Night Watch

by Susan Sleeman

  “So,” Erik said, “we’re most likely looking for someone in the scientific community with connections to your mom. Maybe one of these Responsible Officials.”

  “Can you get us a list of these people?” Aiden asked.

  “I’d think one exists, but I don’t know if it would be in an accessible database. I can check. In the meantime, most of you have federal contacts who might be able to get this list. Ask them. Plus I’ll ask Malone and Reed. Even Piper, Devon, and Hunter.”

  “And these people are?” Kennedy asked.

  “FBI agents married to the Veritas partners. They can all look into it.”

  “Would be far easier if Sierra could process the envelope for prints or Emory could lift DNA from it,” Clay said.

  “If it’s contaminated with a toxin,” Kennedy said, “there’s no way law enforcement will allow her to do that.”

  “What do you think the odds are that it isn’t?” Brendan asked.

  “With my mom’s connections to the scientific world, I think it’s very likely that we’re dealing with a deadly substance.” Her eyes narrowed. “I could be wrong about it being anthrax, though. Could be ricin or another substance. We’ll have to wait for Maya’s tests to confirm.”

  “If it is a poisonous substance,” Erik said, “I would think the sender would be smart enough to wear gloves. So even if Sierra is able to process the envelope, it’ll probably only hold prints from postal workers. Maybe we’ll get prints or DNA from the food containers that I grabbed before all of this happened.”

  “What we really need right now is Wanda’s personal and professional contact list,” Aiden said. “Then we can investigate everyone to see if one of them might’ve been angry with her.”

  “With the potential anthrax scare, her computer will be taken into evidence, if it hasn’t been already,” Clay said. “And her phone, if it’s at the office.”

  “Already ahead of you.” Erik grinned. “I started an image of her hard drive to upload to our server while Kennedy was working in the lab. I left it running and just checked it. The file completed. I’ll review the data as soon as I can. No phone or copies of Wanda’s contract at the lab, though.”

  “Her phone is at the house,” Kennedy said. “I brought it home when I first got to town.”

  “Then Sierra probably fingerprinted it, and we need to upload the contents before PPB asks for it.” Erik met Kennedy’s gaze. “With your permission, I’ll head over to your place after we finish here and do that.”

  “Sure,” she said.

  “I can also check Wanda’s personal computer and email while I’m there.”

  “No personal email,” Kennedy said. “My mom didn’t believe in communicating via email except at work, and even then, she did it sparingly. Same is true of texts.”

  “Then we’ll just have to depend on her call record and contacts.” Erik didn’t like that they’d have fewer leads in this investigation, but he’d have to deal with it. “And we all need to watch out for any military or militia-type connection to Wanda. Not that we think she’s involved in anything like that, but the intruder was dressed in camo and combat boots.”

  “We also need to do a deep dive into Wanda’s assistant,” Aiden said. “I’ll get started on finding the basics. If we need more, you can take it from there.”

  “Sounds good,” Erik said. “She could be in on this, and we need to talk to her, but let’s get the background on her first. Could help us formulate the right questions.”

  Erik looked at Kennedy. “We also need to remember that the break-in might be more a case of the intruder looking for something and not expecting to find you there. Means we should try to determine what he might be after.”

  “You think that’s likely?” Aiden asked.

  Kennedy nodded. “It seemed like he was searching for something when I first saw him.”

  “Then I’ll do a thorough search of the place too.” Erik looked at Kennedy. “Anything else I should get at your house? What about Wanda’s personal records?”

  “I don’t know.” Kennedy stared at her hands. “I haven’t been able to bring myself to go through her things. I’m sure her will is there somewhere. It would be great if you looked at things while you were there. Feel free to search anywhere. Oh, and she has a printer with a copier, so make a copy of anything we could need.”

  Erik was thankful for her cooperation, but it came with a dose of sad resignation, and he didn’t like seeing her this way. “You’re sure you don’t mind me going through her things without you?”

  “Mind?” Kennedy stared across the room at the windows, then swung her gaze back to him. “Yeah. Probably. But you could’ve been exposed to anthrax, and I will do anything to bring the perpetrator to justice. Anything.”

  8

  Kennedy didn’t like sitting around in Erik’s condo, but she couldn’t do anything to help. At least nothing other than remaining in place where she was safe and Erik didn’t have to worry about her.

  A knock sounded on the door, and she jumped. Erik wouldn’t knock on his own door. Should she answer it?

  She strode down the hallway and glanced through the peephole. A tall, striking woman stood there. Sierra was with her and held a baby. He had bright blue eyes, and a smile on his adorable face.

  Curious about the woman and the visit, Kennedy opened the door.

  Sierra stepped forward. “This is Reed’s sister, Malone. She’s an attorney, and Erik thought it might be helpful for you to talk to her.”

  Surprised, Kennedy tilted her head and studied the woman more closely. She wore a black suit with glinting gold buttons. The sharply tailored blazer and the way her hair was perfectly twisted up in back brought to mind the words timeless elegance—a look Kennedy couldn’t pull off even if she had a personal stylist. Her look was more flats, comfy knits, and jeans.

  Kennedy shook hands with Malone. “I know he called you about the dive. Is that what this is about?”

  Sierra shook her head, her hair brushing the baby’s face. “He said it was about the reason you two broke up. That you might want to discuss whether sharing that information was legal or would get you into trouble.”

  She hadn’t thought that there would be any legal issues with telling someone about her parents’ WITSEC, but if Erik sent Malone, maybe there was something Kennedy didn’t know. “Okay, sure. Come in, and I’ll run everything past you.”

  Malone trained her gaze on Sierra. “You want to wait with us, or should I call you to come back and escort me to the door?”

  “Oh, wait. For sure.” Sierra looked at Kennedy. “That is, if you don’t mind me hearing what’s going on.”

  “All of your brothers know. What’s one more person?” Kennedy forced out a laugh and stepped back for them to enter.

  The pair went straight to the sofa and settled down as if they’d been there many times before. Kennedy wasn’t surprised by Sierra, but what kind of a relationship did Malone have with Erik? Friends? Family? Girlfriend?

  Kennedy doubted the last one, as he’d said he didn’t trust women enough to have a relationship. He hadn’t said that he didn’t date, though. She glanced at Malone’s perfectly manicured fingers but found no wedding or engagement ring.

  Uncertain under the attorney’s watchful gaze, Kennedy dug up a smile. “I don’t know what Erik has to drink, but I can offer you some water.”

  “Nothing for me.” Sierra shifted the baby, who had chubby cheeks just begging for a squeeze. His dark hair was thicker on the top and shaped like a baby mohawk.

  “Me either.” Malone took a notepad from her expensive leather briefcase. Her shoes and suit looked pricey, too, but then that wasn’t surprising for a lawyer.

  Kennedy took a seat in a well-used leather recliner. “What do you need to know?”

  “Start at the beginning of your story, and I’ll ask any questions I might have along the way.”

  Kennedy gave Malone as many details as she knew about her father’s criminal past an
d her family’s time in WITSEC, including sharing their WITSEC inspector’s name, Deputy Tyrone Kruse.

  Malone jotted down notes, and Sierra’s already large eyes grew rounder.

  She shifted the chubby baby in her arms, who looked up at her with large blue eyes. “And this is why you broke up with Erik?”

  “Yeah. It suddenly felt like I’d been lying to him—to everyone—my whole life.”

  “Wow. Just wow.” Sierra jerked, and the baby startled with her movement. She lifted him to her shoulder and shushed him as he rested his head in the crook of her neck. “Erik had no idea. Poor guy.”

  “I know I hurt him, and I would give anything not to have been in that position, but if I had a do-over, I still would end things.” Kennedy lifted her chin. “I couldn’t live that lie any more today than I could’ve back then.”

  Sierra gently patted Asher. “I’m not blaming you. Just understanding why Erik was so impacted. He’s never really recovered from it. He says he has, but his sporadic and awkward dating history says he hasn’t.”

  “Maybe knowing the reason will bring him closure now.” Malone tapped her pen on her notepad.

  Kennedy hoped so, but he still seemed hurt and distrustful. She focused on Malone. “So, am I in any kind of legal trouble for telling people about WITSEC?”

  “You’re definitely in violation of your family’s agreement with the agency, which is just cause to boot you from the program.”

  “With both of our parents gone, I don’t even know if there will be any residual danger to me or Finley. I’m sure Tyrone will do an assessment, and then we’ll have to decide if we want to remain under their program. I’m definitely leaning toward leaving it.”

  “Here’s the thing you’re forgetting,” Malone said, her tone all official and lawyerly. “If you leave and continue to use your name, and Finley stays in the program, she’ll have to be relocated under a different name and sever all ties with her past.”

  Kennedy’s heart skipped a beat as the implication sank in. “That includes me. She’ll sever ties with me, and I’ll never see my sister again.”

  Erik took his time going through Wanda’s things while the image he was taking of her phone completed, but she had very little to search, so he was back at the condo by lunchtime. He planned to discuss what he’d found with Kennedy over a meal. Hopefully the relaxed setting would soften the blow when he told her what he’d discovered.

  He reached for the knob, but his phone rang. Seeing Sarge’s name, Erik answered.

  “Thought you should know.” Sarge’s gruff voice came through loud and clear. “We’re forming a task force with all the appropriate agencies for the potential deadly toxin at the lab. You need to keep the investigation to yourself for now. We’ll be requesting the prints and DNA from the break-in at Ms. Walker’s home as well as any other evidence, including those food containers. We’d appreciate it if the Veritas scientists provided their findings as well. And Detective Frank Johnson will be calling you to get a statement from both of you on what transpired on the night of the break-in.”

  “Now you’re interested in the break-in,” Erik muttered. He felt his anger rising to the surface, and he had to swallow it down to remain levelheaded and not make an enemy. “I suppose any chance in our seeing the results from DNA and fingerprint database searches is now out of the question.”

  “Yes. We have no reason to believe the two incidents are related, but you know what I say?”

  “You don’t believe in coincidences.”

  “Exactly. So Johnson will want a full accounting of any leads you’ve run down so far.”

  “And if I don’t cooperate?” Erik could barely contain his frustration over the one-way street.

  “You know the answer to that.”

  “I’ll be issued a subpoena or you might even have enough probable cause to get a warrant to search my place and office.”

  “Exactly. Don’t make me do that.”

  “Can the Veritas experts continue working on the evidence they’re evaluating?”

  “I’ll check in with the task force leader and get back to you.” Sarge ended the call.

  Erik refrained from punching the wall. He didn’t want to share their information, but they didn’t have much to share. They’d mostly struck out anyway.

  He made a group call to Sierra, Emory, and Maya. Once they were all on the line, he brought them up to date on the new development. “PPB detective’s name is Frank Johnson. I’ve worked with him before, but he was in a tough spot back then so he was defensive. I hope he’ll cooperate now.”

  “They’d be foolish not to let us continue with what we’re working on,” Maya said. “But I know how politics in a multi-agency task force work. You get FBI agents in the mix, and they’ll likely want everything to go to Quantico.”

  “We’ve seen that happen often enough,” Sierra said. “I’ll rush what I can while we wait for a verdict. Let me know if I can do anything else.”

  “I really can’t rush anything,” Emory said. “It’s all running right now, and the machines will need to complete before we can analyze the data.”

  Erik swallowed down his frustration. No point in letting them know how much this was impacting him. He thanked them and ended the call. He stowed his phone along with his negative attitude and opened his condo door. Voices floated down the hallway as the patter of doggie paws headed his way.

  What in the world?

  He’d expected Kennedy to be alone.

  His mom’s voice sounded above the others asking Kennedy if she was dating anyone.

  Crud. His feet stuttered to a stop. What was his mom doing there? His dad was likely with her. Who let them in the building then escorted them to the condo? Sierra or any one of his brothers. One or more of them had probably told their mom about the anthrax. Not that he blamed them. She always managed to discover when one of her children was in danger or sick, and she always came running. He both loved and disliked that about her.

  And she’d likely badgered Kennedy about their breakup. If he knew his mom—and he did—she was probably already trying to get them back together.

  He didn’t want to deal with that. He needed to focus on finding the creep who drew a gun on Kennedy, but he would never leave Kennedy to fend for herself with his mother. Never.

  Pong reached the door and gave a sharp bark of greeting. Even if Erik wanted to bail, his best friend had outed him. He strode down the hall, Pong rushing ahead, and prepared for his mother’s inquisition. She was seated between Kennedy and Erik’s dad on the sofa, but caught sight of Erik and propelled herself off the plump cushions.

  When she approached, Pong eyed her as if he might need to protect Erik the way many working dogs might do.

  “Sit,” Erik commanded.

  “I know you don’t mean me.” His mom smiled and looked him over. “I get that you never want any fuss, but I just had to see if my baby was all right.”

  Worse than he thought. “Baby? Come on, Mom. I’m not a child.”

  “You’ll always be my baby. You’ll understand someday when you have children.” She cupped the side of his face then gave him a good once over. “You don’t look any worse for wear, but Kennedy tells me we really won’t know anything for a day or so.”

  “So far, I feel fine, so you don’t have to stay.”

  “Nonsense.” She waved a hand. “I brought lunch, and your dad is starving, so we’ll all eat together. I’ll just set the table.”

  “Can I help?” Kennedy asked.

  “You’re so sweet to offer.” His mom stopped next to Kennedy and squeezed her shoulder. “You’ve been through a lot. Relax while I get the meal ready.”

  His mom didn’t look mad at Kennedy, so she obviously didn’t blame her for breaking up with him. Had Kennedy told his mom about WITSEC? Or had his mother believed all those years that, since Erik wouldn’t talk about the reason he split with Kennedy, he must be at fault?

  Kennedy met his gaze, and she didn’t have th
e frightened-deer-in-the-headlights look that he’d expected. But she knew his parents pretty well and knew what to expect from them. Knew that his mom might whirl around like a tornado sometimes, but she always, always had her family’s best interest at heart.

  Kennedy sat up straighter on the couch. “Sierra brought Malone over to discuss that thing we talked about.”

  Okay, so she hadn’t told his parents about WITSEC or she wouldn’t be so cryptic in her word choice.

  He felt his mother’s gaze burning into him, but he continued to look at Kennedy. “I hope it was helpful.”

  Kennedy gave a vigorous nod. “She’s going to make some calls for me, and I need to talk to Finley. Do you think she could come by today?”

  “We’re settled in here for a while, so sure.”

  “Then I’ll give her a call.” Kennedy headed toward the hallway.

  Erik patted Pong to soothe his worried behavior and looked at his dad. “You’re not planning to stay beyond lunch, are you?”

  “Good to see you too.” He laughed.

  “Sorry. You know I like seeing you guys, but we have work to do, and I have information to share with Kennedy.”

  “Speaking of…” His mom glanced at him as she set plates on the table. “Everything okay with the two of you?”

  “It’s fine,” Erik said. When his mom’s eyes lit up, he wished he’d said they were on the outs.

  “I’m glad.” She smiled. “I always loved that girl, and it’s so good to see her now all grown up, and a forensic scientist, of all things.” She shook her head. “It’s really something, isn’t it? Working for the FBI. Traveling all over the country, diving in strange locations? What an exciting life.”

  Erik didn’t know if recovering a corpse from a body of water fell under the label exciting. More like gruesome.

  “Stay,” he told Pong and crossed the room to her. “What’s for lunch?”

  “Chicken salad, fresh fruit, and homemade rosemary bread.”

  “What can I do to help?”

  “Pour the water and set the silverware while I bring out the food.”