Page 29 of Chameleon Killer

Mallory’s gaze dropped. She was assessing him.

Good girl.

She was suspicious of everyone. Good. It kept her alive. It also made managing her more difficult.

Mallory said something over her shoulder to Carter, and he turned toward her with a fierce expression.

“What did she say?” I asked.

Flores shook his head. “No audio.”

“Lip read.”

“I’m not trained for that.”

“Find someone who is.”

Sykes folded her arms. “Or you could call her and ask.”

I gave her a look. She didn’t retreat.

“McBryan has made it clear she doesn’t intend to cooperate unless cooperation suits her story,” I said.

“She’s not obligated to cooperate with us.”

“She will be if I make it official.”

Sykes went still. “You need to be more careful.”

I hated that word. Careful was what people said when they were willing to let someone die.

“We should have moved her after Reardon,” I said, and I’d tried to get her back into protective custody but she refused.

“We didn’t have grounds.” Sykes folded her arms.

She wasn’t the expert on this case. Not the way I was. “We had threat indicators.”

“We had concern,” Sykes countered. “Unfounded concern as it turned out. The threat pattern has been quiet for nineteen days.”

Unfounded? I spared her a dark look. “Quiet is not the same as inactive.”

“No,” Sykes agreed. “But quiet also isn’t probable cause.”

I looked back at the monitor. The consultant entered the elevator. Mallory and Carter remained on the executive floor.

Together. Again.

“She needs protective custody.”

“She won’t agree.”

“I didn’t say ask.”

Sykes’s expression hardened. “That’s a problem.”

I ignored her.

“That’s also unlawful restraint if you don’t have a credible imminent threat.”