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Because I’ve never really enjoyed being me.
“Charlie’s definitely lying,” Vaughn states.
I’m so befuddled I don’t immediately reply. I force my attention from the cabinet, back to the man sitting before me.
“I thought you told Tannis not to worry—”
“I didn’t want to upset her. But you’re right. Now that I’m listening, his accent is shit. And his background details don’t hold up. I’m guessing the man at least has some training as an engineer, given he’s been able to save our asses. But other than that… wouldn’t be surprised if even his name’s a lie. Whole time Mac was grilling him, Charlie wouldn’t make eye contact with me. He knows he’s caught.”
“Is that why you want him off the atoll?”
“At this point, I think we should all depart. This deployment is done.”
“Will MacManus agree to such a thing?”
“No. That’s the problem with geniuses. They generally became successful by doing something people told them couldn’t be done. Having been rewarded once for going against prevailing wisdom, they’re not apt to listen ever again.”
Vaughn drums his fingertips against his armrest. “Do you think Charlie could really be working with this Beautiful Butcher woman?”
“It’s possible. She has a certain charm. Though I’m not sure why that would make him head out in the storm to see a recently discovered grave. Keahi definitely had nothing to do with that, given she was on death row at the time. Morbid curiosity?”
“Or someone who got wind of their plan and had to be silenced?”
I pin him with a look. “Any of your workers gone missing lately?”
“No.”
“Others from the construction and contractor crews? One of the hundreds of people you said helped build this base camp?”
“Of course not. And I would know.”
“Exactly. Chances are, the body predates all this recent activity and has more to do with your friend MacManus. A human trafficking victim or something of that nature. Or do you always insist on missing the obvious?”
“We have no way of knowing—”
“The man’s a pedophile!”
“Not if he’s waiting for his charge to turn eighteen. That would be the opposite, in fact.”
“It’s still an abuse of power! Why are you defending him?”
“Why are you so convinced he’s evil? You still haven’t spoken to him. An admitted killer, yes. But Mac? Why not just talk to him?”
“I already know what he’s going to say, and I don’t need him lying to my face.” I cross my arms over my chest in a huff. I mean it. I’ve spoken to enough MacManuses in my life. They always have rationales and excuses. And it’s always their needs that matter the most in the end. I return to what I don’t know: “Why are you so loyal to him? Especially when even you concede that he’s an arrogant ass.”
“Because he can be loyal, too. Ever think of that?” Vaughn drops his feet to the ground, leans forward intently. “Fifteen years ago, I was project manager of a research station in Alaska. Needless to say, there was a storm, things went sideways. Two people died. After that, I wasn’t project manager material anymore. I wasn’t anything… anymore. It took me years to come to terms, regain my footing. Mac gave me my first job back. He’d seen my work. He believed. And, yeah, he drives me crazy most of the time, but I’ve never seen him doing anything I thought was morally repugnant.”
“Except groom his ward to become his lover.”
“So she says. Again, have you asked him?”
“Why would she lie?”
“I don’t know. Why is he automatically the Antichrist? Isn’t the basic tenet everyone is innocent till proven guilty? Where’s the proof?”
“I don’t think Keahi Pierson is waiting for a court of law.”
“Yes, the woman who confessed to murdering an entire string of men. Absolutely, let’s let her play judge and jury.”
