“And thankfully, we went to the right and not the left!” he said. “Strange, how coming to talk to Amelia—you know, having the captain give us a tour of the ship—turned out to work well for us today. I knew where I was going and how to hang back... Things do happen for a reason.”
They reached the security offices and were gravely led in to speak with Broderick.
He stared at them with such hatred in his eyes that they seemed to burn.
“They should be here for you soon,” Wes said, pulling out a chair for Chloe, letting her take a seat before he did so himself.
“So, what the hell do you want?” Broderick demanded.
“Well, I guess we just wanted to figure out how you did it all! I mean, really, an amazing plan. But Edward isn’t the real power behind his company—” Wes began.
Broderick started to laugh. “You don’t know anything. The man has been buying more and more stock. With hisposition there and what he owns... he’s got the power, trust me!”
“But why the others?” Chloe asked him.
“It’s a commercial world!” Broderick told them, as if they didn’t grasp the truth of anything at all.
“Right. Of course. Eliminate all the competition? But is that even possible in today’s world?” Wes asked.
“For me? It would have been. I just discovered too late that I was working with two idiots,” Broderick said, shaking his head.
“So,” Wes said. “Amelia was supposed to see to it that Sally died. That way, she could get closer to Edward?”
“She’s an idiot. Couldn’t do anything right,” Broderick said wearily.
“And yet, hm. She messed up a little, but... you left your brother up on deck!” Chloe reminded him.
He groaned. “That was Celia’s fault! She was supposed to hit him with enough not just to paralyze, but to kill. Drugs are tricky—she did all right most of the time. We had to get them pliant to get them down to where we needed them to be, so we had to see that it was slow-acting. Now, the great thing is that most people don’t want to see another person—especially one they like—knifed through the heart.” He smiled at Chloe. “That’s why you were all so obedient! Still capable of walking until the drug really set in—but then out like lights to be disposed of like the trash you are!”
“Oh, yeah, your plans and the execution of them were brilliant,” Wes told him. “Except, of course, that they failed in the end.”
“I didn’t fail!” Broderick thundered. “The idiots around me failed. If I could have done this by myself, it would have been done properly.”
“Yeah, I guess that’s what I really want to know,” Wessaid. “All the people who died in different states—especially that large group in Broward. Did you do that by yourself, or did you have help—”
“Celia is my queen of drugs!” he told them. “Amelia... well, she was just clean up, to help with everything else that was needed, causing cameras to go down, that kind of thing. Her real challenge was here on the ship—and she screwed it all up!”
“So, you are the one who shot and killed all those people,” Wes said.
Broderick smiled. “And I came very close to killing you, too. I had you in the water! Except of course,” he added, giving Chloe a sneer, “girlie here managed to give you a hand.”
Chloe smiled and looked at Wes. “I’m so glad I was able to offer my assistance.”
“You never had her, you know,” Wes told Broderick. “She was just waiting. I mean, you did see that she blew Amelia’s wrist to shreds, making her drop her weapon.”
“At that point, sorry, I didn’t see a thing. I gave up on my hapless partners, knew that I had to save myself.”
“Yeah, but you kind of failed at that!” Wes told him. “Well, thank you. This conversation is going to help a lot when you get to trial.”
The man frowned. “What? What the hell do you have to do with that?”
“I guess we were never properly introduced!” Wes told him. “I’m a Fed. Special Agent Wesley Law. And this is FDLE Special Agent Chloe McMurray. We’ve been tailing you the whole time,” he said pleasantly. “And trust me, Mr. McClintock, we’ll be seeing you in court where this conversation, legally taped, will be very helpful.”
Chloe thought the man was going to rip his arm off, he’d become so enraged by Wes’s words.
Wes just shrugged and opened the door so that he and Chloe could leave the room.
“Man, am I glad that they’re coming for him!” Wes said. “He hid it so well—the man is an animal!”
