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"Charles, did you know my mother was going to be arrested?"
He blinked. "I . . . no, of course not."
"What'd Harper tell you?"
"That he was checking the caseloads." Starch in his words. Defensive. "What I said yesterday."
She couldn't tell if he was lying. And she understood why: Dance was breaking the oldest rule in kinesic interrogation. She was being emotional. When that happened, all her skills fell by the wayside. She had no idea if her boss had betrayed her or not.
"He was looking through our files to see if I'd altered anything about the Millar situation."
"Oh, I doubt that."
The tension in the room hummed.
Then it vanished, as Overby gave a reassuring smile. "Ah, you're worrying too much, Kathryn. There'll be an investigation, and the case will all go away. You don't have a thing to worry about."
Did he know something? Eagerly, she asked, "Why do you say that, Charles?"
He looked surprised. "Because she's innocent, of course. Your mother'd never hurt anyone. You know that."
DANCE RETURNED TO the Gals' Wing, to the office of her fellow agent Connie Ramirez. The short, voluptuous Latina, with black, black hair always sprayed meticulously in place, was the most decorated agent in the regional office and one of the most recognized in the entire CBI. The forty-year-old agent had been offered executive positions with CBI headquarters in Sacramento--the FBI had sought her out too--but her family had come out of the local lettuce and artichoke fields and nothing was going to displace her from blood. The agent's desk was the antithesis of Dance's--organized and tidy. Framed citations hung on the walls but the biggest photos were of her children, three strapping boys, and Ramirez and her husband.
"Hey, Con."
"How's your mom doing?"
"You can imagine."
"This's such nonsense," she said with a faint trace of a melodious accent.
"Actually, why I'm here. Need a favor. A big one."
"Whatever I can do, you know that."
"I've got Sheedy on board."
"Ah, the cop-buster."
"But I don't want to wait for discovery to get some of the details. I asked Henry for the hospital's visitor shuts the day Juan died but he's stonewalling."
"What? Henry? You're his friend."
"Harper's got him scared."
Ramirez nodded knowingly. "You want me to try?"
"If you can."
"You bet, I'll get over there as soon as I finish interviewing this witness." She tapped a folder for a big drug case she was running.
"You're the best."
The Latina agent grew solemn. "I know how I'd feel if it was my mother. I'd go down there and rip Harper's throat out."
Dance gave a wan smile at the petite woman's declaration. As she headed for her office, her phone trilled. She glanced at "Sheriff's Office" on Caller ID, hoping it was O'Neil.
It wasn't.
