She met Matthew at the coffee shop a few minutes late and found him already seated.
He looked handsome, as usual, in a suit and tie. Dressed as the ASAC and giving her the serious stare when she approached before his smile softened the harsh expression into a welcoming one.
He stood to greet her. “Jane. I got you a coffee and a snack. I hope that’s all right.”
“Depends on the coffee.”
He grinned. “It’s hot. A vanilla latte. I’d have gotten you a hazelnut, but they ran out.”
“You are forgiven for being so bold. And thank you from the bottom of my caffeine-deprived heart. I’ve been doing paperworkall day.” She sat and sipped with a sigh. “Ah, that’s nice.” Then she smiled at him. “It’s good to see you, too.”
“Well, at least I ranked a smile.” He looked her over. “I’m glad you made it here in one piece.” He frowned. “I need to talk to you.”
“And I need to talk to you. I found out some things you should know.” She paused, wondering who should go first.
“After you.”
After a glance around and noting that they were the only two in the corner, away from everyone in the less than crowded shop, she leaned closer and in a low voice explained, “It’s him. August.”
“You’re sure?”
She nodded. “I learned that Kaminski’s been under watch by some higherups for quite a while. Rook is his number one guy.”
“I knew it.” Matthew scowled. “Why— No, please. Continue.”
“I’m not sure what exactly is going on, but we know that the three families killed belonged to the Collective. The first dead family has been paying certain politicians for years. Same with the second family. The Harte name keeps appearing. And guess what? They’re on the Collective list.”
“Harte… Stephen Harte? Hmm. I know that name. Wait. He’s big with health care advocacy. His name pops up in conjunction with some large insurance companies.” Matthew grew introspective, and Jane let him reason it out.
He blinked up at her. “Lost my train of thought there.” He looked stressed to her, but she decided he was just focused. “So we have a lobbyist getting payouts from millionaires. Not surprising. But he’s part of the Collective?”
“It seems so. I’m guessing when we get the Strands’ information, we’ll find similar amounts. Hundreds of thousands, sometimes millions, to a number of prominent politicians and lobbyists—namely Stephen Harte.”
It was on the tip of her tongue to ask him about his senator father.
He sighed, as if reading her mind. “I’m worried, Jane. SenatorRonald Scott has deep, dark closets. I’m scared what skeletons are going to come out when I open those doors.”
“Yeah, but we don’t know a lot of things. We still don’t know how the murders tie together. Is it the Collective against an outside source? What’s being stolen from the dead families? Money, obviously. But I’m certain there’s something else. Data those families have.”
“Why do you think that?”
“I don’t know. Our thieves are too sophisticated. If all August Kaminski ever wanted was money, he’d be rolling in it. He’s been operating for years without getting caught, the puppet master behind a multitude of criminal organizations. Nothing sticks to the guy. He’s got to be wealthy as hell.”
“I agree. Information is more precious than gold.”
She nodded. “So the question is, who’s killing members of the Collective? August? A rival? Or are they perhaps killing each other for some odd reason?”
“What are you planning to do next?”
“I’m waiting to hear back about the Hartes. Then I’m planning a visit.”
“I’ll go with you.”
“No.”
He frowned. “What?”
“Matthew, you’re the ASAC and not involved in the investigation. Your last name is Scott. You’ll flag them to shut down right away.”
