Laptop?
“I hope it still works,” she said. “I did swing it into his face.”
There was a hint of satisfaction in her voice that I couldn’t help but like.
Miller had a half-smile on his face as well. “I’m sure it’s fine.”
Forensics had certainly seen worse, hard drives with fire damage, and laptops with bullets in them. Having any kind of data could help build a case, so this was a good sign. She pushed her hair back behind her, ear and I noticed the scraped skin on her palm. There was a bruise darkening her bicep that wasn’t quite as bad as the one on her neck.
There, I could make out the perfect outline of fingers. Someone had strangled the hell out of her.
“Who was the man he killed in the theater?” she asked.
Theater? Well, shit.
All the puzzle pieces fell into place, and I kicked myself for being so stupid. Not an exotic dancer, but a ballet dancer. That information shouldn’t have made a difference, but it did, reminding me I was such an asshole sometimes.
“A federal judge.” Miller said it flatly.
The second one to be murdered this year, and I wasn’t sure where this put me. It was a high-level assassination case, definitely the biggest of my career. But I wasn’t really working the case, now, was I?
I was only protection detail.
“Bill’s here,” Derrick said, cutting through my thoughts.
My freckle-faced new partner didn’t talk much, so his deep voice always caught me off-guard. Our boss pushed open the glass door to the conference room and strode in with his full attention on the witness.
“I’m not anywhere near finished,” Miller whined.
“You’re welcome to stay, but only to listen,” Bill said.
Miller’s eyes narrowed, but he chewed back whatever response he wanted to say. Instead, he gathered his notes, moved to the doorway, and turned to Ms. Hayward a final time.
“I hope we’ll get to speak again, but if not—thank you.” His gaze shifted toward me. “Good luck.”
It wasn’t clear if that was directed toward her general future, or her more immediate one with me.
“Ms. Hayward, I’m Deputy in Charge Bill Bradbury. My deputies here have been assigned to your case for the next forty-eight hours. They’re going to transfer you to a safe place while the OEO assesses the situation. They’ll determine what kind of ongoing protection you might need.”
“You think he’s going to come after me again?” Her concern grew with every word.
Bill’s people skills were far superior to mine, and he delivered a gentle look. “The fact that he did it once has us worried he may try again.”
On the surface, the girl looked calm and composed, but her eyes betrayed what was going on inside. I felt an odd sensation of sympathy that was unsettling. Maybe it was because underneath the pain and exhaustion, she was undeniably gorgeous.
Internally, I cursed a blue streak. It’d be so much easier if she weren’t. The last thing I needed was this... distraction.
“Thanks for waiting for me,” a sarcastic voice said.
Beth came in like a sudden storm cloud. She reached across the table, thrusting her hand out to Ms. Hayward,and wordlessly demanded a handshake. “I’m Beth Garrity, an inspector for the Office of Enforcement Operations.”
Beth’s handshake was aggressive, and she didn’t notice the girl’s wound or the way she winced. As soon as the handshake was over, Beth dropped into a seat, and I wanted to knock the chair out from under her. I’d never liked the woman. She reveled in pointing out others’ mistakes while being completely oblivious to her own.
“Typically, we conduct an interview,” Beth continued, “to determine if you should enter the program.”
“WITSEC?” I asked.
A vent kicked on somewhere, and Ms. Hayward shivered. “What’s that?”
