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“That wasn’t my place. I stay out of your affairs. She’s old enough to make her own decisions.”
“You didn’t offer an opinion?”
“Only that your relationship was complicated, which is absolutely true. Why are we discussing this? There was clearly a misunderstanding and I’m sure the two of you can straighten it out later.”
“I’m sure we can, too. But it would have helped if you hadn’t decided to aid and abet.”
“You didn’t listen to me. I’m Madam Neutral where you’re concerned.”
Kendra made a rude noise.
Olivia was smiling faintly. “Until I decide you’re really being unreasonable. Then as a friend it’s my duty to weigh in with my opinion. But I figured you were happy to have Lynch around to give you affection and support. I hope he was satisfactory?”
Kendra had the briefest visionof Lynch holding her, tucking her head on his shoulder, the sound of his voice giving her that sense that everything was as it should be. “As I said, it was a bad night. Lynch is usually a help when you need someone in your corner.”
“Yes. That’s why I like the idea that he usually comes flying to your corner when you have problems.” Olivia was dishing the omelet onto a plate. “Even when you find it annoying. However, independence is a wonderful thing and I’m usually the first one to applaud it.”
“Usually? Eternally.” Kendra picked up her fork. “You wrote the book.”
“We wrote it together,” Olivia said quietly. “From the day we met at the academy. But you have a tendency lately to strike out on your own. While I’ve become a bit more mellow.”
“I didn’t notice. You’re as tough as ever.”
“I didn’t say I wasn’t. I’m just not constantly on the defense these days.”
She stiffened. “You think I am?”
“Not entirely. I think that you deal with people like Milo so much that you sometimes automatically look for weakness in yourself and relationships so that you can crush it.”
Kendra’s eyes widened. “That would be terrible. Not with you. Never with you.”
“No, I’m an exception. I hope I always will be.”
Kendra reached out and covered Olivia’s hand with her own. “You will. No question.”
“I’m just saying that you should be careful not to throw out the baby with the bathwater. Don’t let the Milos of the world take anything away from you.”
Kendra suddenly chuckled. “Did I ever tell you how I hate that saying? The mere idea of throwing out a baby horrifies me.”
“Good, then you’ll remember it.” Olivia poured herself a cup of coffee. “Now finish your omelet and then tell me what you’re going to do today so that we can tell Tricia something positive. She’s going to need it when we unload that story you just told me.”
“I’ve got an idea how I can take a few baby steps. But it’s not going to be easy, I may get blown out of the water.” She reached for her phone. “And there’s a call I have to make.”
***
“Are you crazy, Kendra?” Metcalf interrupted her before she even finished explaining. “You’d actually believe a murdering son of a bitch like that Milo?” He swore long and vehemently. “There’s no way any of our agents would cooperate in a scheme to kill a fellow officer. I know most of those guys in our office.”
“But not all of them,” Kendra said. “And I do know that it sounds crazy. I wouldn’t have even called you if it wasn’t a life-or-death case. Just look on it as an exercise to eliminate a possibility.”
“A possibility to railroad my friends who risk their lives every day to catch the bad guys. Some of them have been assigned to keep you and that young swimmer alive.”
“And I’ll do my best to clear them of any wrongful charges. You know that, Metcalf. You knowme. As I said, I only want to eliminate. We’re both aware that there are crooked cops out there. We’ll have to go to Griffin eventually, but that means a full-scale investigation. I’d rather have someone I trust who has keen eyes and great instincts and might have run across anything that didn’t seem quite…right on a case. All I want you to do is point me in the right direction about personality, attitude, and a willingness to ignore the Bureau’s stringent rules of conduct. I’m not trying to pin a crime on anyone. Do you believe you can think about it today and then text me with what you come up with? It will save us time when we have to pore over the stuff Griffin will give us.”
He was silent. Then he finally growled, “He’ll tell you the same thing I did.”
“We’ll be ready for it. I hope you’re both right. I hope Milo was lying through his teeth.” She paused. “I didn’t want to ask you to do this. Are you going to help me?”
“I’ll do it. I trust you. If it was anyone else, I’d tell them to go to hell. But you’ll be fair and careful and not try to frame anyone.” He added curtly, “But you owe me, Kendra.”
