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“This can’t go beyond this office,” he told his boss flat out. He drew a breath, then added, “Keira can’t know I’m even thinking along these lines, so you can’t tell her. You can’t even let her suspect I’m thinking it.”
Walker’s expression had been serious before because he’d known something was up, but now his face hardened and his blue eyes turned cold. “So you’re going down that road,” he said softly.
Trace made an impatient gesture. “I’ve got no choice. The State Department and the DSS are investigating. The Boulder police are investigating. Even the agency gave the estate a thorough once over. But you already know that except for the disabled alarm systems everyone has come up with squat. It’s an inside job—nothing else makes sense. There are only two people I know aren’t involved—the princess is one. I’m the other.” One corner of his mouth quirked up into an ironic smile. “And the State Department and the DSS aren’t so sure about me. But I am.”
“I am, too.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Trace said sincerely. “But where does that leave me? Only a few people knew the alarm codes, and Keira’s brothers are on the list. They were both off duty, which looks suspicious...if you’ve got a suspicious mind. And I do.”
Walker nodded. “I do, too.”
Trace grimaced. “I can’t rule out either of them as suspects, and God knows I want to. Everything in me says they’re innocent, but without some kind of proof they’re not involved... Hell. What am I supposed to do? I changed the alarm codes immediately, of course. But I had to give the new codes to Alec and Liam—Alec’s on duty today and tomorrow, then Liam Monday and Tuesday. If one or the other is involved—or both—I don’t think they’ll let anything happen when one of them is guarding her, especially now—that would be too suspicious. And I just don’t see either of the Jones brothers letting suspicion fall on the other one. They’re pretty close. Besides, it’s too soon after the first attempt. So I think the princess is safe until I go back on duty on Wednesday. If they’re involved. If they’re not, who knows if she’s safe for a single minute?”
“You want me to ask the State Department to beef up her security?”
“They’re already working on that. The DSS has a plan. And the Boulder police department is adding an extra ride-by patrol at night. I can’t fault their response time the other night—they got there damn quick—but that extra patrol won’t hurt.”
“Then what? You want me to have Keira’s brothers pulled off the assignment? Replace them?”
Trace made a sound of frustration and sank into one of the chairs in front of Walker’s desk. “Hell, I don’t know. What would you tell State and the DSS?” he said, playing devil’s advocate. “That one or both of them might be involved? Ruin their careers when I haven’t got even a shred of proof? When it’s more likely one or more of the Zakharians who work for her? They had the codes, too.” He recounted what the princess had told him about why her brother had sent her to the US, and about not really trusting anyone—not among her household or her bodyguards. “God, I can’t imagine what that’s like,” he said, shaking his head, “wondering if the people who’re supposed to protect you are going to betray you.”
He sat lost in thought for a moment, then continued. “And if the Jones brothers are innocent, then I’ve just put the princess in more danger because she knows them and trusts them a hell of a lot more than she trusts her Zakharian bodyguards. And they’ve done a damn good job until now. I’ll be gone by the time she returns from Christmas break, and I don’t want to leave her with total strangers. Not if I don’t have to.”
“Okay,” Walker said in that reasonable way he had. “Let’s go over it from the top then. Together. Walk me through everything that happened. Let’s see if we can spot something. If we can rule Keira’s brothers out, we’ll both feel a lot better.” He added drily, “I’ll be damned if I want to break news like this to Keira.”
* * *
Twenty minutes later Walker picked up a pen from his desk and leaned back in his chair. A hint of a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth and he whistled tunelessly.
“What?” Trace demanded. “What did I miss?”
“I think you were just too close to it.” His eyes met Trace’s. “And your personal involvement isn’t helping your objectivity.”
