Chapter 31

Chapter 31 SummaryJavon Morris talks on the phone with Angelina Bernardi, an FBI investigator in Florence, Italy, who has reviewed his earlier email about the missing Jenkins. In hesitant English, she confirms that Jenkins did not buy any train or bus tickets and did not rent a vehicle, indicating he may still be somewhere near Florence. Javon explains Jenkins’s love for remote vacation spots without internet or cell service, prompting Bernardi to suggest Galliano di Mugello, a secluded area just thirty-nine kilometers away. Javon asks her to check with local taxi companies for any rides from Florence to Galliano around June 19th, and she promises to email him the results the next day.Encouraged by this lead, Javon shifts his focus to another mystery: the anonymous envelope that appeared on his desk. A call from Forensics confirms no fingerprints were found, but they uncovered a hidden message written in ultraviolet-reactive ink: “The living delivers a warning; the dead will reveal the consequences of a warning ignored.” The cryptic message leaves Javon unsettled, prompting him to ponder whether it was meant for him.Determined to discover how the envelope entered the Bureau unnoticed, he contacts Henry Davidson, the security manager. Their banter eases the tension, but the seriousness of the situation stays; someone bypassed standard security protocols. Henry agrees to review the surveillance footage for clues.Meanwhile, elsewhere, Roger Cortez gets a chilling text on his burner phone about Wesson. With cold detachment, Cortez replies, “I guess the chips fall where they may,” before sending payment to a man known only as Remington.