Page 30 of Nyx

That must be why she's running. If she knows the guy is out of prison, then her fear must have multiplied the day he was released.

"He served eight years and seven months. He's almost halfway through his three-year parole sentence," Max adds.

"When did she leave her hometown?" Shadow asks.

"The last action I saw on credit cards was the day of his sentencing," Max says.

"She's been running ever since?" Kincaid asks.

"From the looks of it," Max answers. "She mentioned working in eight different women's shelters, but the city count I've been able to find tracing her is higher. She doesn't seem to stay in one place more than thirteen to sixteen months tops."

"She has to be exhausted," Shadow mutters. "Poor woman."

"Makes me wonder if she even knows that he's been released on parole," Kincaid says.

"She may not," Max says. "If she's worried about a virtual footprint and doesn't want even her alias in a database with the court system, she may not have looked him up since she initially left."

"How hard would it be for him to find her?" Shadow asks.

"What makes you think he hasn't already?" I growl.

"She emailed the director at her last job, which was in Junction City, Kansas, to quit her job. She has never left a job without sending some kind of notice. I imagine she does that so no one raises red flags at her disappearance."

"Smart," Kincaid praises.

"But," Max continues. "She left in a hurry. It's possible he located her, but I had to do some deep digging to track her over the years, accessing databases most people wouldn't have access to."

"But his family has the money to hire someone who could track her the same way you did," Kincaid says, and his words drop like a bomb in the middle of the room.

"So it's highly likely he's still looking for her?" I ask, already knowing the answer.

Shadow pulls in a deep breath before speaking. "I mean, nearly eleven and a half years later? Maybe?"

"Spending over eight and a half years incarcerated and the last eighteen months under supervision? That's a long time to plan vengeance," Kincaid says. "And we all know how much time inmates have on their hands. I'd say it's very likely. A guy like Graham Whitmore, from what we've been presented with, doesn't seem like the kind of guy who's going to take a loss and not try to get a little retribution when he gets a chance."

"I'm still digging to see what he was really like in prison, but according to their records, he was violent the first couple of years with multiple infractions. He refused counseling at first, but by his third year, he had learned how to play the game. He went through anger management, even had a job in the kitchen, but we all know the difference between looking compliant with prison rules and actually being compliant."

"He learned the system," Kincaid mutters.

"Of course he did," Shadow says. "He wouldn't get out if he kept acting up. I can't imagine the rage that built up in him every day he worked in the kitchen. Going from being a rich asshole with all that money at his fingertips to a job serving other inmates their meals? I bet the rage just built for years and years, and revenge for what he no doubt views as degradation is probably higher than what he was feeling about her before lockup."

"He's been compliant for the last eighteen months on parole?" Kincaid asks.

"From the looks of it," Max answers. "No issues written up in his case notes."

"Ankle monitor?" Shadow asks.

"No," Max replies. "Just your basic parole requirements. He does have travel restrictions, of course, but no digital monitoring. I don't even know if he would've been released on one if she had stuck around long enough to request enhanced supervision. His parole requires that he have no contact with the victim."

"Something made her leave Kansas in a hurry," Kincaid says. "Any evidence you can find that he attempted or made contact with her?"

"I'm still digging, but nothing has come up yet," Max says.

"It's also possible that he's waiting until he's done with supervision completely to make his move," I interject.

"That's a hell of a lot of patience," Shadow says.

"Especially for a man who stabbed his wife in a fit of rage," Kincaid adds. "But not completely unheard of."