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“There’s no one herewho matches the profile,” Simon said. “We’ve checked everyone. No one whoobviously has the skills also lives near enough. So unless we go through all ofthem one by one to make sure that no one has traveled into Westford to do this,we’re not getting anywhere.”
Amber had an ideaabout that, one that drove away thoughts of Joseph, at least for the time being.He seemed to spend so much time thinking of Amber as a potential victim that itcouldn’t help sparking a thought in her.
“Then maybe we’relooking in the wrong place. Or looking the wrong way. Maybe we need to thinkless about who the killer is and more about who the killer’s next victims mightbe.”
“You think weshould take a look at people involved in Westford-Myer to try to establish whohe’s going to target?” Francesca said. “That’s potentially a lot of people.”
“What about peopledirectly involved in the project?” Amber suggested. “The closer they’reinvolved, the more likely they are to be a target, right? He’s looking forrevenge relating to a specific project, rather than the company as a whole.Maybe if we can work out a likely next target, we can shadow them and be therewhen the killer strikes.”
“It might work,”Simon said. “It’s better than trying to pick out a likely suspect from so manypeople with a potential motive. We could be here for weeks, checking everyone.”
He didn’t mentionthat they might not have weeks. Not when the killer had struck twice in two days.He was clearly accelerating, trying to kill as many of those connected with theproject as possible before the FBI caught up to him.
“The projectmembers are mentioned in the legal papers,” Francesca said. “It was a smallteam. The exec in charge and the marketing consultant are both dead. Thatleaves people higher up in the company, a few admin staff, and the engineers.”
“I thought DaveMuldeer was the engineer on the project?” Simon said.
“Dave Muldeer was anassistant engineer on the project, but the lead was a man named Steven Boon. Ifthe killer already murdered the assistant, does it make sense that he might goafter the lead engineer?”
To Amber the onlyquestion was why he hadn’t already targeted him.
“If he can get tohim,” Amber said, “does he still live in Westford?”
Simon was alreadytyping at his computer, clearly trying to find an answer to just that question.“Yes, the DMV says that he has an address here in town.”
Then it made sensefor them to go talk to him. At the very least, they needed to warn him to becareful, since Richard Myer wasn’t willing to put out a general warning to hisstaff. He seemed like a victim the killer would want to target almost more thananyone else.
Maybe if theywatched him, the killer would come to them.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
What would theyfind when they went to talk to Steven Boon? Would he even be alive, if theother members of his team had already been targeted?
Amber could barelyhold back the tension as she and the others drove to Steven Boon’s apartmentbuilding. Francesca was driving as quickly as ever, but Amber’s mind was racingwith thoughts about what they might find when they got there. What if thekiller was already there? What if they were too late?
Even Francesca’sreckless driving couldn’t get them there instantly, so Amber spent every one ofthe twists and turns on the way there hoping that they would be in time toprevent another tragedy.
Finally, they cameto a halt. As they pulled up to the building, Amber took a deep breath andtried to calm herself. They were trained for this, she reminded herself. Theyhad to be strong and focused if they were going to catch the killer before hecould hurt anyone else.
Amber couldn’thelp but feel a sense of urgency. She kept imagining the worst-case scenario:the killer could be inside, Steven Boon’s life in danger.
Amber looked overthe building. It was a tall, modern structure with glass walls and a sleekdesign. It looked to her like an expensive address. She found herself wonderingif this choice of address was funded by the success of Steven Boon’s pastprojects, or if it was down to the WM 120. Had he taken a payoff to say theright thing in the hearings? Was that why he was able to live so comfortablyhere?
Amber was surethat Francesca would want answers to that later, but for now, the focus had tobe on making sure that Steven Boon was all right. They hurried inside, takingthe elevator to the floor where Steven Boon’s apartment was located. As theelevator drew to a halt, Amber’s hand brushed her gun in an unconscious,nervous, gesture. Her conversation with Joseph had reminded her just howdangerous her job could be, setting her nerves on edge.
She, Francesca,and Simon exited the elevator, advancing on Steven Boon’s apartment. When theygot to Steven Boon’s door, Amber took the lead while the others stood to theside. They weren’t covering her, but it was obvious that they were ready forthe possibility of trouble there. Now that they’d identified Steven Boon as apotential victim, it was hard not to be on edge. She knocked firmly and waitedfor a response. There was no answer, so she knocked again, louder this time.
“Mr. Boon, this isthe FBI. We need to talk to you,” she called out. “We have some questions.”
That was true. Boonmight be a target, but he was also a potential source of information. Amberdidn’t trust that the CEO of Westford-Myer had given them all the informationthere was about the project. There was every chance that the engineer couldtell them more, perhaps even point them in the direction of the killer. He’dobviously been closer to the project than Richard Myer.
Still, there wasno response. That was worrying, especially given all the fears that had ledthem there. At the same time, they couldn’t just break down the door to StevenBoon’s apartment because they were worried. Not without more. What if he wasjust at work somewhere, or had simply stepped out for a walk around the block?
Simon seemed to bethinking the same thing.
“I’ll try to finda number to call him on,” he said. “Francesca, Amber, you try his neighbors.Let’s try to establish if any of them have seen him recently.”
Amber nodded,grateful for something to do. She and Francesca split up and began knocking ondoors, looking for any neighbors who were home and who could give them theinformation they needed.
