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When she answered in the affirmative, he continued. “Has he made any complaints to you about your job?”
“Only those you’d expect, that I don’t leave him alone, that I’m always there, that sort of thing.”
“Which is your job. And that rumor about you and him. Is it true?” Rachel thought she caught a hint of real curiosity in Kane’s voice and she rushed to quell the question. “No sir. Neither of us is attracted to each other.” As she spoke she heard a noise behind her and saw the Senator enter the room. A brow quirked as he heard her remark and she knew she blushed. “I just wanted to give full disclosure in my report to you sir.”
"Fair enough," Kane replied. "Hank called me and filled me in on the increase in security. As for Rankin, widen your investigation, I know you and Hansen are looking into the shooting. Include Rankin in the search. He might be more than a victim."
“My thoughts exactly, sir. Anything else?”
“No. Tell Gray I’ll be in touch. And Payne?”
“Yes sir?”
“You’re doing a fine job. Just watch your back and the Senator’s too.”
She hung up and faced her client, knowing he’d want an equally detailed account of her conversation with Kane. They spent several minutes seated at his desk, covering that and then the Senator yawned. “Wish I’d had a couch put in this office when I moved in like some of the others.”
She glanced around. She suddenly remembered seeing sofas in several of the other Senator’s offices. Now she wondered how many of them used the furniture for a nap or overnight stay after a late meeting. She’d settle for a sleeping bag at this point.
“Any idea how much longer it’ll be?” She asked and walked back to the window. Only one police cruiser was in sight now, but Gavin was still in conversation with a suited man near the cruiser. “Does the Capitol Police have detectives?”
The Senator joined her at the window and she noted he stood to the side, out of apparent shooting range. “Not sure. Hadn’t really thought about it.”
They stood watched for several minutes before each drifted away. Rachel headed for the coffee pot. She poured three cups of coffee and added milk and way too much sugar to hers but she needed the jolt and the protective layer the syrup would give her stomach against the acidic coffee.
The Senator and she had almost finished their cups when Gavin entered the office. He looked as tired as she felt, she thought and gestured toward his cup. “It’s probably cold.”
"I don't care," he said and gulped, grimacing.
“What’s up?” The Senator said.
“Besides the dead man in your SUV? Only this.” Using a handkerchief to cover his hand, Gavin pulled a cell phone from his pocket using and laid it on the Senator’s desk. “They sent a message.”
“What?” Rachel eyed the phone as if it were a cobra, ready to strike.
“Quit the investigation or you’ll be next.”
CHAPTER4
Mitchell eyedthe phone and then looked up at Gavin. “You didn’t turn it in to the police?”
Gavin shook his head. “I’ll plant it back in the car so they can find it. I wanted to get a look at it before it was put in the evidence locker, maybe to disappear later.”
Rachel stood and approached the desk then stared down at the phone. "It's an older model smartphone."
"Not a burn phone, which leads me to suspect it's the victim's," Gavin said and headed toward the door. "I'll be back, I need to get some gloves."
“In the lower part of the cabinet,” Senator Mitchell said absently then looked up. “Left over from our last outbreak.”
Gavin nodded and retrieved a pair of vinyl gloves and a sheet of paper from a stack near a printer. “Rachel, keep an eye on the parking lot, will you? I want to see if anyone comes by and also monitor how much time I have before the impound truck shows up.”
She nodded and took a station at the window, though Gavin knew she wanted a ringside seat for the phone search. He carefully turned the phone on and studied it then started his process of examining it. He looked at the sim card, recorded the serial number for the device, and then opened the general information for the phone. "Damn. It's registered to a woman named Angela Morelli. Probably stolen or picked up at a flea market."
“How do you know?” Rachel asked, her head darting around to ask the question before returning to monitor the lot.
“Just a feeling.” He maneuvered through a couple of programs, pictures, and then backed out and put the phone back on its original screen. “I’m taking this back to the car.”
He jogged down the stairwell and then came to a halt at the door, listening, before slowly opening the door to peer into the hallway. No one was there but he waited another few seconds before slipping out of the side entrance. The parking lot had a handful of cars scattered throughout, nothing unusual at that time of night. He’d made it to the SUV when he heard a noise behind him, an engine. Leaning against the front panel of the vehicle, he glanced over his shoulder then straightened, as if he’d just heard the noise.
