Exposed in Darkness

by Heather Sunseri

  “Why?”

  “They can place your brother in Chicago two weeks prior to Melissa Centers’s death, and they can place him, along with Sasha, at the event where she was killed.”

  When Declan continued to only stare at me, I turned and slipped out the front door.

  Chapter 26

  Declan

  David entered the foyer when Brooke was gone.

  “Please help Miss Fairfax retrieve her car from the garage,” I said softly. “Then follow her to town, please, and make sure she gets home safely.”

  “Of course, sir.” And he left.

  I took the stairs two at a time, marched to the end of the hallway, and barged into the bedroom where Sasha was sleeping.

  I flipped on the lights, and she bolted upright. Tears soaked her face.

  “What did you two do?” I asked, trying to keep my voice at a respectable level.

  She began shaking her head rapidly. “Nothing. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “You’ve been asking me for money for weeks. Said you couldn’t further your modeling career to the next level without it. You even had Darren speak to me on your behalf. I’m only going to ask you this one more time: What did the two of you do with that chemical Darren took from my laboratory?”

  Sasha buried her face in her hands and sobbed. “We didn’t do anything. I swear.”

  I walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. “Sasha, this is beyond serious. I need you to tell me who you sold that chemical to.” I smoothed her long blond hair while she sobbed into her hands. “I will do everything I can to help you, but I can’t do anything unless I know what we’re up against.”

  She took in a deep, shuddering breath and let it out slowly, attempted to regulate her breathing and control her sobbing.

  “Sasha, I will love you and Darren no matter what you’ve done. Darren needs your help right now. They think he’s responsible for those deaths.”

  Finally, she lifted her head. “I swear to you, Declan, we didn’t do anything. I know this looks bad, but…” Her face suddenly hardened. “You know we wouldn’t be in this situation if you hadn’t slept with that FBI whore.”

  I jerked back as if my own sister had punched me in the face. I didn’t even recognize what she’d become. I stood and backed away.

  “Wait!” she screamed. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Declan. I shouldn’t have said that. Please don’t leave me. You’re all I have.”

  I took a step toward her. “You’re right. You shouldn’t have said that. That ‘FBI whore,’ as you called her, just might be your only hope.”

  Chapter 27

  It was nearly midnight. I had slipped into my silk shorts and favorite UVA T-shirt. Ty poured me a glass of wine and warmed up our to-go orders from the Black Tulip. We sat down on the sofa together, each with laptops, to search the dark web for traces of anyone looking to purchase or sell tacin. Or for past transactions.

  We were pretty certain the transaction we were looking for had already occurred, but if another attack was planned, the probability that our guy was looking for additional tacin was fairly high.

  “Why don’t you check Amber Road,” I said, “and I’ll see who’s up at this hour in the chat rooms.” Amber Road was the latest working marketplace on the dark web—a place where people bought and sold drugs, guns, and other contraband. It had popped up immediately after the FBI shut down the last marketplace.

  “You got it, boss.” Ty took a sip of the wine. “This is really good.”

  “Only the best for you,” I quipped, but the playfulness I attempted fell flat.

  “You okay?” he asked.

  I nodded. “I’m going to be. It feels good to be working on something, even if it’s only temporary.”

  “You think you might stay with the FBI?”

  I thought about that. “I don’t know. So much has happened.”

  He nodded. “Thought any more about the governor’s proposition?”

  I gnawed on my lower lip and tilted my head side to side. “I’ve thought about it, but…” I paused. “I just don’t know that Kentucky is the place for me. I have a house in Virginia.” And I was already starting to regret having ever met Declan O’Roark. He’d stirred something in me that hadn’t been stirred in a long time. And now that that was over before it had even gotten started, home was sounding nice.

  “Yeah, but maybe it’s time to try something a little different.” Ty reached a hand behind my neck and massaged. “James and I want to see you happy. We’ve worried about you for so long. I told James on the phone earlier that I’d seen a spark of something different in you the last few days.”

  “Oh yeah? What’s that?” I asked skeptically.

  “I can’t quite put a word on it yet. I’m playing around with ‘hope,’ but it could also be something a little deeper.”

  I chuckled. “You’re full of shit,” I said, then nodded to his computer. “Get to work.”

  After setting my wine on the side table, I turned back to my computer. One-handed, I logged onto the server that would take me to a different, darker area of the internet where people spoke in code and acronyms. It was where the people of the dark world hung out and communicated—and no code of ethics existed. If a person was good at what they did, they could remain one hundred percent anonymous on the dark web, bouncing their communications off a series of servers across the globe to cover their tracks. Of course, a criminal was only safe so long as the expert hackers and law enforcement analysts weren’t better. And Ty and I were very good at what we did.

  “Bingo!” Ty exclaimed after we’d been clicking and searching for only ten minutes.

  I glanced over at his screen. “Whatcha got?”

  “Someone looking to sell. Under the name of MBlahnik.”

  “Are you kidding? As in Manolo Blahnik? The shoe designer?” I would have laughed if I hadn’t immediately understood the ramifications.

  “I’m nothing but serious when I’m searching around this anarchist cyber place.”

  He was right. You didn’t fool around on the dark web without first checking your frame of mind. I probably was a little foolish at times by entering when my mind wasn’t clear, or after drinking a bit too much.

  “Well, now we know who Mr. Darren O’Roark is protecting.” I grabbed my wine and took a sip. “What information does MBlahnik provide?”

  Ty had just started to read the listing to me when there was a banging on the door. We whipped around and saw the outline of a tall figure just outside.

  We both traded our wine glasses and keyboards for handguns. Since I only had one hand, I positioned myself with my gun pointed directly at the door, balancing it on my bandaged arm. Ty stood to the right of the door, a Glock in his right hand. The other hand gripped the doorknob. I nodded, and he opened the door and stuck a gun directly into the temple of our visitor.

  When I saw Declan’s face, I pointed my gun to the ceiling. Ty lowered his.

  “Wow. Nice friends you have,” said a sarcastic female voice behind Declan.

  “We need your help.” Declan entered. His sister—also known as MBlahnik, if my suspicions were correct—followed him in.

  “Ty, get our guests some water. I’m going to put some clothes on.”

  “Where is the tacin now?” I asked. I leaned a hip against the kitchen counter and sipped a cup of coffee. It was Ty’s idea—to counterbalance the bottle of wine he and I had shared.

  Sasha sat at the kitchen table and picked at her hot pink nail polish. I was pretty sure picking at a manicure went against the cardinal rules of modeling, but nerves were nerves. “It’s in a fridge in Darren’s office,” she said.

  “What office?” I asked.

  She glared at me. “The only office he has. O’Roark Industries’ main office building.”

  I was very close to slapping her bad attitude back to Ireland, or wherever she originated. I shifted my gaze to Declan and lifted a brow. “You know of this fridge?”

&nbs
p; “Yes.” His jaw was tight with anger.

  “But you had no idea he had taken the tacin and stored it in your Lexington offices?”

  “Of course not,” he said, not holding back the fire in his voice.

  “I have to ask.” I turned back to Sasha. “And you’re sure all of it is there? You and Darren didn’t sell even the tiniest amount?”

  “I’m sure.” This time when Sasha met my eyes, I actually saw fear. “I swear to you. All the tacin from the lab is still in that fridge.”

  “Will you be able to confirm this?” I asked Declan.

  “Yes. We’ve signed legal documents that document precisely how much inventory was included with the purchase of the laboratory. And Fritz can confirm the amount of tacin in the containers.”

  “Good. Because Fritz will be here by midday tomorrow.” I glanced down at my watch. “Actually, make that today.”

  Declan nodded, and I mentally added exhaustion and sadness to the anger he was feeling. I studied this man that I’d just started to get to know—a man I’d thought would never trust me again. Yet here he was trusting me with his sister’s future.

  There was a knock at the door.

  “That should be Agents Donaldson and Salazar,” I said. As I walked toward the door, I stopped in front of Declan and placed a hand on his arm. “You brought your sister here because you must have trusted me a little. Hang on to that feeling. It’s going to get worse before it gets better.”

  His eyes searched mine, then he gave me a taut nod.

  I opened the door, and in walked Mike and Carlos. Though I had already advised Sasha of her rights, Carlos reminded her of those same rights before escorting her out of the cottage. I filled Mike in on everything Sasha had told me.

  “We’ll have to dispatch a hazmat evidence response team to your offices immediately,” he said to Declan.

  “My head of security will give them full access,” Declan replied, no emotion in his voice. “If what my sister has said checks out, how long will you hold her?”

  “As long as we need to,” Mike said. He turned to me. “Can I speak to you outside?”

  I followed Mike to the door, glancing at both Ty and Declan before I closed the door behind me. When Mike and I were alone, I said, “He didn’t have to convince his sister to come forward. You didn’t have to be such a jerk.”

  “People are dead. Someone is killing them. And every death can be traced in some small way to that man standing in there.” He pointed behind me. “That’s not a coincidence.”

  “What makes you so sure it’s not a coincidence? Or even a setup?” I held out a hand when Mike started to talk again. “You and I know murder. We’ve studied criminals and terrible, often horrific, crimes. I’m no profiler, but it would take a unique individual to plan and carry out the poisoning of a political figure in a public venue just to send a message that goes against everything he stands for. I don’t buy it.”

  “Maybe. Are you going to make the same argument for his two siblings?”

  “I think they made really stupid choices out of desperation.”

  “Hopefully, Carlos and I will scare some sense into them.”

  “I hope so, too.”

  Mike’s phone buzzed. He held it up and read the display. “A report from the tails I put on Jenna, Ben, and Danny.”

  “And?”

  “They’re home and in bed.”

  “Seems awfully mellow for a group of extremists.”

  “Social extremists,” he corrected. “They always seem more relaxed than we think they should be.”

  “They think they’re justified in the actions they take.”

  “Exactly,” he agreed.

  We both stood there in silence for several beats. Things didn’t look good for Darren and Sasha. Not until we could confirm that the supply of tacin was intact. And even then, they could be looking at charges for stealing the chemical from O’Roark Laboratories—though I was pretty sure Declan would make sure no charges were filed.

  Mike sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Brooke—” he started, but cut himself off.

  I angled my head. “What is it?”

  “I’m sorry for how I’ve treated you. And for not getting in touch sooner to work through this hurt and anger. I’ve wanted answers—answers only you could provide—but my own pride kept me from helping either of us heal completely after Teddy’s death.”

  I touched his arm, not to say, It’s okay, but to say, I appreciate the apology. “I’m sorry, too. We should have talked more.” But I had been in no condition to deal with other people’s hurt over Teddy’s death.

  “What’s going on here now clearly has ties to what we were working on back then, and therefore to Teddy’s death. Can we please work together to solve this?”

  “I thought we already were.”

  “Yeah, but I’m trusting you to have our backs, to really be a part of the team. I don’t know what happened to Teddy, exactly, but I do know that you loved him and would have saved him if you could have.”

  I lifted my head and looked him directly in the eyes. “Even now, I would trade my own life if I could bring him back. You’ve always thought I didn’t have his back. Because I didn’t.”

  He cocked his head. “What are you saying?”

  “I’m saying that there was more to that night than what was included in the files. It doesn’t make me feel any less guilty for Teddy’s death, but it would at least explain some of it for you. When this is over, you and I will talk. What I have to say has nothing to do with the current case, but I’ll tell you everything.”

  Mike lifted a hand and touched my cheek. “I’ve missed my best friend, but I’ve also missed you. My best friend loved you. He wouldn’t want us to be estranged. And he’d want us to protect each other now.”

  I swallowed hard, sucked in a cleansing breath. “You can trust me. I want to stop whoever’s doing this, and I want answers about Teddy’s death.” Answers the director had promised.

  “So what’s your latest intelligence telling you?”

  “Something big is going down this weekend. This group—the Garrison—is up to something. I think it has something to do with the Bluegrass Derby Charity Gala being held at Shaughnessy Farm.”

  “Declan’s place?”

  “That’s right. And if I were a betting girl, I’d put this extremist group at the center of it. But I still have no proof of anything. Other than I overheard Danny Ramsey and Ben Moffet pretty much admit to the attempted murder of Marti Cinnamond.”

  “I read that in your report. But we have no hard evidence tying them to that—or to the murder of José Garcia—much less the previous murders.” Mike rubbed the back of his neck. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this one, Brooke. These people, whoever they are, almost committed a successful mass murder. And why? Because of some political motive? It just doesn’t make sense.”

  “No, it doesn’t. Not yet. And if you ask me, I don’t think Sasha O’Roark is going to shed much light on it either.”

  “No, maybe not. If they’re still in possession of all the tacin from the lab, I guess we can rule out her involvement. But I’m not going to feel bad scaring her a little bit.” Mike laughed.

  I nodded. “I’m going to pretend you didn’t tell me that.” I was sure it wouldn’t help my case with Declan if he knew I was allowing Mike and Carlos to be verbally rough with his sister.

  “Think you can meet me at the fusion center at eight a.m.?” Mike asked.

  “I’ll be there.”

  Chapter 28

  Ty and I sat inside the fusion center the next morning at seven a.m., a full hour before our scheduled meeting with our FBI counterparts. We were early, but I couldn’t sleep. And with the charity gala fast approaching, Ty and I wanted to watch chatter and see if we could draw out any potential buyers for Declan’s tacin. We had left MBlahnik’s listing of tacin up on Amber Road, but so far, there’d been no bids for purchase. So Ty had started a new chat in a closed room w
here people were known to hang out and talk about drugs and dangerous chemicals being used by military and terrorists.

  While Ty monitored the chat, I watched the video of Melissa Centers’s murder. Over and over, I watched it. I’d watched it at least once a day since Romeo had sent it to me. I saw how Darren poured the bourbon into each of the glasses, including the special commemorative glass that the lieutenant governor held up to show everyone what they would get at the Bluegrass Derby when they ordered the special Derby drink made with Elkhorn Reserve’s small batch bourbon. I also watched the surveillance videos from the kickoff party, looking for any similarities.

  “Hey,” Ty said. “I got the surveillance videos from the hospital parking garage.”

  I got up and walked over to him. “Is he on there? Anyone that could be Romeo?”

  Ty shook his head. “Not so far.” He scanned through the videos at triple speed, slowing when I came into view.

  “Back up,” I ordered.

  He did as I asked. “There’s Danny.”

  “And there you are,” he said when I entered the garage.

  We watched the video several times. We clearly saw Danny enter the garage, followed by me, but I ducked out of view when I went between the cars. Then, less than a minute later, we saw me falling to the ground, rolling over and pointing my gun, then collapsing in pain.

  “Back that up. Play it in slow motion.”

  Ty played it again. “Right there,” he said at the same time I said, “Stop.”

  “What is that?” I asked, tilting my head to the side. “See if you can clear that image up a little. Get others to look at it.”

  “Will do, boss,” Ty said.

  My phone buzzed in my back pocket. It was Truman. “Hi, Truman. What’s up?” I exited the fusion center and went into the neighboring conference room for privacy. The retractable shade over the window into the fusion center was open, and I could still see what was going on inside.