Page 73 of Get A Fix

“What does that—” He laughed nervously, then suddenly stopped. “You think what? That Voss killed my friend and staged it to look like it was him?”

I said nothing.

He gasped. “No, that can’t be—” He glanced at Owen and Nash, then back at me. “Is that what you all think?”

I nodded.

“Why?” His voice sounded strangled.

“Voss was—is—a fugitive. If someone died in his place, and the cops are thinking he’s dead, that leaves him free as a bird.”

“So you think my friend is dead and not Voss?” Ash repeated, his breath catching.

“That’s one possibility,” Nash chimed in.

“But that doesn’t make any sense, does it? Because even if Voss killed Kit, aren’t there things like DNA and dental records and all kinds of other…”

“Sadly, it depends on the state of the remains,” Nash replied. “And Voss—or who SFPD believe to be Voss—was found in his own car, Voss’s car, and everything was very burned.”

“Everyone, you mean,” Ash said woodenly. “All three.”

“That’s the thing,” Owen said. “There was only one set of remains in the car.”

“Well, then that couldn’t have been Kit.” Ash exhaled, sounding relieved. “He had his writers with him.”

“Or,” I said, and Ash turned to me, “the writers were killed and left somewhere else and only Kit was placed in the car.”

He stared at me. I didn’t say anything, just letting his brain work.

“That’s horrible,” Ash whispered. “I can’t imagine being killed simply for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Collateral damage and nothing more.”

I moved closer, holding his hand in both of mine. “Listen, the FBI, SFPD, highway patrol, and most importantly, my boss, are all on this. They will figure out what happened.”

“The man they found, was he in Voss’s car or a rental?” Ash sounded robotic, and I understood. He wanted all the information we had at the moment.

“Voss’s car.”

Ash nodded. “So that’s why they assumed it was Voss.”

“That’s right.”

“But the remains were…they were burned.”

“The FBI crime lab is examining the remains,” Owen chimed in. “They will figure out precisely who died in the car.”

“But if they’re not sure yet, why would the police announce it was Voss?”

“For two reasons,” Owen said gently. “First, it’s a good assumption that it is Voss, given that it was his car. And second, if it isn’t Voss, and it is your friend instead, then Voss would be confident to try and get on a plane or drive to Mexico or do whatever it is that will get him safely out of the country.”

“And that way law enforcement would apprehend him.”

“Correct,” Owen replied.

“What happens now?”

“Now the search for Riggs⁠—”

“For Voss, you mean,” Ash clarified, shivering.