by Caisey Quinn
“It was amazing, babe,” he told her as they stepped out toward his Tahoe. “Even better than when Aiden makes it.”
Her grin widened, brightening her face under the streetlights. “I’m glad you liked it. Speaking of Aiden, I wonder if he’ll be at work. I should’ve packed more food.”
“There’s plenty of dessert. If he’s there, he’ll be happy with that. Dude has a sweet tooth like a chick.”
They were heading to the station to meet with Luke and Annalise about Vivien’s suspicions. Truthfully he didn’t want to be anywhere except his bedroom where he planned to properly thank his girl for dinner. Dessert had turned out to be sopapillas she’d made by deep-frying leftover tortillas and covering them with honey and cinnamon-sugar and dollops of whipped cream. They were damn good. But he was ready to use that whipped cream on the next course.
Her.
But he knew she wouldn’t be able to rest until she’d talked to Annalise about her feelings regarding Campbell. And she was definitely harboring some serious concerns.
“He’s still there. At the station with Annalise. Hitting on her.” Vivien looked up from where she’d been texting on her phone and turned to watch his response.
“Campbell?”
She nodded.
Well, that was problematic.
“How much do you know about him?”
“Um, not much. He went through the academy after me. With Aiden and Luke. They know him better than I do.”
“What do you know, specifically?”
Chase racked his brain for anything and everything associated with the hotheaded officer. “He’s been on modified assignment more than once for pulling shit like he pulled the day we brought Lewis in. He’s impulsive and short-tempered and typically seems to be in the way more than anything else. I’ve seen him in action at the bars and his opening line always involves telling girls he’s a cop.”
Vivien ran her fingers through her hair and moved it to one side before speaking. “The more I think about him, the more he bothers me. He’s harassing Annalise when anyone with eyes can see she has feelings for Luke. He jumped on the chance to insert himself into the bomber investigation, replacing Meadows on your team without being asked to do so. And the way he handled Lewis doesn’t sit right with me. At all.”
“He wanted to be a detective,” Chase added. “He and Luke were up for it at the same time but Campbell has too many write ups and is a liability more than anything else. It’s one thing if you’re getting reamed out for excessive force or failure to follow protocol but you’re saving lives and collaring bad guys left, right, and center. It’s another if you’re getting your ass in hot water constantly with no visible results.”
Vivien nodded absently.
Chase’s curiosity deepened along with the creases in Vivien’s forehead. “What are you thinking, babe?”
She answered his question with a question. “Was he ever in the military?”
Chase snorted. “Boy was he. We never hear the end of it. He has semper fidelis tattooed in huge-ass letters on the outsides of his forearms.”
“Like the Marine Corps motto?”
Chase nodded.
“Like the same branch of military Eric Lewis was a member of? And Tobias Edwards?”
He couldn’t quite make the same giant leap she had just yet, but the feeling that she was onto something sent a chill down Chase’s spine.
“I don’t know if they would’ve served together or even at the same time,” he told her.
“Yeah,” Vivien agreed. “But we both know someone who can find out. And since they work for the department here, she can probably do it a little quicker than my Bureau contact can.”
Chase parked the SUV as they pulled into the parking garage behind the station. “Back to work we go.”
Vivien leaned across the console and kissed him lightly on the lips. “When this case is over, you and me are taking a vacation. One way or another.”
Chase agreed wholeheartedly. He just hoped they could eliminate this threat in time so it wasn’t a mandatory vacation for failing to stop a madman from burning their city to the ground.
Twenty-seven
Annalise had narrowed her potentially infected e-mails down to three.
One from a company offering group discounts on skydiving.
One from a company she’d taken an online computer programming course from.
And one from Officer Jeffrey Campbell.
The third one bugged her because she was pretty sure the only type of infection the fellow uniform wanted to give her was a sexually transmitted one. But he had sent an e-mail to her requesting she look over his letter of recommendation from his CO in the Marine Corps. He was applying to join Chase’s EOD team permanently and had secured the necessary recommendations to do so but wanted her opinion on the letter. She’d opened it, read it, and e-mailed him back to say it was a little vague.
More like it read as complete bullshit. When she’d tried to locate the source to authenticate the letter, she’d been told that particular Sergeant had retired and moved to the mountains, meaning he wasn’t easy to reach.
She’d noted at the time how convenient that was for Campbell.
The rest of the e-mails all passed the antivirus scans she’d run with no problems. Those three had come up with warnings for breaches insecurity. She’d called both companies and asked if any other recipients had reported viruses being attached to their e-mails.
Within the hour she had responses from both.
No.
Not a single person who’d received the same exact e-mail she had opened had reported any kind of issue.
That only left one option.
Vivien glanced around the bull pen. It was empty save for her and Officer Campbell. She forced a smile, and he leered at her with a suggestive lift of his chin. An uneasy sensation crept over her, sliding down her spine and heating her from the inside out. Swallowing became difficult, and when her phone pinged with a message notification, she nearly jumped out of her seat.
The text was from Vivien and said she and Chase were on their way. A sigh of relief escaped her lips almost instantly.
Bringing food also! Vivien added.
Annalise didn’t want to alarm them, so she sent back a smiley face and the words can’t wait!
She wished she could somehow convey that she’d meant that literally.
Twenty-eight
Vivien could tell something was wrong the moment she laid eyes on Annalise. Tension seemed to radiate from her, contorting everything from her pinched expression to her stiff posture at her desk.
Then she saw Officer Campbell sitting two desks behind her, practically drilling a hole in her back with his stare, and she knew exactly what it was.
“Get rid of him somehow,” she muttered to Chase below her breath as they approached. “I need her to look up his military record and a few other things without him looking over her damn shoulder.”
“On it.” Chase waved at Officer Campbell as they parted ways. “Hey, Jeff. Glad you’re here. Viv wanted to bring Annalise some food and I wanted to go over the patrol strategy with you for the festival tomorrow one more time.”
Officer Campbell looked pleasantly surprised. “Sounds good, man.”
“Let’s grab a conference room so I can utilize a wipe board.”
The two men left the bull pen, and Vivien saw Annalise visibly relax. “He gives me the creeps. And I think he sabotaged my computer,” Annalise told her.
Vivien nodded. “Something about him has been bugging me. Chase said he wanted to be a detective. Now he’s applying to be on the EOD team. It doesn’t make sense. Could you see Luke switching gears and joining the bomb squad or SWAT?”
Annalise shook her head. “No. Not at all. But I don’t think Campbell knows his ass from a hole in the wall, honestly. Much
less what he wants to do when he grows up.”
“That’s what I want to figure out. If he’s as dumb as he pretends to be or if he’s got more at stake than we all realize where the bomber case is involved.”
“You think Campbell is aiding and abetting Lewis?”
Vivien shrugged. “I don’t know. But I know the pistol slap to the temple was over-the-top and yet Lewis didn’t holler police brutality. I know that someone notified an attorney that Lewis was here even though Lewis hadn’t been given a phone call. And now you’re saying he might’ve wiped your hard drive for reasons unknown. I actually came tonight because I want you to look into his background before he became an officer. I made some calls to friends of mine at the Bureau but they said it could be tomorrow before I had any answers.”
Annalise pulled a pensive face. “He’s always kind of been the black sheep of the department. If anyone would be dirty, he’d be the first one I’d suspect.”
“I need to know if he served in the Marine Corps the same years Lewis did. And where he was stationed during his service—specifically if their paths would’ve ever crossed before now.”
Annalise began playing the keys of her computer like an expert pianist playing a concerto.
Vivien waited as patiently as she could, checking the back entrance to the room frequently for any signs of Chase or Officer Campbell.
“Got it,” Annalise announced. “Here’s his employee file and his service record.” She scanned the screen along with Vivien.
“Can you pull up Lewis’s service record?”
“Give me just a moment.” A few clicks later and Annalise pointed to a line on Eric Lewis’s photocopied service record.
“Holy . . .” The words Vivien was searching for wouldn’t come.
Annalise verbalized the facts that had rendered Vivien speechless. “They were both members of a small Marine unit stationed in the inventory area of Holston in Kingston from 2007 to 2009.”
“You know what they do at Holston?” Vivien did.
Annalise clicked a few more keys and read the words that had appeared on the screen. “Holston Army Plant is located in Kingston, Tennessee, and has been in operation since 1942.” She paused to scroll down further. “It’s a chemical processing plant that provides ingredients for all types of military explosives.” Her mouth dropped into a small O of surprise. “Jesus. My money says that isn’t a coincidence.”
Vivien froze when she heard Chase’s and Campbell’s voices drawing closer.
“Close it. Close the browser,” she hissed at Annalise. “Quickly.”
Annalise clicked a button on the monitor that made her screen go black. Vivien made quick work of tearing a lid off the Tupperware she’d placed the food in. She practically threw a plastic fork at the other woman, who caught it quickly and shoveled several bites of cold enchilada into her mouth.
By the time the two men had made it around the corner to Annalise’s desk, the women had erected a believable façade that made it appear as if they’d been eating and gossiping the entire time.
After a few minutes, Officer Campbell seemed to realize Chase and Vivien weren’t leaving anytime soon. His shoulders slumped, and he glanced at the door. “I’m about to clock out. Anna, you want me to wait and walk you out? It’s getting late.”
She gave him a small smile that Vivien could tell was forced. “Nah. These two will walk me out. Have a good night.”
He gave them all a short salute, but there was malice in his eyes as they landed on Annalise’s visitors. “Sure thing. You too.”
Once he was out of earshot, Vivien turned to Chase. “Go get Luke. Get him now.”
He didn’t ask any questions, for which she was thankful. He just pulled out his phone and started walking.
With the music festival less than twenty-four hours away, they couldn’t afford to waste a single second.
Twenty-nine
Luke Foster had a fucking migraine. From hell.
He’d being staring at the same two files for hours. Both the electronic version and the paper ones. The words began to blur and run together on the pages and on the screen in front of him.
“Something is missing. But I can’t put my finger on what.”
His three accomplices glanced up at him.
“What kind of something?” Annalise Gamble asked. Even with a migraine, her voice was musical and soothing to his ears.
“I don’t know. Something.” He held two pieces of paper in his hands. “Look. Lewis is accounted for right up until two years ago. Then he just vanishes. No record of anything. No known address. No cell phone. No credit cards. No bank accounts. No record of an arrest or so much as a speeding ticket or parking violation. Just gets kicked out of the Corps and vanishes.”
“His previous roommate did say he paid the rent in cash,” Vivien Montgomery told them. “So maybe he was purposely off the grid for a while.”
“Doing what?” Chase said absently. “Contracting independently, maybe . . .”
“Maybe,” Luke agreed. “He wouldn’t be the first.”
Annalise frowned. “But Campbell would’ve already been here. He’s about to accept his five-year service award. So if he and Lewis had kept in touch, they both would have known where the materials from Holston were being transported to. I get that they would’ve contacted Tobias Edwards as their ‘in.’” Her frown deepened and she shoved a stray lock of hair out of her eyes. “Still don’t really get why though.”
Luke shook his head and pressed his fingers hard against his temple. “I still can’t figure out what the motive is. What does Lewis, Edwards, or even Campbell gain from this?”
“I have a theory,” Annalise said after a long moment of silence.
“Please, do share,” Chase deadpanned. “I’m exhausted.”
Vivien rubbed her palm soothingly down the length of his thigh, which seemed to appease him for the moment. Luke and Annalise both looked away from the affectionate display.
“Okay,” Annalise began. “So I know Campbell is a creeper and all, but I’m not sure this is his style. We talked before about Lewis having a vendetta. What if it was Campbell that pushed him into stealing the government property and let him take the fall? Now Lewis is out for revenge and Campbell is too afraid of getting ratted on for what he did in the service to call him out.”
“That might explain why Campbell gets so jumpy at the sight of the man. But still, he’s the law now,” Vivien pointed out. “Why wouldn’t he just spin it to make Lewis look crazy and himself seem innocent?”
“Maybe Lewis has proof,” Luke suggested. “Maybe he’s got something on Campbell that’s keeping him quiet.”
The four of them sat in silence for several minutes before Vivien sighed. “This is the weirdest double date ever.”
“It’s not a date,” Annalise and Luke said in near-perfect unison.
Both of Vivien’s eyebrows lifted. “Uh-huh. Methinks you both doth protest too much.”
Chase smirked but Luke didn’t smile back. This was nowhere near the kind of date he’d take Annalise Gamble on. She deserved dinner at a five-star restaurant, not reheated leftovers. Funny thing was, he’d known Annalise a long time. She was just as happy with leftovers and takeout as she was with filet mignon. He’d seen her moaning in ecstasy over cold pizza more than once. Which had in turn nearly killed him every time.
“So we drawing straws or what?” Chase asked, catching him completely off guard.
Luke tried to catch up but he’d lost himself in Annalise Land. “Huh?”
“Who’s going to question Campbell?” Chase clarified. “Someone is going to have to bluff him out—
make him think we already know everything so he comes clean. Right? Isn’t that your specialty, Foster?”
Luke leaned back in his seat and took a long drink from a bottle of water he’d almost forgotten
about. “I’ll go by his place tonight.”
“Want some backup?” Vivien offered.
Annalise spoke up before he could answer. “I know time is of the essence here, but if Campbell feels cornered, he might do something crazy. Why not question him here tomorrow morning? With a full squad of backup?”
Chase cleared his throat as if to answer, but Luke shot him a look before handling the question himself. “I can handle Soup. And if he gives us a lead on Lewis, or anything really, there’s a chance it might prevent tomorrow from being a complete nightmare.”
She bit her lower lip—something he really wished she wouldn’t do. She’d done it that night, the night he’d been inside her, breaking a barrier no man ever had. He shifted his weight in his seat so the tightening in the crotch of his jeans wouldn’t be obvious. These triggers had taunted him over the years. Sighing. Lip biting. Groaning in satisfaction while she was eating. Moaning while she stretched. It was a symphony of destruction as far as he was concerned.
“Could you like . . . I don’t know . . . take him to a bar? I’d feel better if you questioned him in a public place. You know what a hothead he can be.”
Luke wanted to smile. She was concerned about him. “Good idea.”
Chase stood. “I’ll go with you.”
Luke’s smile slipped from his lips. “You sure? Between the note about Vivien and your truck, I don’t know if that’s a good idea. Even if Campbell isn’t directly responsible for either, Lewis could be watching him.”