She went stark white, except for the bright red streaking up her neck. “You ... he...”
Faith hadn’t flinched when Luke had spoken. Now she leaned toward Janice. “Is Special Agent Powell correct?”
The specifics were falling into place in Luke’s mind. “Itwasyou. You came on to Thad. More than once. He finally had to tell you that if you didn’t stop, he’d file a complaint.” Thad never told him who the agent was. But looking at Janice Estes, Luke could see it all. Janice was tall, blonde, coolly confident in her abilities. Single, unattached, and with no desire to change that status. Not looking for anything more than a good time. She’d set her sights on Thad.
“Janice.” That one word spoke volumes. Disbelief and disgust mingled with an edge of fury. Faith was about to blow.
Janice winked at Luke. “He was stuck with a chunky monkey and a couple of rug rats. I was offering him a good time. He declined. His loss. I promise you, I’ve never had any complaints, and none of my lovers have gotten blown to bits.”
“We know who Park Mi Cha was. She wasn’t a prostitute. She was a scientist, working on a PhD and here in Raleigh for four months as an intern.” Faith’s voice held an edge Luke had neverheard. “You made an erroneous assumption based on your own biases and hatred for the man. My report will make it clear that you’ve hindered this investigation, and that it is my belief your incompetence has led to the deaths of two United States Secret Service agents and the attempted murder of three others.”
26
FAITH STOOD.She had to get out of this room. Away from Janice. Away from Luke. Away from everybody. “Go home, Janice.” She tried to keep the disdain from her voice.
She knew she had failed.
When she turned to the door, Luke had already opened it. “Happy?” The word sliced from her lips. “Another FBI agent who didn’t do her job, and people died because of it.”
He looked stricken. His hand reached toward her, then fell away as if he’d thought better of it. Wise decision.
The Carrington investigators stood at a discreet distance. She waved them over. “Are we even sure she was shot at?”
Gabe and Ryan exchanged looks of surprise before Gabe answered. “She was definitely under fire. No one saw it, but a local resident heard it. Called it in. There were spent casings in the parking lot. And the truck is still there. Damage to the front end visually matches the damage to her car. We have roadblocks up, masquerading as sobriety checkpoints, but so far nothing but a few random tickets for not having licenses.”
Someone did shoot at her. But who? “What about the truck? Does it belong to David Lee?”
Ryan took this one. “No. Stolen.”
“Where was it stolen?”
“Richmond, Virginia. I take it you don’t believe her story?” Gabe asked the question gently, but it still stung.
Luke stared at the floor, and for the life of her, she couldn’t decide if she was glad he was staying out of it or sorry he wasn’t commiserating. Maybe it was a little of both. “If I were you, I would reevaluate everything Agent Estes said. She has not earned the right to be trusted.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Ryan crossed his arms. “Does this mean we shouldn’t assume we’re looking for David Lee? None of us saw him. She could be throwing the search in the wrong direction.”
How had it come to this? Her entire investigation was a disaster.
“Honestly? I don’t know. I’ve had trouble with her before, but this is a low I didn’t think she was capable of reaching. I was wrong.” The words were acid on her tongue.
“I’ll keep you in the loop.” Gabe extended a hand, and when she took it, he gave it an unexpected squeeze. “It’s going to be okay, Agent Malone. We aren’t FBI, but we’re good at what we do, and you can trustus. And while I know this is hard to believe, we like this one”—he tossed a nod in Luke’s direction—“and we’re in favor of keeping him around for a while.”
“Thank you.”
They exchanged numbers and made sure everyone had correct contact information, and then Gabe and Ryan walked them out. When they got to the front desk, the guys exchanged handshakes and fist bumps. They said their goodbyes, and Faith forced herself to stay calm. She still faced an hour-long drive in a car with Luke. And because of his injuries, she had to do the driving.
All she wanted was to go home. To wash this day—this never-endingday—out of her hair and maybe, by some miracle, out of her mind.
Luke held the door and she exited. The night was dark, cool, misty. No starlight penetrated the clouds. When the door had closed behind them, Luke paused on the top step.
She didn’t turn around. She didn’t stop. “I’m not going to leave you here.”
“I can get an Uber.”
Tempting. So tempting. “That’s ridiculous.” She’d almost reached her car. “Get in the car.”
“Wait!” Luke rushed back up the stairs. Well, as much as he was rushing anywhere these days.
