Total pages in book: 64
Estimated words: 61054 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 305(@200wpm)___ 244(@250wpm)___ 204(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61054 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 305(@200wpm)___ 244(@250wpm)___ 204(@300wpm)
My phone rings with Rollins’ number. I answer with, “Is the press conference over?”
“It is, and you obviously kicked some ass because they did exactly what we wanted them to do and calmed the masses.”
“What about my father?”
“He goes on in a few minutes. You want me to record it for you?”
“Hell no, I don’t want you to record it for me. He’s going to use me as a political tool. Just remember I didn’t have anything to do with that shit.”
“I get that now.”
“Good. I’m going to go home and work on the case files and prepare for tomorrow’s interviews. If you come up with any connection to a place called Curly Joe’s, let me know. The last victim hung out there. Maybe look for credit card charges that reflect the others went there as well. Did Bonnie call you?”
“The waitress at Curly Joe’s? Yes, I set her up for tomorrow, too. What’s her story?’
“She was sleeping with the last victim and she’s hiding something.”
“But we think the killer is male?”
“Yes,” I say, but the reference to Scream plays in my mind. “Think Scream. There was more than one killer. What if this is a play on Scream?”
“Let me guess. Jack came up with that.”
“Why Jack and not me?”
“Because he’s a horror geek.”
“He planted the idea. I took it further. Feel free to take it even further than me.” My phone beeps with another call and I glance down to find Murphy calling. “That’s my boss. I’ll call you later.” I click over to Murphy. “What’s the plan, Agent?”
My mind goes to Kane saying “We should talk about Murphy before he gets too comfortable here,” and it hits me that I assumed I knew Murphy’s agenda for being here, but I don’t, which means I’ve allowed him to be a blind spot in my life. I’m done with blind spots. Me and my boss need to have a chat. “Why don’t you join me for drinks tonight? There’s a bar named ‘Echo’ right next to our building.”
He’s silent a beat that becomes three, and two too many. He’s not comfortable with this idea, and yet he doesn’t back down. “What time?”
“Eight.”
“See you then.” He disconnects.
And yes, I will see him then, after I have a little chat with my new husband.
Chapter Thirty
“We should talk about Murphy before he gets too comfortable here.”
I’m not sure why it didn’t hit me when Kane said those words that he knew more about Murphy than he’s told me up until this point, baffles me. But it hits me now. Kane told me Murphy didn’t exist before a certain date. I didn’t even push for that date. That should have been a bombshell I ran with, but it came at me during a murder investigation and I’d set it aside, assuming there was an explanation. He’s a Director in the FBI. At that level, there are reasons the agency would help you, at least the you everyone knows, disappear.
But assuming makes an ass out of you and me, even Tic Tac gets that. I’ve driven home that point to him, and everyone but myself apparently, for most of my adult life.
Kane hasn’t told me everything he knows about Murphy at all.
I’m already up, tossing my empty coffee cup when I try to call my new husband, the one who is supposed to tell me everything and hide nothing, frustrated when he doesn’t answer. I’m out the door, walking toward his office by the time Jay even figures out I’m leaving. He catches up with me, takes one look at me, and zips his lips. Enrique pulls the SUV up to the curb, offering us a ride. I instead take the stairs into the subway, in no mood for anyone that has anything to do with hiding things from me for Kane.
And Enrique would.
Jay, not so much. He’s found a sweet spot in his loyalty to me, not Kane, even if it’s on behalf of Kane.
Fifteen minutes later, I arrive at the office of Mendez Enterprises and enter the building, while Jay hangs back at the front door. The lobby is dripping with money, with good reason. Kane Mendez is not Grant Love. He doesn’t need someone else’s money. He has his own. And despite all the rumors, his money is clean, his success a product of smart business decisions. Kane used his inheritance from his mother, who had a large life insurance policy, to buy the fledgling oil business he turned into an empire. He donated the large sum of money he inherited from his father, despite the fact that it was laundered so clean not even the FBI could break the code to call it dirty.
No one will ever uncover any connections Kane has with the cartel. No one knows enough to even begin to try.