Last to Die: A Rizzoli & Isles Novel

like it. And I hope I never will again.”
    In the field, more silhouettes appeared. A whole herd of deer, moving silently through the twilight. For a city girl like Jane it was amagical sight. Here, where wild deer felt secure enough to wander into view, the Temples must have thought they’d found their own sanctuary. A place where they could settle, unknown and unnoticed.
    “It’s just a matter of luck that the boy survived,” said Wyman.
    “And you’re sure it was just luck?”
    “Like I said, I did briefly consider him a suspect. I had to, just as a matter of routine. But that boy, he truly was shaken up. We found his telescope still out in the field, where he said he’d left it. It was a crystal-clear sky that night, just the kind of night you’d set up a telescope. And he got singed pretty good, trying to save his aunt and uncle.”
    “I understand a passing motorist brought him to the hospital.”
    Wyman nodded. “A woman was driving by and she saw the flames. She drove the kid to the ER.”
    Jane turned to look at the road. “The last house I saw was about a mile from here. Does that woman live around here?”
    “I don’t think so.”
    “You don’t know?”
    “We never spoke to her. She dropped off the boy and left. Told the nurse her phone number, but there was some kind of mix-up. When we called the number, some guy in New Jersey picked up, had no idea what we were talking about. At that point, we weren’t thinking this was a crime at all. We thought it was an accident, so hunting for witnesses wasn’t a priority. It was only later, after we heard about the Semtex, that we realized we were dealing with a homicide.”
    “She might have seen something that night. Maybe even passed the killer on the road.”
    “We had no luck tracking her down. Both the boy and the ER nurse described her as blond and slim, in her forties. Matches the glimpse we caught of her in the hospital surveillance video.” Wyman looked up as a light rain began to fall. “So that’s the puzzle we’re left with. This thing is like an iceberg, with only a piece showing abovethe water. And a whole deeper story that we can’t see.” He pulled the hood over his head against the rain. “I got that file for you in my truck. Why don’t you look it over, call if you have questions.”
    She took the thick bundle of papers he handed her. “Actually, I do have another question. About how Will ended up at Evensong.”
    “I thought you were just there. Didn’t they tell you?”
    “The school psychologist said Will was referred there from your state agency.”
    “Fastest damn placement I ever saw. Day after the fire, while the kid’s still in the hospital, I got a call from the governor’s office. They put the boy under special protection. Then some guy in an unmarked car arrives, scoops up the kid, and off they go.”
    “Some guy?”
    “Tall, dark-haired fellow. Dressed all in black, like a vampire.”
    All in black.
Anthony Sansone
.

SEVENTEEN
 
    I NOW CALL TO ORDER THIS MEETING OF THE JACKALS,” ANNOUNCED Julian.
    Maura watched as six boys took their seats in the chemistry classroom. Because they sat together at Julian’s table in the dining hall, Maura had come to know all their names. In the second row there was Bruno Chinn, who never seemed to sit still for a minute, and even now was fidgeting and twitching in his chair. Beside him, Arthur Toombs sat perfectly still, his burn-scarred hands clasped together on the desk. Those scars, she’d been told, were the ugly souvenirs of a fire set by his own father. Near the door sat Lester Grimmett, a boy obsessed with quick escape routes. A quick escape out a window had once saved his life, and he always, always chose a seat near the exit. And in the front row sat the two newest members of the Jackals, Will Yablonski and Teddy Clock. Their stories, Maura knew all too well.
    Six boys, six tragedies, Maura thought. But life went on and here they were, some of them scarred, all of them survivors. This club wastheir way of dealing with the losses, the bad memories, a way for even these powerless children to feel like warriors.
    But as crime fighters, they seemed a rather unimpressive lot.
    Only Julian stood out, tall and commanding, a club president who looked the part. Although Jane had dismissed the Jackals as nothing more than
CSI High School
, it was clear that Julian took his role as club president seriously. And the other boys in the room looked every bit as