Jagger shifted his lower half against the smooth leather of his seat as he sat behind the wheel of the borrowed SUV. As a perk of the job—Jagger had contacts in just about every major city in the country. One such contact was here in the city.
The owner of a fleet of unmarked, bullet-resistant vehicles typically reserved for members of the United States government and their guests. Now, Jagger was no politician, of course. Nor did he carry a foreign national title. Hehadhelped a lot of people over the years, however. Important people who carried with them a treasure trove of chits.
Jagger made the call to cash one of those in the second he knew he was coming to D.C.
“I was hoping you’d say that.”
Liam’s comment gave him pause. “Why is that?”
“Because I did as you asked and looked into the woman who picked up Talia from the airport.”
“Find anything interesting?”
“Possibly. But it was more what Ididn’tfind that caught my attention.”
His focus remained on the townhome down the street from where he was parked. “Okay, well…let’s start with what you found.”
“The woman’s name is Dr. Scarlett O’Neill.”
“Doctor?” For some reason, that took him by surprise. “What kind?”
“Criminal psychologist. And according to this, our resident redhead is also a bona fide genius with an off-the-charts IQ and a photographic memory.”
“That’s actually a thing?”
“Oh, yeah. Although, technically, I think it’s referred to as an eidetic memory. Either way, it seems the woman has mad recollection skills.”
“Okay, so she has a better than average memory,” Jagger locked that fact away for later. “What else?”
“Let’s see…” Liam paused. “She’s thirty-eight. Single. No kids, from what I was able to find, and it looks as though she’s never been married.”
“She have a practice here in D.C., I’m assuming?”
“Actually, no. She works free-lance. Makes her living serving as an expert witness, consulting with various law enforcement departments across the country on some of their tougher cases…” The other man’s voice trailed. “Says here, she’s even listed as an official criminal consultant for the FBI. Heck, earlier today, Dr. O’Neill testified for the prosecution in a case against some hotshot legacy lawyer named Walter Atkins.”
The name sounded vaguely familiar, but unlike Talia’s friend, Jagger’s memory wasn’t flawless. “Isn’t he the guy accused of taking out his entire family?”
“One in the same,” Liam confirmed. “According to the news, and of course, social media, the prick killed his two kids and then turned the gun on his wife.”
“Damn.” Jagger blew out a breath.
“My thoughts, exactly. But hey, we’re getting off-track, so…back to the intriguing woman and her connection to your girl.”
“Talia’s not my girl.”
Wouldn’t mind it if she was, though.
“Is that why you’re stalking her place at ten-thirty at night?”
Jagger resisted the attempt to look around to see if Liam was nearby. “I’m not stalking. I’m observing. And how the hell do you know where I am?”
“Call it what you want, brother. Either way, Talia’s gonna be pissed if she catches you skulking around outside her home like some creeper.”
“You never answered my last question.”
Liam snorted. “Because I’m pretending you weren’t actually dumb enough to ask it.”
Jagger’s lips responded to the banter between friends by curving upward into a wide, toothy grin. Liam always had his back.
