Now she sat at her desk praying the same prayer over and over.Protect them. Protect them.
Thethemin question included Luke and all the agents working this case, her mom, Hope, her dad, Gail, and the boys. It was the first time she had ever prayed for Gail or the boys. And it was annoying that praying for them, even for something as basic as their protection, was making her feel less anger toward them. She’d made the phone calls, and all of them were away from their homes and in protective custody. For now.
Had she done the right thing? Made the right choices?
A Cherry Coke slid into her view, and the hand that held it moved to her right shoulder. “You’re amazing.” Luke’s other hand came around her left side and opened in front of her. A small flash drive rested in his palm. “And we need to know what’s on this. Now.”
She turned, and Luke’s face hovered so close that she had toforce her head to keep from falling on his shoulder. He smelled clean and fresh. How was that even possible? They’d all been yanked from their beds in the middle of the night. There’d been no time for a shower. The only reason she had makeup on was because she’d had to be presentable for the 9:00 a.m. press conference, but her hair only looked good from the front.
Focus, Faith. Hair is not important.“Where did this come from?”
“Sabrina.”
That drove all thoughts of hair and hands and lips from her mind. She inserted the drive into her computer and waited as the screen filled with the information Sabrina had compiled.
The first file listed said, “READ ME FIRST,” so she clicked it. Luke continued to hover over her shoulder, and they read it together.
I am not supplying you with all the data I have because the file would be too large. I have documented everything—all admissible in court. I got a warrant over the weekend for some of this.
Bottom line: Mi Cha’s father, Park Jae-ho, has not been seen in South Korea since a week after his wife’s death. I have attached a few photographs. I found two that show that when he was younger, he may have had the same tattoo as David Lee. It isn’t in current photos, but what looks like some type of birthmark could be where a tattoo was removed.
There is also a picture of a full tattoo—not from Mr. Park or David Lee—but if this is how their tattoo looks under their shirts, then it’s proof of their involvement in a very secretive branch of Korean special forces. My sourcewas positive Mr. Park was Korean special forces, and if he wanted to be in the United States, he would know how to get here without raising any suspicions.
Faith clicked on the photographs. There was Mi Cha with two people who must be her parents. Then she pulled up a photo of David Lee. And another photo that was split and showed the tattoos side by side with a note that the probability they were the same design was 90 percent. Then the picture of the full tattoo. On this unknown man, it began below his left ear and spread across his shoulder and down his chest. It was a tiger, and the tiny portion showing on the neck was the trailing end of the tail.
“Are you wondering if Mr. Park could be the Tiger?” Luke’s whispered words sent a chill down her spine, and it wasn’t just because his lips brushed her ear.
“Yes. And I’m thinking he could be the one David Lee told me about, and he’s here to avenge Mi Cha’s death.”
“But we didn’t kill her. We didn’t even know she existed.”
“I don’t think he knows that.”
WOULD THISDAY EVEREND?
Luke checked another number off the list he had in front of him. The tips had been coming in fast and furious since the press conference, and every tip was being chased down.
Everyone was working. This had turned into the biggest joint exercise he’d ever personally experienced. Losing two of their own had energized the local police force in a way that was both impressive and heartbreaking.
Zane, Tessa, Gil, Jacob, and even Marty were at the officemaking phone calls to CIs and following up on leads, then sending local officers and FBI agents out to investigate any tips with merit.
But not him. He wasn’t leaving Faith’s side. He could work just as easily from the FBI office, and while it didn’t follow any protocol, no one was complaining.
Especially Faith.
She sagged against her desk, and he longed to tell her to go take a nap, but he couldn’t. Everyone was working and would continue to work until David Lee, and now Mr. Park, had been found.
Faith’s private phone rang. She spun in her chair until her knees were touching Luke’s. She frowned as she looked at the number and answered it with the speaker on so Luke could hear.
“Charles?” Faith’s hand shook, and Luke rested it in his own.
“We’re fine.” The deep voice of the agent with Hope was calm and steady.
At the reassurance, Faith leaned forward, resting her forehead on Luke’s good shoulder. “You scared me.”
“Sorry about that. But I have a message for you.”
Faith sat up quickly. “Okay.”
