Cold Blooded

by Toni Anderson

  Being an investigative reporter was the only thing she really knew how to do, and she wasn’t even sure how to do that anymore.

  She looked around. A couple sat in a back booth, holding hands and looking at one another all doe-eyed. A man in a suit worked at another booth on his laptop. She could see the server taking a break through the glass porthole in the door that led into the kitchen area, waiting while Pip’s nachos were put together.

  Dane wasn’t likely to harm her in this public space if she confronted him.

  And Agent Kincaid had promised that if Pip found evidence that Cindy’s death wasn’t accidental he’d take it seriously. She just needed to find a way to prove someone had forced her friend to take drugs. She got up from her seat and headed toward the bar.

  Dane eyed her expectantly, clearly waiting for her drink order. Then his brow crinkled. “Hey, I know you.”

  Pip opened her mouth, startled.

  His face lit up in a friendly smile. “You’re that friend of Cindy’s. I saw photographs of you in her house.”

  Her cover was blown before she’d gotten started. He obviously had a good eye for faces—probably a good thing for a barkeep.

  “Dane, right?” she asked. “I was hoping we could talk about Cindy, actually. Do you have a few minutes?”

  He checked the large clock on the wall behind the bar. “Sure. I’m just covering for someone who called in sick until the owner turns up. She won’t be long as I have a photo-shoot this afternoon. I’ll see you at your table.”

  Ten minutes later, he came over carrying a large gym bag and a glass of water, an attractive blonde woman now serving behind the bar. He slid into the booth.

  She held out her hand. “I’m Pip. Pip West.”

  “Cindy talked about you all the time. I feel like I know you already.” His handshake was warm and firm but not a spark of attraction sizzled over her skin. Unlike when Kincaid had touched her lip with his thumb. That had zapped her like a cattle prod.

  “You want something to eat?” she asked. “I can order something,” courtesy of her credit card and Cindy’s money, “or you can just dig into these.” She pointed at the enormous pile of nachos that sat in front of her. Turned out she wasn’t hungry after all.

  Dane shook his head. “No thanks.” He seemed nervous. “I’m trying to think of all the reasons you might want to talk to me.”

  “What did you come up with?” She hadn’t mentioned the fact that Cindy had died and it dawned on her in sudden horror that, unless he’d had something to do with Cindy’s death, he might not know.

  Dark brown eyes way prettier than her own met hers. He swallowed. “At first, I thought maybe she wanted to get back with me, but she wouldn’t have sent someone else in that case. Then I thought that maybe she got pregnant but didn’t know how to tell me.” His eyes lit up at that, then dimmed. “Or she got an STD and didn’t know how to let me know to get tested—”

  “Dane,” Pip cut in, acid churning in her stomach. “I’m really sorry.” Oh, God. “Cindy is dead.”

  “What?” The shock looked genuine, but he was training to be an actor.

  Pip wished she wasn’t so cynical but no one wanted to go to jail and whoever had supplied those drugs could face manslaughter charges or worse. “I went out to the lake to see her on Monday morning and I found her in the water.” Her voice caught and tripped. It still didn’t seem real.

  “Cindy?” His eyes filled with tears and Pip’s welled up in sympathy. Dammit. “No. No way.”

  Tears streamed down Dane’s cheeks and he didn’t try to wipe them away. His big fist clenched on top of the table. “What happened?”

  “The cops say she was high and decided to go for a swim.”

  “High? Like drugs high?” He sounded incredulous. “No way.”

  “That’s one of the things I was gonna ask you.” She jumped on his response. “If you ever saw her do coke. Because I didn’t. Not ever. And I knew her for a decade.”

  “I only knew her for a few months.” His lips trembled. “But I wanted to know her for much longer.”

  She waited out his shock and grief. He needed a moment to process everything that had happened.

  “Have you ever done drugs?” she asked.

  He sniffed loudly and blew his nose. “A lot of people in the modeling and acting worlds use drugs but it’s not my thing.” His cheeks darkened. “I have a criminal record because a photographer roofied my drink and planned to assault me. I overheard him whispering to one of his creepy friends when I went to the restroom. I broke the bastard’s nose. Now I always bring my own drinks wherever I go.” He picked up and shook his water bottle.

  Pip’s heart went out to the guy. But she’d dig into that information regardless and make sure he wasn’t feeding her a line.

  “Do you know anyone with a grudge against her?”

  “You knew her better than I did.” He smiled sadly “I did hear her going at it on the phone once. Super pissed. She told me it was something to do with college, but I don’t know what it was about.” He shrugged and then closed his eyes. “She was way out of my league but I kept hoping…”

  Pip found herself wanting to comfort him. Even though he looked like a badass alpha male he was a big softy. She found herself liking the guy and wishing Cindy hadn’t dumped him. He would have been good for her.

  “Don’t feel bad, Dane. She was out of my league, too.”

  He wiped his eyes. “Nah. As far as Cindy was concerned you were the most amazing person on this planet. Actually.” His smile was worthy of a Hollywood premiere. “You’re the reason she gave me a chance.”

  Pip frowned. Either he was falsely modest or half blind or truly didn’t know what was in the mirror.

  “I was raised in the foster system, too.”

  Ah. It was weird that this man knew private things about her. It wasn’t something she advertised.

  “I’m sorry.” It was all she needed to say. Sorry there was no one to love you. Sorry there was no one to look after you. Sorry there was no one to care…

  “We met at a club and started dancing. We hooked up.” A blush stained his cheeks. “It’s not something I make a habit out of but Cindy was stunning and I didn’t want to miss my chance. When she got up to leave my place she noticed a picture of me and my foster family. They were good people. She told me about you and changed her mind about giving me her number. I guess it was pity, but at that moment I’d have done anything to see her again.”

  His earnestness made her hurt for him. But could that have turned to anger when Cindy dumped him?

  “I know I wasn’t her usual kind of date but I think she wanted something different from the type of guy she’d been with before. I tried to be that for her but it wasn’t enough.”

  “She liked you.” She decided to give him something back. “But this was a pretty intense time for her with her Ph.D.”

  “Yeah, I know her work was full on.” Those brown eyes met hers, but they were cooler now. “But that’s not why she dumped me. I wasn’t the only guy she was seeing…”

  “What?” Pip asked, genuinely startled. She’d never known Cindy to two-time anyone.

  “I saw her with another guy and I followed them.” His lips firmed and he looked away.

  “You followed them?” Alarm raised the hairs on her skin.

  He shrugged. “I’d gone to her work to surprise her with some flowers around the time I knew she usually left. I was just getting ready to text her and offer her a ride home when I saw her come out. She climbed into a black SUV and drove away.”

  Black SUV?

  “I thought it was funny at first and figured she was just getting a ride home from a friend. I drove to her place and arrived just in time to see them go inside. He was kissing her and had his arm around her waist. Possessive.”

  Pip sat stunned.

  “I stayed outside, feeling like a damned fool. And to prove I’m an idiot I texted her.” He swallowed tightly. “She replied saying she
was still at work and she’d see me tomorrow. I sat fuming in the car for a little while and then left.”

  “What did he look like? This other guy?”

  “It was dark. I didn’t really see his face. Wore a suit.” Dane gave a shrug. He’d clearly been hurt by Cindy’s actions.

  Had he been hurt enough to want revenge?

  “Why didn’t you confront her about it?” Pip asked. Her mind was buzzing at the mention of the black SUV. Was it the same car that had nearly run her off the road the other day? Had the owner of that SUV given Cindy the drugs that had killed her and run away the next day when they’d realized she was dead?

  He smiled bitterly. “I didn’t want to lose her. Pathetic, huh? Especially when she dumped my ass a few days later.”

  But Pip understood. How many people turned a blind eye to what was going on because they didn’t want to rock the boat? Lots.

  “When was the last time you were at the cottage?”

  He looked affronted. “You think I had something to do with her death?”

  She shook her head. “I’m just trying to get a handle on her routine. I hadn’t seen her since Christmas. She went out to the cottage in mid-March to write. I was curious the last time you guys were together.”

  He looked away, jaw clenched. “I never went to her cottage.”

  But his eyes wouldn’t meet hers and she got the impression he wasn’t being completely honest with her.

  She ate a nacho to kill time and think, not because she was hungry. “Did you ever buy Cindy a book?”

  Three small lines pinched the skin between his eyes. “What kind of book?”

  “A novel. Gone With the Wind.”

  Dane shook his head and looked confused by all her questions.

  “I’m organizing her funeral.” She changed the subject. “I’ll text you the details.”

  He shrugged one perfect shoulder. “I don’t think I should go.”

  “Why not?”

  His smiled, all gorgeous and brooding. “Because all her friends are brainiacs and I make a living tending bar and modeling underwear.”

  Pip laughed softly. “I am not a brainiac. And, trust me, it doesn’t make them better people.” But she was familiar with the insecurities that dogged people who’d grown up in difficult circumstances, and foster care was mostly difficult circumstances. You never felt welcome. You never felt like you truly belonged. But she had with the Resnicks. That’s why they were so important to her.

  “I’d like you to come. I think Cindy would have wanted that, too. You can say your proper goodbyes.” Plus, he might recognize the guy he’d seen at Cindy’s that night.

  He nodded slowly. “Fine. Okay. I’ll be there.”

  They exchanged numbers and she walked out into a warm Atlanta afternoon and looked up at the vivid blue sky dotted with white fluffy clouds.

  Her cell rang. Her mouth went dry when she saw it was the Medical Examiner she’d hired to perform the second autopsy. And it hit her all over again like a sledgehammer to the face. Cindy was dead and she wasn’t ever coming back.

  * * *

  This time when Hunt called for a tour of Pete Dexter’s Universal Biotech company they were ready for him.

  Simon Corker met him at the swanky glass doors. He had light brown hair and clean-cut features. According to Hernandez, Corker had done an MBA and his father was a big deal military contractor who was the silent fourth partner who’d bankrolled much of the startup. Something Pete Dexter had failed to mention when they’d first spoken.

  Corker was smooth and suave and accommodating. He took Hunt through several laboratories, storage facilities, walk-in freezers and showed him the liquid nitrogen stores. Assured him all safety protocols were stringently adhered to.

  They didn’t enter the containment labs, but from a window Hunt could see into a room within a room where several people were working in blue space suits.

  “You couldn’t pay me enough to do that job,” Hunt admitted with a shudder.

  “They’re probably safer than we are. The rooms are under negative pressure and air is drawn into the labs to prevent microorganisms getting out. The protective suits have their own air supply that blows air outwards.”

  “And they’re handling some of the deadliest diseases on the planet.”

  “Well.” Corker shrugged. “If no one works on them we’ll never find cures.”

  “I thought there was no money in cures?” said Hunt. All the time he’d spent with government scientists recently was rubbing off.

  “It isn’t all about the money. We are looking for cures to some diseases.” Corker laughed and Hunt had the feeling the guy was playing him. Saying all the right things. That’s what PR people did.

  However, the FBI didn’t take answers at face value.

  “Imagine the publicity if we cured HIV? The value of our company would go through the roof and sales for our other products with it.”

  They walked down a corridor, past a door with a red light over it that was set in close proximity to two sets of heavy fire doors on either side of them in the corridor. No door handle on this side and an emergency shower station overhead.

  “Crash door,” Corker explained with a patient smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “If there’s an emergency the scientists inside press a button and the fire doors either side of us close to automatically create a mini decontamination area. They can then enter this vestibule and the shower automatically starts. After two minutes the shower shuts off and they can exit through either fire door and out through the emergency exit at the end of the hallway.”

  “Is that door alarmed?” Hunt nodded at the crash doors.

  Simon nodded. “As soon as anyone leaves via that door, or presses the button inside, a siren goes off, the fire department and CDC are notified and the shower comes on.” He put his hand against a vent in the wall. “This section of the corridor has its own high-level filtration system so that air sucked out goes through HEPA filters and is decontaminated. It’s a top of the line system.”

  Hunt nodded, impressed despite himself. He bet it was pricey as hell. “Where do you keep the anthrax you work on?”

  “It’s stored in the freezer most of the time.” Corker raised one blond brow.

  “Anyone working on it right now?”

  “I don’t believe so.”

  Hunt had been shown as much of the lab as he could without gearing up. But he didn’t know what most of the equipment was, let alone what the microbes looked like. This visit was purely about pushing buttons and psyching people out. Next time he’d bring Jez Place.

  Hunt decided to try out the latest cover story they’d decided to go with. “We’re planning a large-scale training op in preparation for a terrorist release of an airborne pathogen in Atlanta. We’d like your company to have some input.”

  Corker’s eyes gleamed. “Definitely. I can arrange that.”

  He seemed like a man who could arrange anything. Did that include arms deals on the dark web?

  “I’d like to run it past Dr. Dexter before I leave today,” Hunt said, getting into the elevator.

  “I don’t know if Pete is in.”

  Hunt pressed the button for the second floor where the partners’ offices were, not giving Corker the chance to warn the other man. “Pretty sure his Audi was in the parking lot when I arrived.”

  Corker’s lips tightened. “I think he had a meeting—”

  “Let’s go by his office and see, shall we? I had a couple of other questions I wanted to ask him.”

  “About what?”

  Hunt gave him a blank look. “I’m afraid I can’t discuss an ongoing FBI investigation.”

  The elevator doors opened.

  “I thought Cindy Resnick’s death had been deemed accidental?”

  “Local cops are still investigating. Did you know her?” Hunt started walking toward the closed door that had “Dr. Peter Dexter, CEO” stenciled on a gold name plaque.

  He gave a sharp rap on
the door and waited. Corker’s features remained tight.

  A grinning strawberry blonde threw open the door, “Did you—” Her question cut off when she saw Hunt.

  “Angela, this is Special Agent Kincaid. Angela Naysmith is another partner in Universal Biotech.”

  “Along with your father, Rebus Corker, right?” Hunt watched Simon’s expression. He didn’t look happy.

  “Correct.” Corker’s voice had lost any trace of friendly overtones. “You seem to know a lot about us.”

  “It’s my job,” Hunt said. He held his hand out to shake the woman’s. She was greyhound thin and well-dressed. His gaze shot over to Dexter who lounged on a bright red sofa.

  “Sorry to interrupt your meeting,” Hunt said without inflection. “I have a couple of questions for you.”

  Pete sat up.

  “The FBI want to invite us to get involved with a training op for a simulated biological attack on Atlanta,” Corker explained quickly.

  Looking relieved, Pete nodded. “Would love to. The private sector needs to be more involved in public sector stuff.”

  “That’s great. I’ll contact you with more details when I have them.”

  A small smile started to form on Dexter’s lips.

  “I also wanted to ask you a couple more questions.” Everyone tensed. Hunt looked expectantly at Naysmith and Corker. “In private.”

  “They can stay. I have nothing to hide.” Dexter stood and walked to his office chair, putting the desk between him and Hunt. Corker sank onto the red couch. Angela Naysmith sat demurely on the visitor chair facing the desk. No one offered Hunt a seat.