"Quinn. I figured you'd contact me after you spoke to Wyatt yesterday. We've come full circle, haven't we? The bomb at Bolton a few days ago—it put us all back in the same place. Why are we meeting here? What is going on with Wyatt that I need to know?"
Justin had always been direct, someone who dealt in facts more than speculation, so that's what he would give him. "Kevin Reilly was shot to death in Golden Gate Park a few hours ago."
Shock flashed through Justin's brown eyes. "What?"
"He took a single bullet to the head. The shooter was probably a contract killer."
Justin's lips parted as he sucked in a shaky breath. "Why? Why would someone kill Kevin?"
"Because he's involved in what happened at Bolton. And there's a good chance Wyatt is involved as well."
"He's not."
"He went to Bolton."
"That was stupid," Justin said derisively. "But it wasn't until hours after the blast. He was curious. He had nothing to do with that bomb."
"What about the one ten years ago? I know he lied about where he was that morning. He confirmed it to me yesterday. Did you lie as well?"
Justin gave him a hard look. "I did not. In fact, I corrected the record with Agent Bauer a few days after the explosion when I realized that my father's office had made a mistake."
"That was never noted in the file."
"Did Caitlyn tell you that?"
"She did."
"Well, I told the truth. That's all I could do. It's not my fault if the FBI file is wrong. Is that it?"
"No. After we left Wyatt's house yesterday, someone shot at Caitlyn and me. Did Wyatt tell you that?"
"He said he heard gunfire. The police stopped by sometime later to ask if he'd seen anything, but he had not. It appears you were not hurt. Do you know who was shooting at you?"
Justin spoke like a lawyer, in clear, short, concise statements.
"It was probably the same man who killed Kevin today," he replied. "It's interesting that your brother never seems to hear or see anything, yet he's always very close to the action."
Justin's gaze narrowed. "Let's cut to the chase. Are you wearing a wire?"
"What?" he asked in astonishment.
"You heard me. You're hanging out with Caitlyn. She's a fed. Are you wired? Are you trying to get some kind of confession out of me?"
"No." He lifted up his shirt. "It's just you and me on this beach."
"I don't know that I can believe that."
"You can believe it," he said sharply, sensing Justin was about to bail. "I was with Caitlyn yesterday, but she doesn't trust me any more than you do. She's just using me to get answers from people who don't want to talk to her. I want answers, too. So should you." He let that sink in, then continued. "The FBI is trying to connect the two explosions at Bolton to former members of the LNF. We are going back to where we started, Justin. Your alibi will be questioned. Wyatt will be pulled into the investigation, too. He didn't just lie about where he was ten years ago, he also didn't tell anyone he was in Yosemite when Donovan died. And I did not buy his sudden desire to go for a hike in the mountains, which was always his least favorite thing to do."
Indecision played through Justin's eyes and then he gave a short nod of agreement. "All right I'll tell you the truth. Wyatt went to Yosemite, because Donovan was blackmailing him."
"What are you talking about?"
"At Donovan's request, Wyatt told Lauren to change the time of your study group."
He hadn't thought he could be surprised again, but he was. "Wyatt knew about the bomb?"
"No. I want to make that absolutely clear," Justin said forcefully. "Donovan just asked Wyatt to get Lauren to change the time of your meeting. Wyatt didn't understand the request, but he didn't question it."
"Why the hell not?"
"He was starting to feel nervous around Donovan. He thought it would be easier to just go along. That's what Wyatt does. He doesn't like conflict or confrontation."
"When did this happen?"
"The morning of the explosion, about two hours before the bomb went off."
"Lauren didn't question this request?"
"No. She just said she'd do it."
His heart thudded against his chest as he realized exactly what had happened. "You're saying that Wyatt and Lauren both knew there was a reason Donovan wanted me away from that building, and they just went along with it? Why wouldn't they warn me? I thought we were friends."
"They didn't know a bomb would go off," Justin said. "They thought there was going to be a protest and that Donovan didn't want you to get caught up in it. But Donovan also didn't want you to know about it. He thought you would try to get him to call it off."
A white fury ran through him. "And neither one chose to get Caitlyn out of the building? They left her to die. I'm going to kill them both."
"Slow down," Justin ordered. "Remember, they didn't know about the bomb. Donovan had never done anything like that before. They had no reason to suspect that kind of violence. You didn't suspect it, either."
"Because Donovan made me a promise."
"He broke it. But that's on him, not on my brother."
"Why did Donovan even involve them? Why didn't he just text me himself and tell me to meet him somewhere?"
"I don't know, but I have a theory. Donovan couldn't show that he had any inside or prior knowledge. He wanted a buffer between himself and the bomb, between you and him. He used Wyatt to get to Lauren, involving them both in his plot. If they spoke out against him later, they would be in trouble themselves. And he had manufactured evidence that would make it look like they were the bombers." Justin paused. "They were also betrayed by Donovan. You weren't the only one."
"Let's say I believe you. How was Donovan blackmailing Wyatt?"
"He'd been setting Wyatt up for days, sending him to the hardware store to pick up items that were later used in the making of the bomb. They also got the snake tattoos together and exchanged texts about their radical ideas. My brother was too high half the time to even realize what was going on. But after the explosion, it became clear. When Donovan went to Yosemite, Wyatt saw that trip as his opportunity to try to get rid of the evidence."
"And did he succeed?"
"No. He didn't find anything. Donovan was already dead, and Wyatt thought he saw your Jeep in the parking lot by Donovan's cabin in Yosemite. He thought you might have the evidence. He was scared for a long time. When nothing happened, when you didn't show up at Donovan's memorial, he thought he was home free." Justin cleared his throat. "If you try to pin anything on my brother, Quinn, everyone will know about your trip to Yosemite."
"My Jeep was not in Yosemite," he said flatly. "No matter what Wyatt says."
Justin's gaze met his. "I still believe you were there. After Donovan died and Wyatt was freaking out, I had one of my father's private investigators try to track you down. He couldn't find a trace of your existence. He said you must have reinvented yourself, because you had completely disappeared. That's what you did, isn't it? You killed Donovan and then you disappeared. Did Caitlyn know what you did, where you were? Was it all just a pretense—the breakup between you two?"
"No. That was real. Caitlyn and I had not seen each other for ten years, until last Thursday."
"How did you kill Donovan? How did you get the jump on him?"
"I didn't kill him, Justin. As far as I know, he fell, or he killed himself."
"That's difficult to believe. If you didn't kill him, why did you disappear?"
"I wanted a fresh start."
"You had more motive to kill Donovan than anyone."
"That's true, but I didn't push him off the mountain. Let's talk about what's happening now."
"I wish I knew, Quinn. But I'm in the dark."
"Did you spend time with Allison and Kevin? I know Wyatt did. He said they came into his bar a number of times."
"I never met her, and I haven't seen Kevin in at least two years. I have no idea what they were doing or
why they were together. Maybe you should talk to Lauren."
"I have spoken to her. She wasn't particularly helpful."
"That surprises me. She always had a crush on you. I would have thought she'd be very cooperative in answering any question you asked."
"Well, she wasn't. But we will talk again now that I know Donovan used her to get me out of the building."
"I'd appreciate it if you would keep me and Wyatt out of that conversation."
"I'm not sure that's possible. Caitlyn will also want to talk to you, Justin, not just about now but also about ten years ago."
"I can be more helpful in an unofficial capacity. If you put me on the record, I'll deny everything, and then my father will become involved. You'll both get tied up in knots, particularly you, Quinn. You'll be spending so much time talking about Yosemite that you won't get the answers you want."
"Is that a threat?"
"It's a fact. I'm not averse to helping you track down the bomber. Wyatt and I have lived under the shadow of that explosion for too long. And whatever is happening now needs to be stopped. I have never believed in using violence to achieve environmental goals. That's why I started withdrawing from the LNF even before Donovan set off that bomb. I wasn't interested in being part of a radical group. I didn't think you were, either."
"I wasn't."
"And Wyatt—he's never had any real interest in any cause. He joined the LNF because I was in it. He thought of it like a club. He believed Donovan was his friend. Wyatt was wrecked when he realized what Donovan had done."
"But Wyatt didn't tell the FBI what he knew. Neither did you."
"I didn't know it all at the time. Wyatt didn't open up to me until after Donovan died. That's when I learned that Donovan had set Wyatt and Lauren up."
He wasn't sure he completely believed that, but he let it go.
"Wyatt is a good person," Justin continued. "He just makes bad decisions, mostly because he's not often completely sober. I know he saw Kevin and Allison a few times, but they just came into his bar. He wasn't meeting up with them. He wasn't planning anything. He's not who you need to focus on. You should be talking to Allison or Lauren, not me, not Wyatt." He paused. "Are we done?"
Justin had made a convincing argument, but then, he'd always been a great debater. "For now," he said.
"Good. Feel free to share what I said with Caitlyn. If she wants to talk more, let's do it off the books."
"I'll let her know what you said."
As Justin walked away, Quinn kept a sharp eye out for trouble, but nothing happened. After a good ten minutes, his breath came more easily. Justin was gone, and it didn't appear that anyone was going to suddenly start shooting.
His phone vibrated. It was Caitlyn.
"Where are you?" she asked.
"Ocean Beach. Can you meet me?"
"Yes. I'm just leaving my parents' house. I had to tell my dad about Kevin."
"How did he take it?"
"With great shock, concern, and anger."
"Did you tell him what Kevin said about Spencer?"
"No. I haven't told anyone that. I have to talk to Spencer first. I went by his condo on my way to my parents' house, but he wasn't there. He's also not answering his phone. I'm worried, Quinn. Actually, I'm kind of terrified."
He could hear the fear in her voice, and he wanted to put his arms around her. He wanted to comfort her and tell her everything would be fine, but at this moment, he had no idea if anything would ever be fine again. "We'll figure it out."
"We have to. And we need to do it fast. Where on Ocean are you?"
"Nearest cross street is Lincoln. I'll meet you by the corner."
"I'm glad you're safe. I had second and third thoughts about sending you away from the park. I was concerned someone might have followed you, that there might have been a second shooter."
"There wasn't, and the beach was a good place for me to go." He paused. "It was also a good place for me to meet Justin—open air and nowhere for a shooter to hide."
"You spoke to Justin? What did he say?"
"I'll tell you when you get here. I know what we should do next, Caitlyn."
"I know, too. I'll be there in fifteen minutes. Oh, and I'm driving a black SUV now. The window on the rental car is being repaired before I turn it back in."
"See you soon."
Chapter Twenty-One
Fifteen minutes later, Caitlyn saw Quinn on the corner, and her heart filled with relief. She'd known he was all right but seeing him brought that truth home.
"This is a nicer ride," he commented, as he buckled his seat belt.
"I picked it up at the office."
"How's the investigation going? Did you tell them I was in the park?"
"No. I should have, but I didn't."
He gave her a worried look. "You could have told them, Caitlyn. I don't want you to jeopardize your job trying to protect me."
"Well, you risked your life a short while ago trying to protect me. I will add you to my official written report, as I'm sure you'll be spotted on some surveillance camera somewhere. I just wanted to buy a little time." She paused. "You said you knew where we needed to go."
"Back to Bolton," he said, a gleam in his eyes. "Back to where it started."
She was in complete agreement. "Yes. We need to find Allison Sullivan. She's tied into everything: to Bolton, to Lauren, and to Kevin… She has to be involved. And it's possible Lauren is as well. What did Justin tell you?"
"More than I expected."
"I'm shocked he agreed to meet with you."
"He had something to trade."
"What's that?"
"He wanted me to be clear that if we go after Wyatt, he'll make it known that I was in Yosemite, that I killed Donovan."
She shot him a quick look. "Why would we go after Wyatt? Did he tell you something I don't know?"
"Yes, and you're not going to like it, Caitlyn. You should pull over."
"Just say it."
"Pull over first." The heavy note in his voice sent a chill down her spine.
She frowned and then changed lanes. She turned down a side street and slid into a parking spot. Throwing the SUV into park, she left the engine running. "Okay, say it," she said, steeling herself for what was coming.
"Wyatt was being blackmailed by Donovan."
"Over what?" she asked in surprise.
"Donovan asked Wyatt to have Lauren call me away from the building. This apparently happened about two hours before the blast."
She looked at him in astonishment, her heart leaping with that piece of information. "So, Lauren did change the time on purpose. What a liar she is."
"Yes. She lied. But she didn't do it for Wyatt. She knew the request had come from Donovan."
"That whole thing about the birthday party time being moved up—she had to get her roommate into the lie, too."
"Or she simply changed the time of the party. At any rate, according to Justin, neither Wyatt nor Lauren knew there was a bomb. They just believed a protest was going to happen, and Donovan didn't want me in the middle of it."
"How can we believe that's true when they lied about everything?" she asked, her head starting to pound as she processed the information.
"Justin reminded me that Donovan had never done anything violent before. They had no reason to believe an explosion would occur."
"But they knew something was going to happen. Damn them! Damn their lies! Why didn't they tell the truth afterward? Why didn't they come clean and send Donovan to jail?" She could see the answer in his gaze. "Because he had implicated them in his plot by getting them involved with your alibi."
"Exactly. He allegedly manufactured other evidence tying them to the explosion, and he used that information to blackmail them. The snake tattoos were part of that plan. If Lauren or Wyatt turned on him, they'd be turning on themselves."
She shook her head, realizing the depth of Donovan's plotting. "And Justin told you all of this, so he knew as well?"
"He said he didn't know until after Donovan died. That's when Wyatt felt free enough to tell him. Wyatt was afraid that I knew the truth and that I would come after him the way I'd gone after Donovan."
"Did you tell Justin what happened in Yosemite?"
"No. I said Wyatt didn't see my Jeep, which is the truth. Wyatt went to Yosemite to try to get the evidence away from Donovan. He thought it would be the perfect opportunity because Donovan was alone."
"That must be why the pages were ripped out of the notebook. But Wyatt said he got there after Donovan was dead, the next day. You would have been gone with the duffel bag before Wyatt got into the cabin. The timing is off."
"You're right," he said, a note of puzzlement in his gaze. "And Justin said that Wyatt didn't find anything in the cabin. So maybe he didn't get the pages. Maybe they were ripped out before either of us got there."
"Now I get why Justin thought you had something to trade. Although, I'm confused as to why Wyatt mentioned Yosemite to us yesterday. Why bring it up at all? We wouldn't have known he was there if he hadn't told us."
"I think he was trying to figure out how much I knew about his involvement. As Justin said, Wyatt doesn't always make good decisions."
"That's an understatement. I thought Wyatt was my friend." She paused, her gut twisting with anger. "He was different than Lauren or Donovan. He knew me from long before we got to Bolton, before either of us had anything to do with the LNF. But he knew something was going to happen that day. Even if I believe he didn't know there was a bomb, he still had information that he could have shared with me."
"I can't disagree."
"And then there's Lauren." She shook her head, feeling an intense desire to kick Lauren's ass. "She has lied over and over again about that damn study group. I want to arrest them both right now, sit them in a chair, and keep them there until they talk."
"I appreciate that sentiment, but I think we should move on Allison first, because she's probably more involved in whatever is happening now than either of them."
"I wouldn't be so sure of that. Lauren could easily be involved with her sister's group. Wyatt could be as well. Justin obviously wanted to protect his brother, but he could have been lying about everything."
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