was, his family would receive a generous compensation package.”

A bribe. “And if he didn’t stay loyal?”

“We don’t need to go into hypotheticals, Kat, do we?”

He looked at her.

“I guess not.”

“Besides, even with strong threats, many employees have sold out their bosses to better their own lot. I hoped to discourage Monte Leburne from doing that with a carrot rather than a stick.”

“Seems you were successful.”

“Yes, I was. But it didn’t work out exactly as I had planned.”

“How so?”

Cozone started to twist a ring around his finger. “As you probably know, Monte Leburne was originally arrested on charges involving two homicides.”

“Right.”

“He asked me for permission to confess to a third.”

Kat just sat there for a moment. She waited for him to say more, but he suddenly seemed exhausted. “Why would he do that?”

“Because it didn’t matter. He had a life sentence.”

“Still. He didn’t confess for the fun of it.”

“No, he didn’t.”

“So why?”

“Let me explain why we haven’t talked before. Part of my arrangement with Monte Leburne was that it would remain between the two of us. I won’t hand you a line about honor among thieves, but I want you to understand. I couldn’t say anything because I was sworn to secrecy. If I did, I would be betraying a loyal employee.”

“Who might in return change his mind about not implicating you.”

“The pragmatic is always a consideration,” Cozone agreed. “But mostly, I wanted to demonstrate to Monte and to my other employees that I am a man of my word.”

“And now?”

Cozone shrugged. “He’s dead. The agreement is therefore null and void.”

“So you’re free to talk.”

“If I wish. Naturally, I would prefer that you kept this between us. You’ve always believed that I killed your father. I am here to tell you that I didn’t.”

She asked the obvious: “Who did?”

“I don’t know.”

“Did Leburne have anything to do with it?”

“No.”

“Do you know why he confessed?”

He spread his arms. “Why would anyone?”

“Money?”

“For one thing.”

“What else?”

“This is where it gets trickier, Kat.”

“What do you mean?”

“He was promised favors.”

“What kind of favors?”

“Better treatment in prison. A better cell. Extra rations. Employment help for his nephew.”

Kat frowned. “Who provided him with that?”

“He never told me.”

“But you have your suspicions.”

“It does me no good to talk about hypotheticals.”

“So you’ve said. What kind of job did the nephew get?”

“It wasn’t a job. It was more getting into a school.”

“What kind of school?”

“The police academy.”

The skies opened up as though on cue. The rain began over the ocean, swirling the current. It slowly moved over the yard and toward them. Cozone rose and stood back a little, so as to stay fully under the roof. Kat did the same.

“Leslie will give you a ride back to your car,” Cozone said.

“I have more questions.”

“I’ve said too much as it is.”

“And if I don’t believe you?”

Cozone shrugged. “Then we continue as we have.”

“With no understanding?”

“So be it,” he said.

She thought about all he had said, about honor among thieves, about understandings and agreements. “Understandings don’t matter after someone dies, right?”

He said nothing.

“I mean, that’s what you said. Whatever deal you and Leburne worked out, it’s over now.”

“Correct.”

Smiley Leslie appeared. But Kat didn’t move.

“You also had an understanding with my father,” Kat said. Her voice sounded funny in her own ears. “That’s what you said.”

The rain pounded down on the roof. She had to speak louder to be heard.

“Do you know who Sugar is?” she asked him.

Cozone looked off. “You know about Sugar?”

“To some degree.”

“So why are you asking me?”

“Because I want to talk to her.”

His face tilted in a question.

“If you don’t know anything about who killed my father,” Kat said, “maybe Sugar does.”

Cozone might have nodded. “Maybe.”

“So I want to meet her,” Kat said. “Does that make sense?”

“In some ways,” he said almost too carefully.

“Could you help me find her?”

Cozone looked toward Leslie. Leslie didn’t move. Still Cozone said, “We could try, yes.”

“Thank you.”

“Under one condition.”

“That being?”

“You promise to leave my operation alone.”

“If you’re telling the truth about no involvement—”

“I am.”

“Then no problem,” she said.

He stuck out his hand. She reluctantly shook it, imagining all the blood that had once been on it, imagining it all flooding back and then splashing onto her. Cozone held on.

“Are you sure that’s what you want, Kat?”

“What?”

“Are you sure you want to meet Sugar?”

She pulled her hand away. “Yes, I’m sure.”

He looked back toward the churning waves. “I guess maybe that’s okay. I guess that maybe it’s time to let all the secrets out, no matter how destructive.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Kat asked.

But Cozone turned then and started to head inside. “Leslie will drive you back to your car. He will call you when he’s found an address on Sugar.”

Chapter 34

Titus asked Dana the same question a dozen more times. As he more or less expected, she stuck to her story. She didn’t know Kat. She had never seen her. She had no idea why she would be investigating anything involved with Dana’s disappearance.

Titus believed her.

He leaned back and rubbed his chin. Dana stared back at him. The slim flicker of hope remained in her eyes. Behind her, Reynaldo was leaning against the doorjamb. Titus wondered whether he could use Dana to get another payout, but no, he had always lived by the rule of patience. Don’t get greedy. It was time to cut the line. He would bet that Detective Kat Donavan hadn’t told anybody about her investigation yet. She had too little evidence, for one thing. For another, she wouldn’t want to admit how she had stumbled across this particular crime.

By stalking a former boyfriend.

He debated the pros and cons. On the one hand, once he removed Dana Phelps, it would be over. She would be dead and buried. There would be no clues. On the other hand, Kat Donovan had gotten further than anyone else. She had put together Gerard Remington’s disappearance with Dana Phelps’s. She had a personal stake in this now.