On the other end of the line, Amber went dead silent for a full count of ten.“Hang on.”Scratchy noises came though the receiver, and a minute later, she spoke at normal volume.“Seb has a big presentation tomorrow.They need their sleep, so I’m in my office now.What’s up?”
He blew out a quick breath and double checked that no one was close enough to hear him.“I need everything you can give me on Harrison Wallace.Who he’s been in contact with, where he’s been…everything for the last six weeks or more.”
“Fordy, that’s a—”
“Total violation of a client’s trust.I know.”Ignoring her use of the nickname he hated, he said, “It’s life or death, Amber.”
“Whose?”
Shit.This was the truly tricky part.“Natalie Nygaard-Brown.”
Amber made a noise of disbelief.“Are you fucking kidding me?”
“I wish I was.”
“Wait, wait, wait.Wasn’t she wrapped up in that whole thing with Renfro Warner and Byron Chin last month?I thought she was…I thought she died in the attack.”
“You saw that?”Ford mentally willed Blitz not to take a dump on the grass.
“Dude, everyone saw that.It’s part of my job to stay on top of the news, and you don’t forget a name like hers easily.Especially since she nearly got you killed once.”
“Not her fault.”
“I know that.”The sound of her typing on a keyboard filtered over the line.“Not yours either.”
His turn to snort.It had absolutely been his fault.Marinelli never should’ve been able to get so close.
“We’re human, Fordy.We can’t anticipate or prevent everything, even if that’s in the job description.”
“I know.”He barely managed not to berate her for calling him Fordy.Partly because he knew it would only make her do it more, and also because he needed her help right now.“Doesn’t change how it feels.”
“I know.”Amber sighed softly.“So, are you behind Natalie’s John Darwin act?”
“Her what now?”
“John Darwin.The British guy who faked his death, like, twenty years ago and eventually got caught living on the life insurance money in Panama.”
“You were eight years old.Why do you even know this?”Though, honestly, Ford shouldn’t be surprised.His sister had a voracious appetite for random facts.
“I don’t know.”She was probably shrugging in that way she did so often.“I read it somewhere.You were probably a senior in high school when they finally caught him.Seemed like you might’ve heard of it.”
He probably had, but it didn’t ring a bell now.“Anyway… Yes, I made the decision to make it look like Natalie died in surgery.There were men actively looking for her at the hospital, and now someone has figured out that she’s alive.We’re trying to determine who he works for, and Wallace is on the short list.”
“So you think he might be behind the attack in Lucerne.”
“He’s a possible candidate.”Ford jolted forward as Blitz tried to chase a squirrel.“No.Blitz,heel.”
“Hey, Blitzy!”Amber called into the phone, as if the dog could hear.
Ford rolled his eyes.Blitz whined at the escaping rodent, but ultimately sat at his side, practically on his foot.
“Why would he go after Natalie?”Amber asked.
Blitz started turning in a circle while sniffing the ground.Dammit.Ford dug a plastic baggie from his pocket while trying to decide how much he could safely share with his sister.But if he couldn’t trust her, he couldn’t trust anyone on the planet.“He’s on a list of about a dozen despicable people Natalie helped expose.”
“Is that so?”He could almost hear Amber sitting up straight.
“It’s quite a list.You’d be impressed.But he’s the only one I recognized as a client.”
