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“I was also thinking,” Jake said, focused on his laptop, “that we should be looking at the people who ship these things too. See if anyone has requested specifically to import them into the country lately. I’ll send you the list of the senator’s known associates, and you cross-reference them while I dig into that.”
Fiona nodded. “Sounds great!”
Without Lauren here, she had to admit, she felt even more like a member of the team. Fiona felt bad for thinking it—Lauren Price was an admirable agent, but Fiona had been able to tell she didn’t really like having Fiona around. Without that, Fiona felt freer, like she could truly give input, and like it would matter.
Fiona quickly got to work, cross-referencing the senator’s associates list with the list of entomologists and insect keepers.But she didn’t immediately get a match. No names on the list synced up… but that didn’t mean one of the senator’s associates wasn’t responsible for this.
She decided to switch her tactic—to go through each of the senator’s associates and see if any of them had criminal records.
Finally, she found one name that made her stop and look him up—Gerald Wilkins.
According to the database, he had an underground fighting ring shut down, where he’d been having all of his rich friends come and gamble. But this wasn’t any kind of fighting ring.
Gerald had been importing rare insects—like giant mantises and beetles—and having them fight.
Fiona’s stomach dropped. To abuse insects in such a way was just awful to her, but more than that—this guy was a known associate of the senator. He was one of his golfing buddies. Maria had mentioned that her father may have mentioned his allergy to those he golfed with.
“Jake,” Fiona said, “look at this.”
Jake’s eyes widened as he read the information. “This is it,” he said, his voice full of awe. “Gerald Wilkins could be our guy. An underground bug fighting ring is pretty messed up, but looks like he was able to buy his way out of jail time.”
Fiona nodded. “Should we go talk to him?”
Jake stood up and smiled down at her. “Hell yes we should. Let’s go.”
Fiona felt a spark of determination. They had their suspect, and it was time to act.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
A sprawling mansion with grandiose pillars and intricate stonework loomed in front of Jake. Large balconies faced the lush green lawn, with an impressive fountain glittering in the sunlight at its center.
Jake wasn’t surprised to see that the senator’s rich, shady friends lived in luxury.
Fiona was at his side, also marveling at the massive structure. Jake was impressed with the work she’d done—this was a solid lead. The senator’s friend with the affinity for pitting giant bugs against each other and gambling seemed like a good candidate for murder. Especially since they were looking for someone with access to Japanese giant hornets.
But something in Jake hesitated. Not at the suspect—this really was a good lead. But Fiona was still not properly trained for these type of scenarios. As valuable as Fiona was, he missed having Lauren here; he knew he could rely on her in case things went bad.
Then again, Fiona had saved Jake’s life on their last case together. He knew he should put some more faith in her, but he also had to be realistic.
“Red, before we go in,” he said, “I need you to stay out of it if things get ugly. You’re here to ask questions and look around for what we need—namely those hornets.”
Fiona’s amber-colored eyes became downcast, but she nodded. “I understand. I’ll try not to get in your way.”
Jake felt a pang of guilt. He hadn’t meant to make Fiona feel like she wasn’t capable of doing her job. She had proven her worth many times before, and although he had been the one to save her life on their first case together, she had also saved his too on their last.
But still, they had a long way to go before he could trust Fiona to meet the physical demands of the job. She needed that training.
“Hey, Red,” Jake said, and she looked up at him curiously. “How about when this is all over, I teach you a bit about sparring. Would you be interested in that?”
Fiona’s eyes lit up. “Are you sure? I wouldn’t want to take up too much of your time.”
“Something tells me I’m gonna have more free time in the next while,” Jake said with humor, although inside, he was still hurting, knowing that Lauren was gone and probably never coming back.
Fiona smiled. “Thanks, Jake. I’d love that.”
Jake nodded, then faced the mansion. It was time for the moment of truth.
Jake walked up the grand steps and knocked on the door. At first, there was no answer. Jake heard nothing but the sound of birds singing in the trees and the gentle trickling of the fountain. He was about to knock again when he heard a faint shuffling from inside.But still, the door didn’t open.
