Could today get any worse? First, she had to sleep on the floor in an FBI conference room, she was trapped with a sugar-fied ball of energy, and now they were inadvertently discussing her big mistake.
Awesome.
As they walked through Phillip Cahill’s apartment, there didn't seem to be anything going on there that looked out of place. They both continued snapping any pictures of the area that they deemed relevant.
Brynn had to admit that it looked like the sweep team had gotten it all. There were no hidden drugs or signs of a full blown addiction.
Then, she scanned the bookshelves. The dusty volumes weren’t her focus, but it was what sat beside them on the mantle, which caught her attention.
It was a simple photograph.
Pulling out the tablet, which she borrowed before they left the FBI building, she flipped through the files. That’s where she saw it. Pulling out her phone, she called Briggs.
“Hey, Brynn honey, are you okay?” he asked, as he searched through a different deceased man’s home with Agent Brass.
“Yeah, Curtis, I am, but I think I found something,” she said. “Go into the file for Phillip Cahill. It’s the section with all the photos of his living room, specifically the mantle.”
“Is this a little something or ‘break the case open’ discovery?”
“I’m not sure.”
Jamie Price moved closer at the mention of his name. She looked like she wanted to climb through the phone and onto the other agent’s lap.
Yeah, it wasn’t happening.
“Okay, what am I looking for?” he asked, scanning the photograph on his tablet as Tessa watched over his shoulder.
“Zoom in on the photograph.”
When he did, he saw it. “Wait, isn't that…”
Tessa caught it too. “Shit!”
She grinned to herself. “Oh yeah it is. Can you work your magic and tell me why Billy Lewis and Phillip Cahill are in a photo together?”
He began typing. She could hear it over the phone.
“Tell him I said hi,” whispered Jamie, bouncing like a teenage girl.
Yeah, still not happening.
She gave her the look, and it must have been telling since she backed up.
“Hey, Brynn, guess who had been partners at one time?” Curtis inquired, knowing this was a way to connect them.
“Long term?” she asked.
Tessa held the phone so he could do the research.
“Yeah, three years.”
“This is the first link we have. Now, we just need to figure out if anymore agents tie together,” she said, grinning. “This may buy us time with the director.”
“He’s hot too,” stated Jamie.
“What, honey?” asked Curtis. “Did you say something?”
“No, that wasn’t me. Agent Price was declaring the boss man’s hotness factor.”
Curtis laughed at the tone in her voice. “Oh boy. Rough one, huh?”
He had no idea.
“I’ll survive. Have you found anything there?” she asked, changing the topic. If Curtis didn't know that the ladies were lusting after him, she may still have a shot.
“Other than that Tim Eastman was a decorated agent. I found his picture frame with his Medal for Meritorious Achievement. I took a bunch of pictures but nothing else popped up. We can go over them later and see if anything rings a bell for you. If you want, we can call it another date.”
She grinned triumphantly, but dropped her voice. “Shouldn’t you get through tonight and see if you want a second one?”
At the change in the conversation, Tessa gave them some privacy. She understood the whole relationship mess they were embroiled in. Look at her life. She was living with the man she loved but couldn’t marry him.
Oh yeah, messes she got.
He didn't have to think about it. “I wasn’t the one who needed space, Brynn. You’re the one who has to answer that. I’ll take twenty dates with you right now.”
Her heart skipped in her chest.
Curtis knew he was putting her on the spot.
“I better go. Be safe at Agent Lewis’s house.” Why she felt compelled to hang up, she had no idea. Oh yeah she did. It was because she had been an idiot and put two gold bars ahead of her heart.
“Where are you heading next?” he asked, and then realized how she might think he was prying into her life.
Damn!
He was struggling with this.
Brynn glanced down at her watch. “We’re going to Jane Pepper’s place. Why?” she asked.
“We’re done here at Tim Hartman’s. It’s time to head to Billy’s. Do you want to meet us at the Williams’ house? We can search it and compare notes.”
That sounded like a plan. “I’ll see you there.”
“I can’t wait,” he replied grinning.
Now, her heart was pounding. “Same here, Curtis.” When she hung up the phone, the agent was right there.
“Did he find anything?” Jamie Price asked, wandering back over.
“Nothing yet, but we still have another house to check before we head to Lester Williams’s place. Maybe something will turn up there.”
Brynn headed to the doorway, cognizant of the footsteps from the agent behind her. Maybe if she was lucky, the woman would get lost between here and the car. It was wrong of her to feel that way, but she couldn’t help it.
Then, it hit her.
This must have been the way Curtis felt when they were dating. Here, she got angry at him, and she was doing the exact same thing.
Touché fate, your point is taken.
As she stepped out into the sunlight, she tried to remain focused on the day, but all Brynn could think of was the man she’d once lived with.
And her first redo date that evening.
This time, it had to count.
* * *
Tessa returned to Briggs’s side. “I hate to be the Debbie Downer here, but we all rotate partners or work different cases. Look at us now. When I first started out, I was a probee on a field assignment where I saw Tim Eastman for a week, but then never again. There are quite a few combinations you can come up with when you have a pool of two hundred Feds. It may not be a connection,” she reiterated.
Curtis understood that. “Yeah, but it’s something, so we’ll start there and see what we unravel. Sometimes, the smallest thread turns into the one line that pulls it all apart.”
He had a point.
“Besides, we’re not exactly rolling in suspects now, so why not just follow up?”
Again, she was okay with that. “Let’s get over to the next house. Maybe we can find something else,” Tessa offered.
Curtis figured that was for the best. When they exited the house, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up.
Something was off.
Holding his sunglasses in his hand, he scanned the surroundings. He could swear he was being watched. Over the last year, he’d learned from the boss man to listen to his gut. Right now, his was screaming.
“Hey?” Tessa called, hopping in the tinted out vehicle. “You okay?”
He hustled over and hopped in. “Yeah, just checking out the area, that’s all,” he said, not wanting to alarm the woman, especially if nothing was wrong. Maybe it was just him, or being at the dead man's house, but he could swear someone was there.
“Let’s get moving,” Tessa offered. “I want to get back to Paris and see if he needs help.”
Briggs was good with that. Suddenly, he didn't want to be out in the open either.
* * *
Well, to say that the team was less than successful at the next two searches would be an understatement. When they finally arrived at Lester and Leslie Williams’s place, they were ready to search and get out of there.
As they exited their vehicles, they stopped to compare notes on what turned up.
“We didn't find anything at Jane Pepper’s place. If the doctor had given her meds, they weren’t there. It was clean. The te
am already documented everything, down to what was in her refrigerator,” Detective Westmore said.
Brynn noticed that Agent Price was staring at Curtis like he was the second coming of Jesus. Yeah, there was going to be a crucifixion any moment. She could see it happening.
“We were a little luckier at Billy Lewis’s place,” Tessa offered. She pulled out her cell and showed them the picture. It was a Ziploc bag full of little white pills.
“Yowza,” stated Brynn. “Someone had an addiction.”
Briggs continued, “Yeah, but we can’t trace them because he unloaded the medicine bottles. I can search every pharmacy in the area, but that’s going to take a search warrant for their prescription records.”
Yeah, this wasn’t a great day for any of them. When they got back to work, no one was looking forward to telling the boss any of this.
“Well, let’s get this place done,” stated Tessa, heading toward the door. Once inside, the team divided up. Tessa and Curtis took the upstairs, while Brynn and Agent Price searched the main floor.
It was long tedious work. Since the team had already been through there, they needed to be creative and search places that weren’t a likely spot.
“How about we head for the office?” stated Briggs. “It looks more like it was his, not his wife’s.”
Tessa followed, running her gloved fingers over just about everything. In her career, she’d seen some interesting places become a hiding place.
In the office, they walked around.
“I’ll take the desk,” Curtis offered, dropping down in front of it.
“If he was hiding something from his wife, like Viagra, he’s going to pick a place she wouldn’t ever look,” she offered. “I know if I was cheating on my spouse, I’d want to hide the evidence anywhere he wasn’t.”
Curtis grinned. “Where would that be?”
She thought about Paris and what he couldn’t do. The man was genius, except in the kitchen. “The best place would be in the pots and pans. I don’t think he’s touched one since I moved in.”
“How’s that going?” he asked.
She glanced over. “Personally, it’s perfect. Professionally, there are issues.”
He got it. It had to be hard for them. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
Tessa shrugged. Not many people knew they were a couple, but Brynn and Curtis did. It was nice not to have to pretend you weren’t in a relationship when around people you frequently worked with.
He continued through the desk, feeling underneath for any place where something could be shoved or hidden. When nothing came up, he signed in frustration.
Tessa went to the bookshelf and stared at it. “Did the team log the books and magazines?” she asked.
Curtis pulled up the data on his tablet. “No. They took photographs, but no one dug through them.”
She started pulling the books from the shelf. “See, if I came in here, as a wife, I’d never touch this area,” she said. “Books on cars and racing aren’t going to appeal to me, and if he kept them neat, she likely wouldn’t have to dust them either.”
Curtis laughed. “God help Paris,” he stated.
Tessa found that funny, especially since she knew he’d never be able to lie. He was really horrible at it. “You should be saying that to me. I live with a man who has a really high IQ. I’m the one in trouble,” she answered, digging through the stack of magazines.
That’s when she found it.
“Pay dirt.”
Picking up the device, she held it in her gloved hands. “Want to bet all his goodies are on here?” she asked.
Curtis dug more into the info. “I don’t know. We ran his ISP address and didn't hit on anything. He didn't do any internet searches or anything that drew suspicion.”
She turned it on and waited for it to boot up. Immediately, the Wi-Fi setting came on, and there was a listing of everyone’s signals from the neighborhood.
She grinned wickedly. “Want to bet he rode the neighbors Wi-Fi to get his porn on?”
Curtis patted her on the back. “Paris isn't the only genius. You’re pretty smart yourself.”
“It’s street cred,” she said, knowing it took years as an agent to even think like that. Paranoia and suspicion were your two best friends.
Curtis raced to the top of the stairs and called for the rest of the team. He wanted them all to be there. When they hustled into the room, he held their prize in his hand. “Look what Tessa found.”
Brynn got excited. “Did you look yet?” she asked, grinning.
He took a seat on the couch as he prepared to do just that.
All the women surrounded him, especially Agent Price. Tessa gave Brynn a look, and she rolled her eyes. If the young woman was any closer, she’d be sitting in his lap.
“Here we go,” he said, pulling up the search history. There were chat sites, email addresses, and even downloaded files. Clicking on one, they watched as the picture opened.
“Well, I’m guessing that’s our dead Fed’s penis,” stated Brynn, scanning the photo. It didn't take long for her to draw her conclusion. “Well, we know one thing for certain,” she began, pointing to the back of the woman’s head.
The younger agent looked up. “What?”
“He was definitely having an affair. That’s not Leslie Williams. She was a brunette, and our mystery woman is a blonde.”
It looked like they had a place to start after all.
They were chasing sex and lies.
* * *
Croft was waiting for them when they arrived back at the office. He was edgy and as the night’s festivities approached, he was getting more anxious. Nothing scared him more than having his wife paraded around in front of a group of people. To compound it, the little sale detail was making him a wreck. Where that should be his only fear, it wasn’t. What if no one bid on her? It would break her heart, especially with the media there watching.
This was one hell of a catch twenty-two.
At least they had good old Randall Mason there to fall back on. Croft wouldn’t be surprised if the man had threatened to take out anyone who did bid.
He wanted to laugh, but he found it was too bizarre. Here, he was the most possessive man on the planet, and he was letting his wife do this. If it wasn’t for a good cause, this would never be happening.
Over his cold, dead, body.
As he sat there, he was lost in thought until someone on his team cleared their throat. He forced his attention back to the here and now. “I’m sorry. I was thinking about tonight.”
Brynn took a seat. “Will you be picking me up?”
Curtis hoped that his boss didn't mind.
“Certainly. I know Emma will be glad to have you in the audience. It’ll offer moral support,” he offered.
Yeah, and keep him from losing his mind.
“She sent me a picture of what she’s wearing. Va-va-voom,” Brynn said, laughing. Then, she realized that Greyson must not have seen the dress.
“She did?” he asked, lifting a brow. “What’s she wearing?”
Immediately, Brynn went into protection mode. “Emma will kill me, so you’ll have to water board me to get the details.” Quickly, she pulled out her phone and deleted the picture, just in case.
Croft found that funny as hell. “I work for the FBI. You think I can’t find that picture?”
Everyone in there knew that ‘J. Edgar Hoover’ could get it within the hour. He just had that kind of clout.
“You can’t! She wants to surprise you and has been working on this for weeks! You’ll make her sad.”
That seemed to work.
“Well played, Detective. How about we start?” Croft said, needing to get out of there, now more than ever. He wanted to go home and see what his wife was going to be wearing.
Curiosity killed the Croft, and he knew it.
Tessa began, because she wanted to get this over with and go find Paris. Being out in the field without Paris sucked, and Tessa needed to re
connect with him soon. Okay, so she was scared shitless that Croft had reamed him out that morning. When she texted him, there was no reply. “We found a hidden tablet.”
Curtis laughed. “We had nothing to do with it. This find was all on Tessa.” Then, he told him about the Wi-Fi and how she had figured it all out.
“That’s why she’s one of the best,” Croft said, making notes. “I expect nothing less than that from her.”
Agent Jamie Price glanced over. She wanted those kinds of accolades from the big boss. Then again, even eye contact would be nice for a change.
“We have the cyber team working on it right now. Until we get the report back, and they try to trace the messages from the blonde woman, we have nothing else.”
They all waited for the nuclear explosion.
When it didn't happen, it was obvious that their boss was worked up about the auction.
“You can head home, Brynn,” he stated. “The limo will be by to pick you up at five.”
She was glad to escape. Now, she needed to get ready for her date. Tonight, she was going with the little black dress, since gowns left a bad taste in her mouth. Last time, hers was ruined by a bullet and a whole lot of blood.
“Agent Price, you can head out too. Thank you for your help,” he dismissed her.
“I can’t wait to see the evening news,” she offered. “They’ve been promoting tonight for a week now. Mrs. Croft is the headline.”
Great. That was the last thing he needed to know. “Yes, I’m sure she’ll be amazing. My wife is a fantastic pianist. Goodnight, Agent.”
When she was gone, he pointed at Curtis. “I’ll meet you in the car. I need to speak to Agent Brass first.”
Briggs grabbed his bag and headed out. He wanted to get home to shower and shave. He was hoping that tonight would end better than the last function he took Brynn to.
His heart couldn’t handle that again.
Tessa sat there nervously. This must be the part where he reamed her out for having gratuitous sex in the office. It was hard to get too upset, because it had been fantastic. Yet, she was worried about Paris.
“Yes, sir?” she asked, as the office door closed.
Love is Bleeding (A Croft & Croft Romance Adventure Book 4) Page 33