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Roland leaned back in his chair so the front legs lifted off the floor. Agent Warner seemed genuinely sorry that he’d upset Lennox and Roland knew why. He’d seen both agents’ reactions when they’d first seen her, but he’d definitely taken note of Warner’s. The agent’s gaze had swept appreciatively over her body…especially her long, long legs. And then, when Lennox had swung those same legs around to sit in the chair at the conference table, the man hadn’t been able to hide the interest in his eyes quick enough.
Her hair was piled high on her head in a knot, and he thought the style showed every angle of her face to perfection. He figured it had been a quick and easy hairdo for her and she had no idea how it brought out the beauty of her features.
Whatever answers Special Agent Warner gave Lennox had better be good ones, Roland thought, if the man’s intent was to impress her. At present, things weren’t looking so good.
In a way, Roland almost felt sorry for the guy. But not that much.
• • •
The room had grown quiet, but Lennox wasn’t having it. After all, she’d assumed her fiancé had died of an allergic reaction. But no, he’d been murdered. Murdered! And now, this agent had the gall to say the FBI had suspected such a thing. And that they weren’t surprised she’d been attacked? What the hell?
“I’m waiting for a response, Agent Warner.”
Special Agent Warner met her gaze. “A top government official died under suspicious circumstances and we needed to make sure there was no foul play involved in his death, as the first ME claimed. We had reason to believe it wasn’t. So a second autopsy was ordered to be performed by an independent medical examiner. Dr. Bellamy, who at the time was the top ME at the VA Hospital in Boston, was chosen.”
Lennox’s eyes went wide. “I knew nothing about this. DeWalt didn’t tell me.”
“He couldn’t,” Special Agent Warner said. “Dr. Bellamy was sworn to secrecy.”
She didn’t say anything for a minute as she absorbed the news. DeWalt had been a stickler for following rules. “Who was this government official?”
The agent hesitated a moment and then said, “I’m not at liberty to say.”
Lennox frowned. “Then can you tell me why anyone would question the first ME report?” She was a medical examiner herself. Things like that didn’t happen. The FBI had to have had a good reason for such a thing
“That particular ME had been on the FBI’s radar for a while. We’d uncovered evidence that he had ties to a certain domestic crime cartel.”
Lennox lifted a brow. “What cartel?”
“I can’t tell you that either.”
Lennox quickly pushed herself to her feet and got into the agent’s face. It was obvious to anyone looking that she was absolutely furious. “Let me get this straight. You’re telling me that my fiancé was killed on what should have been your watch and--”
“We didn’t say that,” Agent DuBose added, with what sounded like indignation in his voice.
Lennox then turned her razor-sharp eyes to him. “You didn’t have to say it. I did. The government asked DeWalt to perform a second autopsy on some high-level government official whose identity you can’t divulge --a man you guys believe was murdered by a crime cartel you can’t name, yet no one ever suspected DeWalt’s life might be in danger? Sounds pretty much like your watch to me.”
When neither man said anything, Lennox simply stared at them. Somehow, she had a feeling there was more. From the questioning expressions on Joy and Roland’s faces, she knew she wasn’t alone in her thinking.
Special Agent Warner cleared his throat. “It wasn’t on our watch, Dr. Roswell. We were only assigned to this investigation three months ago when it was discovered…”
The man’s voice trailed off, which prompted Lennox to ask, “When what was discovered?”
At first Agent Warner didn’t say anything more. Finally, he met her gaze and said, “When it was discovered, the agents in charge of the investigation--as well as a couple of those working for the Justice Department--were in on the murder and cover-up.”
That information left Lennox speechless. She didn’t even know how to process that. So she appreciated Joy coming forward to ask, “Based on what you’ve said so far, has Lennox been under some kind of protective watch for the past five years?”
Agent Warner released a frustrated sigh. “No. At least not for the entire five years.”
He then turned his gaze over to Lennox. “From what I understand, federal agents had you on their radar for at least the first two years. When you didn’t raise any questions about Dr. Bellamy’s death, those involved figured you didn’t know anything, and therefore, were not a threat. That’s when the Bureau ceased to protect you.”
“Then what the hell was last night about?” Roland asked, speaking up for the first time. From the tone of his voice, Lennox could tell he was furious, too. And he had every right to be. He could have been killed last night also.
Special Agent Warner shifted his gaze from Lennox to Roland. “For the first time since Dr. Bellamy’s death, Dr. Roswell attended a Forensic Science Convention that was held last week. At that convention, she was overheard telling someone that she still had a box of Dr. Bellamy’s personal belongings that she hadn’t gone through yet. That information was heard by the wrong ears.”
Agent DuBose then spoke up. “We believe that what happened last night was staged to look like a home invasion. Someone wanted to make sure that box didn’t contain anything that could raise suspicious that Dr. Bellamy’s death wasn’t an accident.”
When the room got quiet, Agent Warner asked Lennox, “Is there a box containing Dr. Bellamy’s personal things that you haven’t gone through yet?”
