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“Nat and I started on the same day. We met at orientation. Then we were both assigned to the same matter for our very first case.”
“Oh, wow. Small world.”
“The lawyer in charge of that case, a guy named Grover Anderson, became something of a mentor to both me and Natsuo. And whenever Grover could, he staffed his cases with one or both of us.”
“I see. So you and Natsuo did work on a case together.” She said slowly.
“We worked on a lot of cases together.”
“With this Grover person.”
“Correct.” Ryan scrubbed his hands over his face. “I need to talk to Grover.”
“Why? Because your friend fell down a flight of stairs?”
“I’m sure the official story will be that Natsuo was drunk and tripped. But I never, not once, saw Nat drink to excess.”
“You think he was killed?”
“Maybe. Probably. And if he was, and it’s related to the attempts on my life, Grover might be in danger, too.”
“What are you going to do? Just walk into the Justice Department? That doesn’t seem like a good idea.”
“Grover retired not long after I left. He lives in some coastal town on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. A little place near Saint Michaels. I can’t think of the name.” He shook his head. The town was on the tip of his tongue, just out of reach.
“Let’s go back to the archives,” she suggested. “It’s not five o’clock yet. We can search for his address and maybe you can give him a call.”
“That’s a good idea.” Then he frowned. “What phone are you carrying?”
“None.”
They’d both destroyed their personal cell phones a day earlier in a hotel in Harrisonburg, Virginia, to avoid being tracked, and had purchased prepaid flip phones that couldn’t be traced to them.
“You don’t still have the burner?”
“I left it at home when I went looking for you.”
“We’ll get you a new one.”
She gave the hotel room a longing look. “I hope we get to spend at least one night here, but I’m not going to hold my breath.”
He reached for her hand, “When this is all over, I’ll bring you back here. I won’t even spend Jake’s money to do it.”
She laughed lightly and then leaned in to brush a gentle kiss across his lips. He kissed her back, harder.
“It’s a date,” she said against his mouth. “Come on, let’s go track down your mentor.”
He was grateful she was here. As much as he worried about her safety, he wanted Leilah by his side.
9
While Ryan firedup the public computer in the archive reading room to locate Grover Anderson, Leilah found the ladies’ room. She was washing her hands when she noticed her makeup could stand to be freshened up. In her view, being on the run from unknown government agencies was no excuse for letting her personal standards slip, so she removed her makeup bag from her purse and began to attend to the repairs.
She was daubing lip primer and plumper on her full lips to create the base coat for a fresh lipstick application, when the door from the hallway opened and an older woman strolled in, humming to herself.
“Oh, goodness! I didn’t realize anyone was here.” She clasped a hand to her throat, then she frowned. “But you left hours ago.”
“I didn’t mean to startle you,” Leilah said with a smile, turning away from the mirror. “I’ll bet you’re Maggie O’Donnell.”
