He checked in with Jacob and hovered over Marty as she called the hospital for an update on Gil. Thirty minutes later, he was settled behind his desk. His relief that Gil was conscious and doing okay this morning and Zane was coming into the office at lunch was intense. But it was the news that, according to Marty, there was a rumor floating through the world of federal agencies that it had hit the fan over at the FBI office this morning that had him chuckling. He couldn’t wait to hear about it straight from Faith.
He had no doubt she’d been involved.
He’d left Faith a message and asked her to call when she had a chance. Who knew when that might be? For right now, it was time to find out who Park Mi Cha was. And if it was possible that Thad’s involvement with her was the reason they were both dead.
He knew who he needed, and it only took a minute to find the number and place the call.
“Sabrina Fleming-Campbell.” The voice was politely curious.
“Dr. Fleming-Campbell. This is Luke Powell, US Secret Service in Raleigh. We were on a human trafficking task force last year, and I dive with Adam sometimes.”
“I remember you, Special Agent Powell. How are you?”
“It’s Luke. And, well—”
“You aren’t well at all, are you? Your office has been decimated, you’ve been shot, your friends have been shot, killed, and blown up. All in all, a horrific situation.”
Luke had forgotten how blunt Dr. Fleming-Campbell could be. The woman was brilliant, but tact wasn’t her forte. “You’ve summed it up nicely.”
“I could have been a little less blunt.” Her voice carried uncertainty and maybe some regret. She was hard to read, so he wasn’t sure.
“Nah. It’s all true, and none of it’s a secret. I’m not sure why anyone would think I would be fine.”
“Indeed. And my guess is you haven’t called me to catch up on social matters.”
Did she sound hopeful? She was more of a “get to the point” kind of person. “No, I haven’t.”
“How can I help you?”
Luke explained about Park Mi Cha and her family connection to Thad, his belief that she might be the unidentified person who was killed in the car bombing, and his questions about whether there might be video footage of her somewhere.
Aside from an occasional grunt, Dr. Fleming-Campbell didn’t interrupt him. The only sound coming through the phone was rapid-fire clicking as she typed. After a minute, she spoke. “Can you email me the information you received from Mrs. Baker without violating confidentiality?”
“Not an issue. Rose wants to know more than anyone else.”
“I’m sure.” The typing continued. “I’ve sent you an email. Please respond with the information from Mrs. Baker. I’ll let you know what I find.”
Luke considered his next question. “Dr. Fleming-Campbell—”
“Could you please call me Sabrina? Or Dr. Campbell? I kept Fleming because it’s how I’m known professionally, but Fleming-Campbell is a ridiculous number of syllables and highly inefficient, as well as too formal for friends.”
“Then Sabrina it is, and it’s an honor to consider you a friend.”
“Thank you. Is there something else?”
“Yes.” He wished he’d called Adam first and let him ask, but there wasn’t time for going through third and fourth parties.
“I called you before I checked with the FBI or my boss or pretty much anybody.”
“This is on the house, Luke. Don’t worry about it. I understand Faith Malone is working the case for the FBI. She’s a good agent. One of the best in that office.”
“She’s been great. I have a phone call in to her, but she hasn’t responded yet. When I talk to her, I’ll let her know about your involvement.”
“Excellent. I have a meeting I cannot avoid this afternoon, but this is my top priority as soon as I return to my desk. I’m good, but even I can’t find information that simply isn’t there. Be prepared for this to take a few days and for the results to be less than satisfactory.”
“I understand.” He did, but he also knew he had succeeded in enlisting the help of one of the brightest computer forensics minds in the country. If there was anything to find, she would find it.
“I’ll be in touch.”
