PROLOGUE

“Please tell me what’s going on.”

“Someone teleported into this house around one a.m. this morning, went into Duncan Phillips’ study, and shot Mr. Phillips dead. From what we can tell, this individual came to the house with a single agenda—to commit murder.”

“Who are you considering suspects?”

“People with access to the house. Specifically, those who live and work at the Phillips mansion, and those who had their own door codes.”

“That includes me.”

“It does. The last time you were here—the last time anyone knows that you were here—you had a nasty argument with Mr. Phillips. Which was witnessed by five other people and caught on security monitors. We have had an opportunity to view the recording. It looks like an unpleasant encounter. Is that the last time you saw Duncan Phillips?”

“Yes, it was. No, I didn’t come back to the house in the middle of the night and kill him. I don’t even know how to use a gun.”

“There are a lot of fingerprints and DNA traces on this particular weapon. Possibly some of those are yours. You’ll need to be printed and scanned before you leave today.”

“But I—I didn’t kill him. I wasn’t even in Chicago last night. I was at a party in Atlanta. There must be fifty people who can give me an alibi.”

“Atlanta’s not so far away by teleport.”