Page 71 of Long Past Deadly

“Yes. Quaid put us on lockdown and raised the security level.”

“Any reason?”

“Haven’t talked to him yet. Got the alert via Elizabeth.”

Drucker loped off, and Celissa came to his side. “Somebody has to take the meeting this morning with Logdon Industries.”

“Financial, right?”

“Yeah, usually Quaid intakes.”

“Make sure security has cleared them or reschedule it. Otherwise, see if Elizabeth and Harrison can handle the initial conversation. Call Quaid if you have to. I need an energy drink.”

“Day room refrigerator. There’s several. I stocked this morning.” The thirty-something woman was divorced, had three high school kids, a jerk-wad ex, and was back in college herself. She knew how to organize, how to say no, kicked ass as a mom, and kept the office running on high-octane.

Mackey went to the elevator, then stopped and came back. “Celissa, thanks. You’re keeping on top of a lot. It’s appreciated.” The woman literally held the swipe card to the inner sanctum of all of QM.

She grinned. “Is this the HR side of Mackey Reynolds?”

Mackey snorted. “Oh hell no. Just letting you know, I see you.”

“Thanks, boss. Go find this guy.” She strutted off, strong and steady like their entry sentry should be.

Impatience wasn’t usually in his skill set, or it hadn’t been for a long time. But this case was rubbing at the strict belief about ethical behavior he’d adapted ages ago. Mercer and Whit should have learned those same lessons. Honor. Integrity. Justice. Service. Brotherhood. Pounded in and reinforced. Killing people needed guardrails. After living and breathing that life for years, coming home and conforming to civilian standards was a bitch. Good thing he had QM.

Outside, Drucker and Delaney joined him. Within minutes, Mackey had them on the way to a destination he hoped would break the logjam of this case so they could finally go on the offensive.

&&&&&&&&&&

Quaid watched Alanna work while his mind raced. Sitting at the War Table, he watched her create another whiteboard on Mercer in his dining room with her phone to her ear. Her boss was reading information to her.

He studied each item she put on the board like there would be a test tomorrow. In actuality, if they were going to put Lani out there as bait, he wanted to assimilate every bit of what they had. Finished with the call, she disconnected.

“You’re growling again.” Lani chewed the end of the dry erase marker and glared at him. “Stop it.”

“This guy annoys the hell out of me. What is all this?”

She turned back to her board and stayed motionless. “He’s not my favorite person either. Service dates, dates of suspected assassinations, and where. Next step is to backtrack to civilian police sources and try to find other disappearances and deaths.”

The house was quiet. Niles had left to run errands. Conners and Rodriquez were doing a property sweep. Tane was on the cameras in the office. Quaid rose to go to her, but his phone buzzed. Looking at the screen, he noted Frank Walker’s name. Finally. “We might have help.”

He answered. “Frank.” Alanna came to him, watching his face closely. He put the phone on speaker. “On speaker with Alanna, too.”

“I have some answers and a bunch of suspicions. Where are you?”

“At my house.”

“I’ll come to you.”

“Good.” He rattled off the address. “I’ll tell security to let you in.”

“That tight, huh?”

“Not taking any chances.”

“Understood. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.” He disconnected.

“Short and brief.” Alanna was quiet and tense, and he didn’t like it. He pulled her back to him. “It’s either too sensitive or there’s too much for him to convey over the phone.”