"The son was also involved in organizing the robberies," Owen read. "It says here his name's Dave."
May had high hopes for Dave. She waited, holding her breath, for Owen to give more information.
But he grimaced, sounding disappointed.
"Not what we needed. The son's in prison, too. He was jailed three years ago for another series of robberies. So Dave isn't going to help us. Let's look at the other one. His name's Frederick Kane, he's currently fifty years old, and he has two children. Two boys. Dirk and Andrew."
Owen read on.
"Okay, it looks like Andrew moved to Mexico a few years ago. But Dirk looks to still be here. He definitely seems to be a resident in Minnesota, and he’s twenty-four years old now. But I can't seem to find any further details on him."
Owen's fingers flew furiously over the keys. "Now, this is interesting. Dirk has a juvenile record. Sealed, but it shows he was in trouble at the age of sixteen, which would have been shortly before his dad went inside. But address? Nope, unfortunately those records are missing. Let's see if we can look him up online."
He switched to a different database, whistling softly through his teeth as he searched.
"This is very frustrating," he said. "This guy seems to be mostly off the grid. There's just nothing I can find on him at short notice, anyway. His last known address is his father's address, but when I searched again, it showed that apartment block was condemned and knocked down a couple of years ago, and there's no phone number for him."
Disappointment thudded inside May. They were so close, and yet at the same time, they couldn't pin down a man that most definitely was a person of interest in these crimes.
How were they going to manage the seemingly impossible, May agonized.
Thinking furiously, she came up with a possible solution.
"What if we go and ask Dirk’s father? Surely it would make sense that he's still in touch with his dad, especially if he's committing crimes on his behalf? Which jail is Frederick in?"
Owen turned back to his computer.
"He's in Fallon County maximum security prison. That's what, half an hour’s drive from here, just over the county border?"
"I'm going to have to do it," May said. "I'm going to have to go there now, and see if I can get face to face with him at short notice."
Owen looked doubtful. "You think they'll let you?"
May shrugged. "There's one factor I think could tip the balance for us, and that's if the FBI intervenes. So I'm going to start driving to the prison now. Will you wait outside the interview room, and grab Kerry as soon as she takes a break, or else if you’re feeling really brave, interrupt her? Tell her we need all the powers of the FBI to get this permission granted, and make Frederick Kane available for questioning."
"Right," Owen said, his voice filled with resolve. "I'll do it."
With her plan now coming together, tenuous and risky as it was, May grabbed her keys and purse, and rushed out of the door.