Page 67 of PSYCHOlogical

Chapter Twenty-Six

Val

Iwas relieved that I hadn’t seen or heard from a single civilian investigator. On a local level, it appeared the police had concluded their investigation in the deaths of Pike and Wallace. The DNI’s office wouldn’t give up so easily. With no one from that entity outwardly expressing so much as a minute level of interest, I was left to suspect Trevino had been placed in our office to do more than receive orders from the DNI.

He was secretly conducting his own investigation.

The only way Vincent and I would live to see our next birthday would be to eliminate New Dawn’s men before the DNI gave them orders to eliminate us. Saving the nation from harm was no longer my priority.

I needed to focus on saving Vincent and me from our nation.

I was relieved to see Vincent pull up the driveway and into the garage. Halfway to the kitchen, he paused and peered into the living room. “Pajamas, already?”

Sitting at the end of the couch with the evening news playing in the background, I pulled my knees tight against my chest. “I took a shower while you were at the gym. I thought wearing these would let me relax. It’s not working.”

His brows raised. “Are you going to be okay?”

“I don’t know,” I replied. “I hope so.”

He sat down at the other end of the couch. His face was painted with concern. “What’s wrong?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” I said mockingly. “Maybe because we’ve murdered two people, and I know the only way we’re going to live to see our next birthday is to murder four or five more.” I covered my face with my hands. “I need this to be over.”

“I’m ready to walk away from this program—”

I couldn’t believe my ears. I lowered my hands and stared back at him with hope-filled eyes. “Are you?”

“As soon as this is over.”

I should have known. Neither of us were going to walk away until the looming threat was gone. Thinking otherwise was foolish. “I’m convinced the only way this is going to end is with us in the morgue.”

“That’s not going to happen,” he insisted. “I’m making progress toward solving this puzzle.”

We hadn’t eaten dinner yet, but if he was willing to talk about the mystery that was controlling our lives, I was willing to listen.

I turned sideways on the couch, to face him fully. “Oh, really?”

“Lt. Colonel Martin believes there’s a leak in the New Dawn office.”

My spine straightened. “What!?”

“He thinks someone in New Dawn is leaking information to the DNI.”

My throat tightened at the thought of Martin’s revelation. “Do you think he’s right in that assumption?”

“Here’s what we know,” he said. “Shephard was assigned to go to Somalia by the Marines, not the Office of the DNI. He was killed before he shipped out. The order to kill him originated somewhere. If the DNI hadn’t been informed of Shephard’s new assignment, how did they know to have him killed?”

I hadn’t looked at it that way. I shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Wallace said the order to have him killed came from the DNI’s office. Through the same channels as the standard orders.”

“So, someone at New Dawn tipped off the DNI?”

He nodded. “They had to.”

“Do you think it’s Martin?”

“I don’t think so.”