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Connor blinked in surprise. He hadn’t put that together until now. “Jones is a pretty common last name,” he said. But he knew there had to be more to it than mere coincidence. In truth, because the name was so common, this was a connection he hadn’t made until Dylan made it for him. Now that she had, he could see clearly it was part of the puzzle—and went a small way toward answering the question of why Austin had taken his parents. But since it went only a small way toward answering that question (and seemed to raise more than it helped answer), he wanted to stay focused on the task at hand. Whatever Austin’s relationship to Matthew was, it wasn’t going to help them find the cabin.

Dylan tapped and scrolled some more. “Well, that’s interesting.”

“What?”

“I’ve got the address. But I don’t think you’re going to like how I found it.”

Connor was about to ask her what she meant when his phone rang. For no particular reason, he had a feeling it might be Austin and grabbed it out of Dylan’s hand to check. “It’s Olivia,” he said, which made more sense, but not by much. It was the middle of the night.

She must have something important to tell him.

“Listen to me,” she said when he answered. “Your father isn’t who you think it is. Your real father went with your mother and four other people to Prague on that trip you told me about. This is going to be hard to hear, but you need to know.” She took a breath. “He never came back. He was having an affair with Frank Callahan’s wife. She tried to call it off while they were overseas, and he killed her. He has spent the last fifteen years in a Czech jail. But . . .”

Connor had a bad feeling about this. “But what?”

“He was supposed to be there for much longer. But something happened. It’s not clear what. Oldrich Kozar, the detective I spoke with over there, is looking into it. Either way, Matthew got out. No one knows exactly what happened to him after that, but I think he came back here. I think he’s the man who kidnapped your parents. I don’t know what he wants with them or what this has to do with Olin’s parents, other than that they were all on the trip together. He’s been locked up a long time. Maybe he’s got it in his head that they are all responsible for what happened to him and wants revenge. Either way, you need to be careful out there. He might come back for you, so stay away from people you don’t know. I doubt he would use his real name, but in case he does, it’s Matthew Austin Jones, got it?”

Connor flashed back to the marriage certificate he had found. Matthew A. Jones. It seemed so obvious now, but he could still hardly believe what she was telling him. “He’s here.”

“What do you mean?” Olivia sounded alarmed. “Do you mean you’re with him right now?”

“No, I mean he’s here, in the country. I’ve met him. I . . .” He decided his working relationship with Austin was beside the point. It would only prolong the conversation, and what mattered right now were two things: Austin was his father, and Austin had his parents—or the parents who had raised him, anyway. “We think we know where he’s taken my parents. We’re going there now.”

“What? Where? Who’s we?”

“I don’t have time to explain.”

“Connor, don’t do that. Let us handle it. I don’t want you—”

He hung up. There was nothing Olivia could say that would stop him from going to the cabin.

“What was that about?” Olin said.

Connor wasn’t sure how Olin would react if he said Austin was his father, so he decided to keep it to himself. Besides, no matter what their genetic relationship might be, Austin wasn’t the man who’d raised him. “Nothing we didn’t already know. Let’s go.”

He passed the phone back to Dylan as he led her and Olin to Austin’s truck. “Put the address in the GPS.”

CHAPTER 54

Oldrich had left the prison angry and confused. When the guard had told him the prisoner had been released, he had demanded to see Matthew’s cell, to verify for himself that the guard wasn’t making a mistake. Then Oldrich had demanded to see the paperwork authorizing said release.

It was all in order. Requested by the chief of police, Anton Mira, and approved by the warden.

And that may have been the only unusual part about it. Although Anton had the right to request prisoners be released early (and what warden would refuse a request from the chief?), he had never known Anton to use it. Even when a prisoner came forward with information that might help an ongoing investigation, the best he could have hoped for would have been a reduced sentence.

So why this time?

Oldrich had a sickening feeling he knew the answer, and decided to do something he had never done to find out for sure. Before Anton had gotten married, he and Oldrich had been friends, regularly hitting the bars on Friday nights and taking in the occasional game of billiards. Because of that, he knew the man banked with Ceska Sporitelna. He had seen Anton’s debit card often enough. Anton had liked to pay for the drinks. Oldrich had thought it was a subtle way of showing off how much money he made. But he also hadn’t cared. If Anton got off on buying their drinks, that was fine with him.

Oldrich stopped by HQ long enough to call Olivia, then walked to the nearest Ceska Sporitelna branch. It was only two blocks over. More trouble to take the car. Besides, the weather was pleasant this morning, and he figured a few extra steps wouldn’t be bad for his waistline.

He stopped at the ATM outside, then went in and waited to speak with a personal banker. He showed her his badge, placed a stack of