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What he hadn’t expected was to see some strange man getting in the vehicle that Charlie had been driving.
“I need to see your badge,” Brian said.
With a sigh, the guy handed him the folio. Brian scrutinized it. Definitely real.
Brian gave it back. “How many of you Powell boys are there?” He’d gone to high school with at least two of them. But they hadn’t run in the same circles.
“Five.”
That’s a lot of Powells. “Who sent you to investigate?”
“LPD chief. Willa Nelson. She made a formal request with the state attorney general’s office,” Logan said.
“To look into the disappearance of Haley Olsen?” Charlie asked.
“No. I’m afraid not.”
“Then why are you here?” Brian asked.
“To look into police corruption.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t answer any more of his questions.” Charlie folded her arms. “It’s one thing to play me, Brian, but if your conflict of interest by being buddies with Seth Olsen is going to compromise this—”
“Now, hold on a minute. I’m going to say this one last time, and I want you to hear me. I amnotfriends with Seth.”
“I’ve got pictures that say otherwise,” she told him.
“I was trying to use the football game to my advantage. Hoping he might let something slip. Sometimes it’s the smallest detail that can make the biggest difference. For instance, the way he talks about Haley. Never past tense. Like he doesn’t think she’s dead. Or he wasn’t the one who killed her.”
“So, you’re back to sticking up for him?” she asked, meeting his gaze in the rearview mirror.
Brian leaned forward and rested his arm on the seat. “I’m not. I swear it. I’m talking to you like a detective investigating. I don’t think he blew up his own house. But I do think he and Colvin are lying about the alibi. Among other things.” His gaze dropped to her shoulder. “You’re bleeding.”
She glanced at the scrape. “It stings, but I’ll live.”
“Can I interject, or should I give you two a minute alone?” Logan asked.
Brian clenched his jaw that this guy was here while he needed to sort things with Charlie.
“We’ve been digging into Detective Olsen for some time,” Logan said. “I can assure you that Detective Bradshaw has been nowhere near him or his associates. From what we’ve observed, they’re not even buddies. And Bradshaw isn’t one of the cops being investigated or even under suspicion. In fact, he’s one of the few that we believe for certain are clean. I hope that resolves the disagreement so that we can focus on business.”
Chewing on her bottom lip, she met Brian’s gaze again. Her features softer, her posture less defensive.
Maybe Logan Powell wasn’t so bad after all. “You saidwe’ve been digging.Who iswe?” he asked the DCI agent.
“A special task force. That’s all I’m at liberty to say.”
This was big. So much bigger than Brian had suspected.
“Once Haley disappeared,” Logan said, “I was planning to come speak with you, Charlie, but things have been moving fast. A lot of different pieces and players on the board. Then Detective Olsen followed you and this opportunity presented itself.”
Brian went rigid. The dread over Charlie’s safety that had been dogging him since someone shot at her now intensified. “Say that again? Seth has been followingher? For how long?”
“Last night he caught her surveilling him,” Logan said. “I followed him following her. I kept watch in case he tried something.”
Brian shot her a withering look.
Charlie lowered her head. “Please don’t say something as cliché asI told you so.”
