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“Need some help?”
I don’t even bother turning to look in the direction of the voice. I squeal like I’ve heard gunshots and rush past Simon into the room. He’s hacking and coughing from the rough handling when I slam the door closed and shove the back of the chair under the doorknob.
“Crazy-ass hookers,” I hear the man mutter as he walks past me. A second later the door next door closes, and once again the soft yet grating sound of Yanni’s greatest hits filters through the wall. If I never heard a piano solo for the rest of my life, that would be too soon.
By eight-thirty, I have a taxi ordered. At ten until nine, I’m waiting around the corner from the main branch of my bank, eyeing the front entrance like I’m on a stakeout. Maybe grabbing cash out of the ATM and booking a flight was premature. I don’t think it would take much to discover what bank I use, and if Jones was in my apartment last night, he could have easily gone through my things, including the stack of mail on the counter I’ve been ignoring for the last two weeks.
He could be around right now. He could be lying in wait to scoop me up off the street the second I aim for the entrance.
I’ve seen enough crime shows to know what to look for. At least I think I do, and at nine-thirty after not seeing anything suspicious, I make my way to the front of the bank and slip inside with the intention of draining everything I have in savings as well as emptying my safe deposit box.
As I stand in line waiting to speak to the teller, I realize that if I ever have to do this again, I’m going to need a go-bag like commandos have for such emergencies.Chapter 21Wren
“Here,” Flynn says, placing a cup of coffee next to my elbow. “Find anything else?”
He disappeared hours ago, and I haven’t seen him since.
“All sorts of shit. What did you find?”
I don’t want to show my hand before he shows his, but the pieces are beginning to fall into place, revealing horrific things but at the same time most of the bad stuff isn’t about Whitney rather what she discovered that sent her running.
“Whitney Nelson isn’t on the FBI’s warrant list. She’s not in any of their databases. They aren’t investigating her for anything.”
“That’s a relief.”
“My contact said that’s good news, but they have agents in the field that haven’t turned in field notes this week, so that may change.”
“Is Stephen Jones one of the agents in the field?”
“Don’t know,” he answers. “What are you getting at?”
“I had to do some serious digging because before Whitney left her apartment, she wiped her entire system. For most that would lead them straight into a dead end, but I’m better than most.”
“Are you going to keep patting yourself on the back, or are you going to get to the point?”
I frown, hating that I’m wasting time.
“We’ve been chatting on this app, that’s how I’ve been able to track her. She uses her app on her phone, the same phone she uses to check her email. She dumped her cell phone in the stairwell according to Ignacio who went to scope out her place, but I’m able to access nearly everything she did on it. Her cache has been cleared, but most people would be surprised with the amount of information stored in those things.”
“Still waiting,” Flynn grumbles.
I slide the cup of coffee in his direction because it seems like he needs it more than me.
“I accessed her email.”
“Now we’re getting somewhere.”
“Stephen Jones, the guy breaking into her apartment is an FBI agent.” Flynn freezes. “He hired Whitney to dig up some dirt on William Theold.”
“The Assistant Director of FBI Human Resources?”
“The very same.” I turn back to my computer and hit a couple keys, bringing up a load of personal dirt on Theold.
“It’s not uncommon for outside resources to be used to obtain information,” Flynn acknowledges out loud.
“True,” I agree. “But William Theold is living two lives, with two women and two separate families.”
“How does that information lead Jones to kicking in her door?”
“Seems Jones and Theold have the same taste in women. At first, I thought Whitney discovered the connection between the two men and Jones went to confront her.”
“It’s not her fault the woman was seeing two different men.”
“True, but digging deeper, I found that Whitney also discovered Jones is nothing short of a crime boss using the FBI as cover to make backroom deals and run an illegal empire.”
“That’ll do it.”
“He was there to kill her, Flynn.” His eyes grow dark, and I’m at least grateful he’s no longer holding back because he thinks she’s a criminal. “She discovered the things he was trying his best to keep secret, and he went after her. She’s a loose end and possibly the very person that can bring him down completely. He won’t stop until she’s no longer a threat.”
