Page 77 of Night Watch
The kind of man you don’t let go once, let alone a second time.
“I have news for you, too, Kennedy,” Malone said. “I checked in with your WITSEC deputy. He’s not happy with you sharing with others without checking with him first. Given what’s going on now with your mother’s potentially suspicious death, he wants you and Finley to stay in the program. However, if you do, you would both need to be relocated.”
Erik pocketed the flash drive. His jaw was clenched, and his shoulders tightened into a hard line as he stared over her shoulder at the wall. “Because she told us about it, you mean?”
Was he thinking the same thing as Kennedy was thinking? That if she stayed in WITSEC, they could never see each other again?
“Yes,” Malone said. “I know that seems drastic, but it would keep you safe.”
“It wouldn’t solve the problem of who murdered her mother, though,” Erik said.
Malone didn’t bend under the intensity of his gaze. “Have you located proof that she actuallywasmurdered?”
“Not yet.”
“So it could still be an accident or—”
“Don’t waste your breath saying it,” Kennedy snapped. “My momdid notkill herself.”
Malone held up her hands. “Okay. Okay.”
“Sorry,” Kennedy took a breath. “I’ll talk to Finley about what she wants to do. Should I get back to you or call Tyrone directly?”
“Let’s keep the communication going through me for now so I have a record of it.” Malone smoothed back her already perfectly groomed hair. “Now if it’s okay for Stella to escort me to your sister’s place, I’d like to spoil my nephew before I have to go back to work.”
“I’ll go ask her.” Erik left the room.
Malone rested a hand with perfectly manicured nails on Kennedy’s arm. “Let me tell you what I tell all my clients. It’s always darkest before a real breakthrough. So keep the faith and your spirits up.”
Kennedy nodded, but she wasn’t certain that was true. Kennedy’s darkest hour had come when her mother died, and her father’s death was a close second. No breakthrough had come either time, unless Kennedy considered seeing and falling for Erik again as a breakthrough. Because if she did, she’d really broken through, and that was a fact she could no longer dispute.
Erik printed the list of Responsible Officials and made copies for his brothers, and then he and Kennedy highlighted a portion of the list for each of them to research. When his brothers arrived at the office and were seated in the conference area, he slid a copy down the table to each of them.
“Malone came through for us, but the Responsible Officials list is confidential.” Erik’s brothers knew how to keep things quiet, but Erik still ran his gaze over them to confirm their agreement. “I’ve assigned sections of the list to each of you so you can work up a background on the individuals. We’re looking for people who might be avid gardeners and who would have a connection to Wanda.”
“Gardeners?” Aiden looked up from the page he’d been reviewing.
“Right. You don’t know.” Kennedy explained the prickly caterpillar bean to the team.
Drake’s eyes narrowed. “This sounds like a long shot.”
“It is.” Erik slapped his list on the table. “But the list is over a hundred people long. You have a better way to narrow it down other than by people connected to Wanda, which is a given?”
Drake snapped his chair forward. “We interview the gardeners first then go back to the others. I just don’t want us to forget about the others.”
“Hopefully, the prickly caterpillar bean will lead somewhere, but yeah, we can’t forget about anyone connected to Wanda.” Erik let out a breath. “You all get started on the list, and also look for potential anthrax connections. Does anyone have any questions?”
“Yeah,” Brendan said. “Why are you so cranky?”
“I’m not—”
“Save it.” Clay flashed up his hand. “You’re the poster child for cranky right now.”
They were right. His brothers were giving of their time to help and deserved civil responses from him.
“Sorry,” he said sincerely. “We’re not making much progress, and I feel like I’m failing.”
Aiden held up the list. “But we have a solid lead now, and it’s bound to turn something up.”
