If anything, they all sat taller. The atmosphere grew heavy.
She tapped the file folder against her other hand. “This isn’t about any of you.” Glowering, she focused on Force. “You need to get your head out of the Lassiter case and into this one hundred percent. Right now.”
Force blinked and his shoulders went back, but he didn’t say a word.
She looked at Raider. “And you. I understand the need to avenge your friend, and I know how badly you want to get evil off the streets. But forget all of that, for now, and work this one angle. It’s what you have, and I’m tired of your attention getting diverted.”
Ouch. He met her gaze evenly and didn’t fidget. A part of him wanted to take her down to the floor in a hard kiss, but he refrained.
Sean snorted next to him and gave him a triumphant look.
“And you.” Brigid’s voice rose and she slapped the folder down on the table. Sean jerked and focused solely on his daughter. “This is not about you, either. I understand why you left the mob, but things have changed. There is no honor among thieves here, and taking out Eddie Coonan only helps you.”
Sean cleared his throat.
She held up a hand. “Not yet. Not one word.” She flipped open the top of the file to reveal a pretty young girl with black braids, brown eyes, and cute dimples. “I’ve spent the last thirty minutes since Angus told me what was happening, focusing my research. This is Hathai, and this is about her.” Brigid pounded the table. “She and at least ten other girls, young and innocent, are on their way here to be sold after having been labeled as missing from a village in Thailand. Everything we do is about these girls.” She pushed the picture aside to reveal several more young girls, all innocently smiling at the camera. Her voice cracked. “Stop acting like jackasses and focus on this case. On saving these girls.”
God, she was magnificent. Her lips, full and rosy, pursed as she made her point. Tendrils of her hair escaped to frame her face, and the intelligence in those eyes nearly dropped him. Raider could only look at her.
Her eyebrows lifted. “Does everybody understand me?” Her voice rose to an uncomfortable pitch.
“Yes,” Force said, tapping his fingers on the table.
“I do,” Raider said quickly. He wasn’t quite sure she wouldn’t start throwing things at people.
“Yes, ma’am,” Banaghan said, his tone subdued. “I’m sorry about all of this.”
She reached for her father’s gnarled hand and patted it. “I know, Daddy. But we need that journal and evidence so we can get back in to Eddie’s organization and find those girls. All we know is that the delivery date is supposed to be Thursday, and there is more than one shipment. I have only had time to find these girls so far. There are more kids out there who need saving, and we only have a small window to save them, if that shipping manifest is accurate. Please, help us.”
Banaghan looked at his daughter, and his shoulders went up. “You don’t understand. I’ve kept that information safe most of my life, and it’s more important than ever right now.”
“Why?” Force asked, his gaze hard.
Sean just shook his head.
Brigid leaned toward him and patted his hand. “It’s time to let go, Dad. I’m safe, you’re safe, and the Coonans won’t stop coming. But I have to ask. Why are they coming right now? The timing is odd to me.”
Sean looked at the blank screen and then shuddered. “All right. It’s happening now because of Patrick Coonan dying, Eddie taking over, and Senator Scot Tyson running for president.”
“We figured,” Raider said quietly, his senses wide-awake. “What exactly do you have on the senator?”
“Not a lot, but he doesn’t know that,” Sean admitted. “Tyson’s mom lived in the old neighborhood, and I don’t know who his father was. She became one of Pat’s mistresses when Tyson was about eight. The kid grew up hard, and he and Eddie were tight. Got in some trouble and went to juvie, came out and got smarter.”
Raider looked at Brigid.
She rubbed her neck. “I just started digging into his past and haven’t had time to deep dive yet.”
Sean sighed. “Tyson took the money he earned as a runner for Patrick Coonan, got a college degree in economics, and then went west to attend law school in Seattle. He kept his ties to the family, and in the summer, he worked off the books for the Coonans. I have a couple of pictures and some notations in the journal, but nothing that really hurts him. I’ve made sure he doesn’t know that.”
“Anybody running for president will be up for increased scrutiny,” Raider murmured. “The elder Coonan might’ve kept a leash on Tyson all these years, but that leash is gone. Has the senator kept ties with Eddie?”
Sean shrugged. “I don’t know, but it wouldn’t surprise me. When I left the business, I left completely.” He frowned. “There was also talk about Tyson and missing girls—one in high school and another out west, but it was just talk. I don’t know any other details than that, although I might have indicated otherwise when I left.”
Wolfe crunched a piece of candy and swallowed. “Dana worked for a newspaper in Seattle for years and probably has great resources. Want me to reach out to her?”
Raider grimaced. Giving a reporter information on a case didn’t sit well with him. But Brigid was overwhelmed with the computer work they were already asking her to do, as well as the emotions that had to be rushing through her; maybe additional help would be good. It wasn’t like the main HDD really wanted to assist them. “Do you really trust her?” he asked.
Wolfe nodded. “I do. She’ll run with a story, but I trust her not to print anything until I agree. I can just give her a hint about Senator Tyson and something in Seattle, if that helps.”
