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“No, I guess it’s not really.” He pointed to the seat opposite him by way of an invite to sit down, “and that makes it perfect. That and it has no free wi-fi, no cameras or other surveillance tools. Totally analog.”
“Sounds interesting.” I slid into the seat and held my hand out. “It’s good to see you, man. It’s been a long time.”
“It has. No time off when you work for the NSA, especially my department. I told them I had to run home for the weekend to check on my mom.”
I furrowed my brow. “What’s wrong with Moon?” I pictured her, so lively and maternal in her long hippie dresses and toned arms filled with tinkling bracelets. “Is she all right?”
“She’s fine, and my dad is too, but this information is too sensitive to trust to unsecure tech. Family’s always a good excuse to get off by myself. But before we get into all that, catch me up.”
I sighed and nodded. “Ma is great. Dad is still a grumpy old man. Charlie’s the president of the Reckless Bastards, and he and Savannah are a thing.”
“Savannah?”
“Formerly Rhymer, now O’Connor. It’s a long story and too early for the beer I’ll need to fill you in.”
“Says who?” Beau flashed a teasing grin and sat back. “All right, go on.”
“Charlie is doing a good job as Prez, at least as far as I can tell, but there’s been some weird tension between us—on his part—because Savannah knew Mueller, and I’ve questioned her a few times. He was cool with me being a cop, until he wasn’t.”
Beau let out a low whistle. “Talk about complicated. You sure you don’t want to come work with the Feds?”
I laughed and shook my head. “I’m actually working with them now. It’s a lucky break. At least it will be if I can help them crack the double murder. If not, I might be stuck on patrol forever.”
“That sure as shit won’t happen. Trust me.” Beau flashed a confident smile that was so unlike the shy kid I’d known back in the day, and almost without me seeing it, produced a flash drive. “Your hunch was right, Dietrich Mueller, also known as Richie Mueller by friends, family and FBI members alike, is…well, he was undercover.”
“No shit?” The words shouldn’t have shocked me as much as they did. Savannah had good instincts, and Mueller’s lack of a past hadn’t added up to me at all. “How long?”
“More than a decade, which is quite the long play for the Feds. That’s also why the file was locked up tight on a need-to-know basis. The only ones with access are Mueller’s former handler, Amy Mendoza, the Nevada ADIC, and the FBI Director.”
“Explains why the FBI has been all over this case almost from the beginning. But it doesn’t explain everything.”
Beau shrugged. “Even my magic has its limits, Jamie. But what’s on that drive should point you in all the right directions. Use it wisely.”
I nodded. “Thanks for this.”
“Family helps where we can, right?”
“Damn straight.” Even if Charlie didn’t seem to get that these days. “I noticed your text this morning was from a Nevada number.”
Beau shrugged. “Been at Creech for a few months now, which is on a need-to-know basis as well.”
“Got it. And your girl? She come with?”
“Nope,” he sighed. “She didn’t want to move to the fucking desert so we split. No big deal.” It seemed like a big deal to me, but if he didn’t want to talk about it, I wouldn’t push.
“Still sucks.”
“It does.”
I shoved the flash drive in my pocket and sat back. “How long are you in town?”
“Long enough to let my mom fill me up with food and pester me about finding a woman. And a beer or five when your shift is over?”
Shit. I glanced down at my watch to see I had exactly forty minutes before my shift started. “Sounds good, Beau. Thanks for your help.”
“What help?”
I let out a low laugh. “Exactly. Later, cuz.”
I made my way back to my condo with a heavy mind because I knew what I had to do, what the right thing to do was, but I still felt torn. I had to hand over this information to Agents Beck and Marshall.
It wasn’t my problem that Mueller spent too many years undercover and forgot which side of the law he was on. That was probably what got him killed. Not following protocol and not checking in with his handler.
And since the Reckless Bastards didn’t do business with Mueller or anyone like him, I had no conflicts about sharing.
But, just to be sure, I took the quickest shower I could manage and spent a few minutes looking at the documents on the flash drive . I made a copy for myself because Agent Beck didn’t like to share, and I had a feeling she wouldn’t take this information well at all. With ten minutes to spare, I stored my bag, hopped on my bike, and hauled ass to the precinct.
