Night Watch

by Susan Sleeman

  Forehead furrowed, Kennedy looked up. “Finley takes after my dad. She’s more of a daydreamer, more erratic than me and our mom. But still. I doubt she has money issues. It’s just my mom wanting to be sure she’s okay. Finley’s the baby of the family, and my mom worried about her. You get that, right?”

  He grimaced. “Unfortunately, I do.”

  “Please don’t ask me to question my sister about this. We’re walking a fine line right now, and I don’t want to make things worse.”

  “We need to know.” He watched her until she nodded her agreement. “And I’d like to do a deep dive on her background. Just to be sure.”

  “I don’t like that.” Kennedy chewed on her lip.

  “I’ll be doing one on you too. No stones unturned and all of that.”

  “But I…” She let out a noisy breath, and then a look of resolve passed over her face. “Go ahead. I’ve worked enough investigations to know it’s important to be thorough. It’s often things you don’t expect that provide a lead in an investigation.”

  She was right, but he prayed that his deep dive on Finley wouldn’t implicate her in anything wrong. He doubted Kennedy could handle her last remaining family member having been involved in either parent’s death.

  10

  Kennedy’s stomach threatened to expel the pizza she’d eaten for dinner with Finley, and the tangy spices lingering in the air didn’t help. Kennedy hadn’t a clue why her gut was tied in knots. Was it because Erik kissed her or because she needed to ask her sister uncomfortable questions?

  She touched her lips, the kiss still a vivid memory. Kissing him had been great. Awesome even. She’d liked the softness of his lips on hers. The passion behind his touch. The hope for reconciliation she wished the kiss included. She honestly liked all of it. Way too much for her own good.

  Thankfully, Erik had broken it off, and after escorting Finley to his place, he’d taken Pong to Drake’s condo.

  Except she wasn’t really thankful. She’d wanted the kiss to go on and on. To feel like she had in the old days when love for a man was part of her everyday life.

  She’d dated in the last six years but had never found the one. It was starting to seem like Erik might be that guy. If so, she was destined for a lifetime of loneliness because he wanted nothing to do with her, and she wasn’t going to settle. Not when it came to a partner for life.

  She glanced at Finley sitting next to her on the couch and scarfing down her pizza as if she hadn’t eaten in a week.

  Great. Kennedy was going to ruin her sister’s evening with tough questions. Maybe damage their relationship even more. Then where would Kennedy be? Totally alone. But she had put off her questions long enough. She opened her mouth to speak, but Finley got up with her water glass and headed to the kitchen.

  “So you and Erik. I caught the tension between you. Did you tell him about WITSEC?”

  “I did.”

  “And?” Finley gave Kennedy a pointed look.

  “If you’re thinking we’re going to suddenly get back together because he knows why I broke up with him, don’t.” Kennedy made sure her tone left no room for questions. “He appreciated the information but made it clear that will never happen. Not after the way I dumped him. Plus, another woman cheated on him. He’s leery of all women.”

  Finley returned with ice clinking in the glass. “But if he was game? Would you be?”

  “Too much time has passed. We’re different people.”

  Finley dropped onto the sofa and drew her legs up to face Kennedy. “You didn’t answer my question.”

  “I don’t know.”

  Finley’s eyes lit up. “I thought so.”

  “Don’t get excited. Even if I did want to pursue something with him—and that’s a very big if—he’s not interested.” Kennedy took a long pull on her water. “I had a reason for asking you to come by, and it wasn’t to talk about Erik.”

  “What’s up?”

  “I talked to a lawyer today about WITSEC, and she asked what you want to do. Have you thought about it at all?”

  “A lawyer?” Finley’s volume rose.

  “Erik’s friend. Just a casual talk to see if I’m in trouble for telling his family about Dad.”

  Finley let out a relieved breath. “I haven’t thought about it. Other than I want to talk to Tyrone, to see if he thinks that we’re still in danger.”

  Kennedy agreed that they should speak to their WITSEC inspector too. “That would be a good thing to ask. Problem is, telling Erik and his brothers is a violation of our agreement.”

  “They won’t tell anyone.” Finley’s eyebrows narrowed, creating a furrow that was already starting to become permanent, unusual for a twenty-five-year-old.

  “Yeah, but I feel too guilty not to tell Tyrone.”

  That furrow deepened. “You have to do what you have to do.”

  “Go ahead and call him soon so you can make a decision,” Kennedy said. “Who knows? He might kick me out, and it could be a moot point.”

  “If you tell him, and he lets you stay in the program, he’ll relocate us.” Finley locked gazes. “If so, you’ll have to walk away from Erik again.”

  Kennedy’s heart dropped. “If you stay in the program, so will I. I could never spend the rest of my life without seeing you and knowing you were okay.”

  “Me either.” Finley grabbed Kennedy in a hug and quickly released her to stare into her eyes. Kennedy found only sincere concern looking back at her. “I don’t want to argue with you. I’m glad Erik and his brothers are going to answer your question about Mom once and for all.”

  “And about that.” Kennedy took a breath and planned her next words carefully. No way she wanted to sound like some freaked-out novice instead of a practiced professional. “There was an incident at Mom’s lab this afternoon. A letter that held a suspicious powder was delivered there. I think it could be anthrax or ricin.”

  Finley’s mouth dropped open. “Are you okay?”

  “I was wearing PPE, so I’m fine. But Erik might’ve been exposed.” Kennedy didn’t tell her there was a tiny chance that she’d been exposed. Finley didn’t need another thing to worry about.

  “You must be so worried about Erik.”

  “I’m trying not to be until we confirm the substance. The doctor’s started him on antibiotics so if it’s anthrax, he should be fine. We’ll know in a day or two if the powder contained anything dangerous.” She’d done her very best to keep her tone level and emotionless, but tears were fighting to break free. She looked away until she had them under control. “I gave Erik permission to go through the house to look for any leads.”

  “And?” Finley planted her hands on her knees.

  “And he found forty thousand dollars in cash in the safe.”

  “Oh.” Finley’s relaxed expression didn’t change.

  Not the response Kennedy expected. “Did you know about it?”

  “Not exactly.”

  “But you’re not surprised?”

  “No.”

  “Come on, Finley. Why would Mom have that much cash? It makes no sense.”

  Finley shrugged.

  Kennedy wouldn’t let it go at that. “Did Mom ever express concern about keeping money in banks?”

  “Not to me, no.”

  Kennedy searched her sister’s face for any hint of what she was really thinking. “Okay, what gives? Why are you being so laid back about this? It’s forty grand. That’s a boatload of money.”

  “I don’t know anything about it.”

  “Then why aren’t you surprised.”

  She squeezed her knees. “I don’t want to say bad things about Mom. You know. With her dying and all.”

  “It’s okay. You can tell me.”

  “It’s just, you know how obsessed she was with her work. She often forgot to do the basic things of everyday living, like banking. Stuff piled up. It got so bad that even I couldn’t stand it anymore and had to nag her or she would’ve had her utilities cut off. S
o maybe she kept the cash so she could access it at all times of the day.”

  “But you can access an ATM at all times of the day too. And you can’t pay bills with cash unless you go into offices, and that would take even more time. So that doesn’t make sense to me.”

  “You’re right.” Finley looked away. “I don’t know then.”

  “What are you thinking?”

  “Could it be illegal money from Dad’s past?”

  “The cash is newer than that.”

  Finley crossed her arms. “If you’re thinking Mom was up to something illegal, you’re wrong. She would never break the law.”

  “I agree.” Kennedy sighed.

  “What do we do about it? Do we spend it?”

  “For now we leave the money where it is because the police will need to see it.”

  Finley frowned.

  Kennedy took a breath before asking her next question. “Do you need money?”

  Finley’s eyes opened wide. “What? Why would you ask that?”

  “You seem eager to get it.”

  Finley raised her chin. “I was just asking. We have to deal with it eventually.”

  “Right now, we just have to pray that Erik figures this out and hope that Mom didn’t do something bad to get this cash.”

  “I wish I’d never called him.” Finley pouted. “Then we’d be the only ones who knew about the cash.”

  “We’d still have the same questions about it, and this way we’ll get an answer.”

  “Maybe one we don’t like.” Finley tightened her arms and slumped down.

  “FYI, Erik will be reviewing your finances.”

  Finley jumped up. “You think I’m lying about something?”

  “He’s checking my finances too,” Kennedy said. “He doesn’t expect to find anything. It’s just a task that an investigator needs to check off and move on. But if he finds something questionable, he’ll dig and dig until he gets the answers he’s looking for, so if he’s going to find something, tell me now.”

  Finley’s face paled. “He won’t. I want to go home now.”

  Again, not the reaction Kennedy expected. Was she wrong to trust her sister? She didn’t think she was making a mistake, but only time would tell.

  Erik left Pong crated at Drake’s place and returned to his condo from escorting Finley out of the building. Kennedy was sitting on the couch and looking even more upset than when he’d departed with Finley. Half an uneaten pizza congealed in a box open on the coffee table next to paper plates, and the air smelled like pepperoni.

  He wanted to ask what Finley had to say about the money, but with the strain in Kennedy’s eyes, he didn’t want to push. He also wanted to tell her what he’d learned about Finley but that wouldn’t help Kennedy either. So he dropped onto a chair by his computer to patiently wait for her to share. Time ticked past like painful pricks from porcupine quills, but she didn’t speak. Not a word.

  Tick. Tick. Tick. Minute after minute. Five. Ten. Thirty.

  Okay. Enough. His patience evaporated.

  He got up from the dining table and joined her at the couch, where she was staring at her iPad. She glanced up, her eyes glistening.

  His heart constricted, and his focus changed. Just like that. He would do anything to make those tears go away.

  She turned the tablet to face him. “I shouldn’t be looking at family pictures when I’m already upset, but I miss my mom. So very much. I think each day should get easier, but so far it hasn’t. Something happens, and I keep thinking I should call her and tell her about it, but then it hits me. I’ll never be able to call her again. Never.”

  Her chin quivered, and tears rolled down her cheeks.

  “Aw, honey.” He took her good hand and held it. “I want to take your pain away, but I know I can’t. I wish I could find a way to help you through it.”

  Her eyes widened, and she took her hand back to swipe at her tears. “I wouldn’t expect that. Not with the way I hurt you.”

  He’d felt like he’d made her feel bad since the moment they’d reconnected, and he didn’t want that. Maybe at first. Maybe he’d wanted her to feel how much she hurt him, but not anymore. “You had to end things like you did, and it’s forgiven.”

  “But I—”

  “Stop.” He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and held her gaze. “It’s over. Let’s move on and leave it in the past.”

  She blinked, her expression questioning. “Does this mean you might consider a relationship with a woman again?”

  He let his hand fall. “I haven’t come that far yet.”

  She nodded, but a sad resignation lingered in her eyes. “So I still ruined things for you.”

  He wanted to offer a comforting answer, not add to her pain, but he couldn’t. “I’m not going to lie and say you didn’t play a part in it, but it wasn’t just you.”

  She took a breath and slowly let it out. “Did you come over here for a reason?”

  Her change of subject didn’t come with a change in her expression. He’d hurt her again. But he would move on. “It’s Finley. She’s in a lot of debt. She just opened and maxed out two credit cards, and she’s a month behind on her rent.”

  “Not good. Not good at all. We’re not allowed under WITSEC rules to open credit in our names. They issue us a card and track our expenses.”

  “I’d heard they did that. Kind of big brotherish.”

  “It’s to keep us from drawing attention in a credit search, and of course becoming so desperate for money that we might do something stupid.” Kennedy rubbed the palm of her good hand down her leg. “When I told Finley about the money in the safe, she seemed eager to spend it. She’s probably embarrassed about the debt.”

  “Likely so.”

  Kennedy tilted her head, her sleek red hair sliding over her shoulder. “But how does that relate to my mom’s death?”

  “We don’t have enough information to draw a conclusion yet. It’s just a piece of the puzzle.”

  Kennedy lifted her shoulders. “Finley would never kill our mom, so don’t be thinking she would.”

  “I didn’t think that, but she could be in debt to someone who would.” He wished he didn’t need to say that, but he always had to speak the truth. “Maybe she knew about the cash and told someone, and they were trying to steal it.”

  “If she knew, why not take the money herself and pay off her debts. I was thinking more like she owed money to a loan shark.” Kennedy took several exaggerated breaths, her gaze flitting around the room as if seeking answers. “But in that case, if Finley was the one who owed the money, why kill my mom?”

  “They couldn’t kill her or they would never get their money back. But it’s also a stretch to think they would kill your mother. Hurt her, yes. With something obvious. Maybe a broken bone. Not something to cause a heart attack. I’ll get one of my brothers to look into it.”

  “Why don’t I just ask her about it?” Kennedy grabbed the strand of hair that had fallen over her eyes and twirled it around her finger.

  “You can, but she might not tell you the truth.”

  “Sadly, that’s probably true, but I’ll ask anyway.” Kennedy released her hair and gripped the arm of the couch.

  “Right, now, I’m going to call my brothers and let them know about the money. See if they have any ideas on how to investigate it.” He placed a video conference call, and when all except Drake were connected, he scooted closer to Kennedy and held out the phone, giving her a clear view of the screen.

  Erik didn’t waste any time. “In my search of Wanda’s place, I found forty thousand dollars in cash in her safe.”

  Aiden let out a low whistle. “That’s some chunk of change. You thinking she cashed out a few of those monthly deposits?”

  “No,” Erik said. “I’ve reviewed her financial records and the cash didn’t come from her checking account. And before you suggest that it’s from Silas’s past before WITSEC, the bills have a 2003 issue date.”

  Aiden s
cratched his neck. “So where would she get that kind of cash?”

  “That’s what I was hoping you all could help with,” Erik replied.

  Clay’s eyebrows pulled in. “Maybe Silas started working on some illegal scheme again.”

  Kennedy lifted her chin, and her nostrils flared. “I can’t see that happening. I really can’t. Still, I know it’s possible. One thing I’ve learned on the job, is that people do unexpected things. Maybe he desperately needed the money.”

  Aiden stared into the camera, his gaze penetrating. “If so, wouldn’t he have spent it instead of socking it away in a safe?”

  Clay cleared his throat. “He could’ve died before he had the chance to.”

  Kennedy’s gaze shot to him. “But then wouldn’t my mom have paid for whatever it was?”

  “Perhaps with your father’s death, the problem went away,” Clay said.

  “But if he owed money to someone, wouldn’t they still come after my mother?” Kennedy asked.

  “Logic says they would,” Aiden said. “But we don’t always deal with logic.”

  Clay propped his elbows on the desk in front of him and leaned on his hands. “He might’ve gotten more money than he needed.”

  “I want to look into his finances,” Erik said. “Wanda didn’t have records going back to when Silas was alive, and it’ll take time to find anything. So let’s move on for now. Any other thoughts on the money?”

  “Not from me,” Aiden said, and the others murmured their agreement.

  Erik gave each brother a pointed look. “Give it some thought and let me know if you come up with anything. And would one of you look into Finley’s potentially borrowing money from a loan shark?”

  Clay arched an eyebrow. “You think that’s likely?”

  “No,” Erik stated firmly. “But she’s in debt, and I’m just checking all avenues to see if her money problems might’ve spilled over to Wanda.”

  “I’ll do it,” Clay offered.

  “Let me know what you find.” Erik’s phone dinged and a text displayed on his screen. “Text coming in from Nick. He didn’t locate anything else on inDents or the deposits.”