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“Arguing.” Matt sipped his coffee.
“I asked Kara to join me for the interview with Ms. Mott this morning. I hope that’s okay.”
“You don’t have to ask my permission. I trust you.”
Ryder cleared his throat but didn’t look at him.
“Do you have something to say?”
“No.”
“Is this about the tension between Catherine and Kara? They’re resolving it.”
“Are they?”
Matt frowned. He wondered if anyone—if Ryder—had overheard Catherine’s accusation that he was sleeping with Kara. He didn’t want to discuss it with anyone else.
“I know that you and Dr. Jones have been friends and colleagues for a long time. She’s well respected and one of the foremost forensic psychiatrists in the country.”
“She is.”
“And Kara is the exact opposite of Dr. Jones. She’s street smart. I heard Jim call her ‘a cop’s cop.’ You have a lot of respect for her, and give her a lot of leeway.”
“I give everyone leeway because everyone on this team is the best at what they do.”
“But what happens when two of us disagree?”
“We discuss it.”
“Not this time. In the Triple Killer investigation, yes—we had discussions and you would consider each theory, and then you made a decision and we all acted accordingly. When we were in Patagonia last month, you gave Kara a lot of leeway because she understands undercover investigations better than most. But this time, two team members have directly opposing opinions—and your decision matters because expending manpower to investigate Madelyn Jeffries or Marcy Anderson or even Neil’s cold case takes away manpower from investigating other theories. I’ve never taken you as a boss who makes decisions on consensus.”
“Catherine and Kara resolved it,” Matt said. “They went to talk to Mrs. Jeffries again and Catherine cleared her.”
“But Kara had already cleared her the day before. I just think...well, my opinion isn’t relevant. I shouldn’t have said anything.”
He looked down.
“I value your input, Ryder. I want to know what you think.”
He didn’t speak immediately, then said, “When Kara went to the Island Protectors meeting Monday night, to get a sense of their mission and figure out who was who, it was a good idea. She obtained valuable information. And you sided with Catherine.”
“I wasn’t taking sides.”
“You were, and—I shouldn’t say this, because it really isn’t my place—but Kara was hurt. She acted angry and dismissive about it, but you let Catherine belittle her in front of the team.”
Matt opened his mouth to object, then closed it. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt Kara.
“I respect Kara. You know that.”
“You didn’t show it. Karaisa valuable member of this team.”
“You don’t have to tell me that.”
“I don’t want her to leave.”
“What makes you think she will?”
“Because if I thought that my boss didn’t have faith in me, I would be looking for another job. Kara would just quit.”
