"For the moment, let's assume Glen was the target, not you. Would you agree if they wanted him dead, they could've easily done it?"
"They did kill him."
"But you said he attacked the gunman who'd captured you. Maybe killing him wasn't their plan."
She just stared.
"What if they wanted to render Glen, not you? Getting their hands on you was just gravy, so to speak."
"No, that can't be right. He didn't know anything."
"I know this is painful, LG, I'm sorry."
She put her fork down with some force. "You're the ones who brought up Occam's razor. Aren't we getting a little presumptuous here?"
He needed to slow things down. "Let's go back to the chain of events. You were both in your bedroom when the alarm went off. What did Glen say?"
"What did he say? I don't know. He asked who I was texting."
"What else?"
"He mentioned our dogs . . ."
"What about them?" He remembered the dogs being one of the first things Linda mentioned when he found her in the kitchen.
"He didn't like leaving them in the bedroom, but I didn't want them following us, so I locked them in the closet."
"Did he say anything else?"
"No, I told him to be quiet. When the bangers went off, I told him to hide in the linen closet because I didn't want him slowing me down."
"After the fight in the kitchen, did he say anything more?"
"Why are you guys making me relive this? He's dead!"
Harv stepped in. "Easy, LG. We're not ganging up on you."
"I just hate thinking about it."
Neither of them said anything, giving her some time.
"He told me he was sorry."
"Sorry? You mean about the attack?" asked Nathan.
She closed her eyes.
"I'm sure he didn't blame you for it."
Across the table, his friend held up a hand. He nodded and didn't say anything. He knew Harv wanted LG to work through the events without any coaching. Anything else might taint her recollection.
She pressed her eyes tighter. "He was worried about our dogs again. He told me to get them out. Then he said he loved me. I told him not to talk and that I'd call an ambulance . . . I hated lying to him. I felt so helpless. The Ketamine had begun to work on me. If he said anything more after that, I can't remember it. I don't even remember anything I said with you."
"You asked if your dogs were okay. I heard them barking and you told me they were in your bedroom closet."
"I can't remember any of that. It's like it never happened."
"You told me their collars were in a kitchen drawer, their leashes too. I passed that on to Cantrell. It's how her team handed the dogs off to Harv before you woke up."
"It's scary not remembering stuff like that."
"To take your dogs out, you have to put their collars on, right?"
She nodded. "Collars and leashes. We always did, even on short trips."
"I do too," Nathan said. "No matter how well-trained your dogs are, you want their collars on for ID purposes. They could-"
LG's face changed. "Oh, dear Lord."
"What? What's wrong?"
She got up from the table. "Their collars! The crosses!"
"What about them?" Harv asked, also getting up.
"Glen said it a bunch of times: 'Never thumb your nose at them, they might save your life someday.' What if he didn't mean that figuratively as a Christian, what if he meant it literally?"
Nathan frowned.
"Their crosses!" She almost fell, trying to get up on her crutches so quickly.
He and Harv followed her toward the front door. "Slow down, LG. You're going to fall."
"Elsa! Morgen!" She left the door open and hobbled out to the driveway. Grant and Sherman bounded out behind her.
"What's going on?" Nathan asked.
"I saw an email on Glen's computer a long time ago. It was from a company that made custom thumb drives. Elsa! Morgen!"
Her shepherds came trotting around the corner from Nathan's garage, their white crosses dangling from their collars.
"When I asked him about it, he said he'd decided not to order them, but the email was a receipt. I never made the connection because there wasn't a drawing of the crosses. He gave them to our dogs as Christmas presents. Don't you see? What if you're right? What if Glen was the target, not me?"
"Then he had something Cornejo wants," Harv said.
She unhooked one of the dogs' crosses and examined it. "There's a tiny seam in the middle." She tried pulling at it, but it wouldn't budge.
"Harv, give it a try," Nathan said.
Harv pulled at it with some force and it wouldn't come apart. He produced a small pocketknife, forced its blade into the seam, and twisted.
When it separated, the three of them stared at the USB connection in stunned silence.
Nothing needed to be said.
They hurried into the house and went upstairs to Nathan's small office. He felt his stomach tighten with that tingling again as he plugged it into his Mac.
He clicked on the drive and received a password screen.
"Crap," he said. "Linda?"
"I don't know."
"Is there something you both use? A gate code, anything like that?" Harv asked.
"We don't have a gate at our driveway. The only thing I can think of would be our security-alarm code." She gave it to them.
Nathan tensed as he entered the numbers. "It worked."
A list of files appeared, most of them Excel and Word. The first one was a video, dated five years ago.
He double-clicked it.
CHAPTER 31.
Glen's face filled the screen. LG put a hand over her mouth and leaned into Harv.
"Linda, if you're viewing this video, I'm probably dead or missing and Daniel Cornejo is likely behind it. Please know how much I've always loved you. When I first saw you in Caracas, you took my breath away. You weren't only my rescuer, you were the most amazing woman I'd ever met. We would've had beautiful children had we been able to. I loved you with all my heart, mind, and soul."
Nathan paused the video, looked at Linda, and knew at a glance she'd never had a clue. Her expression couldn't be faked.
She looked from him to Harv and didn't say anything. She didn't have to.
"Everything makes perfect sense now," Nathan said. "If you don't want to watch this-"
"No, I need to."
He resumed the video.
"Nathan McBride and Harvey Fontana came out of retirement to help rescue me. If you two are seeing this, please accept my deepest thanks. Please look after Linda."
Glen tried to smile, but it looked forced.
"We fought a lot because we're so opposite, you and me. You were always hotheaded, passionate. I was calm and collected. Some would've said 'cold.' They say opposites attract, it's hard to argue with the truth. And you deserve the truth.
"I first met Daniel Cornejo at a Caracas resort. We got to talking and he said he needed a good investment consultant. Please believe me, I didn't know what he was. By the time I did, it was too late. I was already in over my head. I won't make any excuses, but I was seduced by the prospect of having such a large client. My business was floundering and Cornejo was like a dream come true.
"Contained on this flash drive are the personal financial records I stole from Cornejo's computer."
Glen averted his eyes from the camera and shook his head slowly. Then he faced the camera once more.
"When I first saw these files, I couldn't believe the numbers. As you'll see, his cocaine-smuggling income was over a million dollars a day, and he used his oil-drilling business to launder much of the drug money worldwide. He bought gold bullion, original art, expensive antiques and coins . . . you name it. He must have five or ten tons of gold in his wine cellar. He took me down there once. It's like a labyrinth. As Venezuela's attorney general back then, he was untouchable. His enemies had a habit of disappearing, like I almost did."
Glen paused and his face reflected pain. It looked like he was about to melt down.
"I hated what his wealth represented, but that's no excuse. Stealing is wrong, even when it's from a man like Cornejo. Over a period of three years, I siphoned over forty million dollars from his accounts. I'm not proud of what I did, but please believe what I'm about to say: I didn't keep any of it. I gave all of it to charities. Every last penny. I thought if I could put some of his money to good use, it might make up for some of the horrible suffering he'd caused.
"It was my own fault, being kidnapped. Cornejo invited me down to discuss some new investments he wanted to make. When I arrived at the mansion, Tomas and Ursula Bustamonte were waiting because Cornejo had discovered the missing money. Ursula beat me for days but I knew as soon as I caved, I'd be killed. I'm not sure I could've held out much longer. I'd befriended many of his staff and one of his young female servants got word to the FBI that I was being held. She knew I was an American. Had she not done that, no one would've ever known my fate. When he found out someone betrayed him, he went crazy. He tortured his staff until he found out who did it. The poor woman died horribly and her death will always weigh heavily on my conscience.
"After we started dating several months later, you told me Cornejo put a bounty on your head. When you said he offered to double it if you were delivered alive, I knew I had to act. I sent him copies of the files I'd stolen and told him he was safe as long as he left you alone. I should've turned everything over years ago and faced whatever consequences I deserved. Instead, I turned the files into our insurance policy. If he left us alone, I'd leave him alone. These flash drives aren't the only copies. Others have them too. Sleeper measures to insure that, if anything ever happened to me, Cornejo would be exposed. You have to understand I did it to protect you. I'm sorry I never told you.
"The Word file called NOMBRES contains a list of people who Cornejo might consider threats. I wasn't his only consultant; there were at least half a dozen others all over the world. You'll be shocked to see how much money the man laundered. The numbers are hard to wrap your head around.
"The file called NINOS contains hundreds of portrait-type photos taken with an early digital camera. None of them are pornographic but the numbers under the pictures with lots of zeroes must be prices. Once I saw them, I knew I had to get out, and did. I have no idea why Cornejo kept them, maybe he planned to blackmail the buyers someday. There are other files as well. Cleverly hidden records of extortions, ransoms, and what I believe are contracts for murder.
"There's more you need to know, but I don't know if it will be useful. Tomas and Ursula Bustamonte are his illegitimate children. The man you killed on the couch was their adoptive father. The twins were Cornejo's flesh and blood, but he never told them because he didn't want to share his wealth."
He paused for a few seconds.
"Nothing I can say will justify what I did and I won't make any excuses. All the charitable donations in the world aren't enough to undo what I did, but I'd hoped it would at least purge some of the guilt I felt. It never did.
"I've asked God for forgiveness. I hope you can forgive me as well. I love you, Linda. I always have. I hope you'll find it in your heart to forgive me and remember the best times we had together."
The video ended. No one said anything for a few seconds.
"He wasn't a bad man," she whispered.
"Harv and I know that, but we need to call Cantrell right away and send these files to her. Maybe she can save some of the people on the list."
Linda stared at the list of files. "After he'd been given his new identity, he bought the house in La Jolla. We had our first date in it. He made me dinner. He was always secretive about money. I never asked him about it. Maybe if I had-"
"None of this is your fault," Harv interrupted. "Don't start second-guessing yourself. It's going to take you a long time to process what we've just seen."
She turned to face them. "I don't know if I can be alone right now."
Harv put an arm around her. "We'll always be here for you."
CHAPTER 32.