Wait, was that how my boss had described her?
He’d said she was a dancer who’d witnessed a murder.
A collar this big, it had to be another drug deal gone bad, probably some VIP from one of the cartels. Without any details, the only thing I could bring to the meeting was a set of assumptions.
This woman didn’t look like I’d expected, though, which should have been my first clue. She was more like a girl, really. There weren’t any visible tattoos or heavy makeup. No low-cut clothes or cheap jewelry. Her wavy, dark blonde hair fell a few inches past her shoulders and framed a pretty face above the developing bruises around her neck. She was pale, with sunken eyes like she’d been through the wringer last night.
Despite that, she was striking, and a magnetic pull kept drawing my gaze back to her.
The girl sat alone in the bland conference room with her glassy-eyed gaze fixed on me through the window. It made me uncomfortable, and I did not like the feeling. I forced my attention away from her and back to Miller.
“Because I’m feeling generous,” I said, “or more likely, because I’m not completely awake yet, I’ll give you five more minutes with her.”
“What a guy.” Miller’s voice dripped with sarcasm.
The Fed wasn’t too happy I’d shown up to poach his case, and it was hard to blame the guy. But I ignored him, breezed through the door, and extended my hand to the woman, letting my new partner Derrick and the FBI agent file in behind.
“I’m Deputy Jason Dunn,” I said, then gestured to Derrick. “And this is Deputy Wheeler. We’re with the Marshals Service.”
She grimaced with pain as she rose to her feet and shook my hand. “Laurel Hayward.”
Her hand was warm and soft, and she withdrew it quickly, like she didn’t want to touch me any longer than necessary. Which bothered me for some fucking reason.
“Nice to meet you.” I didn’t care if it sounded hollow and all business. “We’re going to let Agent Miller finish his questioning before we move you to a temporary housing location.”
“What?” Her blue eyes filled with alarm.
“Deputy Wheeler and I are here because the DOJ requested full protection. That’s not something they’d do without good reason.”
Her expression verged on heartbreak. “What about my job?”
I’d fucked things up enough professionally, I wasn’t going to dig the hole any deeper today. I had to stay professional and keep my thoughts to myself. But it was stunning this stripperwas more worried about working the pole than helping the FBI catch the son of a bitch who’d nearly killed her.
“You’re not going back to your life right now.” I didn’t bother to sugarcoat it. “Not today, and probably not for a while.”
It was obvious that was the moment she decided she didn’t like me. She tilted her chin and her jaw slowly tightened until her angular face took on a hard edge. I told myself I didn’t care, and that she wasn’t beautiful. I wasn’t here to make friends.
This girl was a job, nothing more.
I grabbed a seat across the table and glanced at Miller. “I’d suggest you hurry up and finish your questions. Beth Garrity from the OEO will be here in less than twenty.”
The Office of Enforcement Operations would make the arrangements for protective custody—if it hadn’t been done already—and my warning seemed to do the trick, because Miller slipped into his seat and gestured for Ms. Hayward to do the same.
“He admitted to the shooting?” Miller pushed the oversized glasses he was wearing up onto the bridge of his nose. He’d probably had that same pair for the last decade.
The girl folded into her chair, looking exhausted but determined. “He said he wanted to take another shot when he saw the man was still alive, but I got in his way.”
“Did he give you a reason or motivation, or discuss any aspects of the first shooting?”
“No.” She made a face like the memory was upsetting. “He said in his job, he didn’t usually kill women.”
I hadn’t been briefed on any of this. The only information I’d gotten was a disgruntled call from my boss Bill, telling me to take my ass to the Federal building and secure a murder witness from the FBI office. He’d meet me there, along with Beth from the OEO.
Miller took notes, his pen weaving across the page. “He said it was his job?”
“That’s how I understood it. But he didn’t say much after that.” Her voice was detached and eerie. “Not anything that would be helpful to you.”
Miller’s pen stopped mid-scribble. “Don’t worry about that. You’ve already been helpful. There’s a laptop down in IT forensics right now because of you.”
