Baz tried to keep his heart from galloping out of his chest, but it wasn’t easy.“Why?”
“The FBI didn’t say.They just told me that it was pertinent that shediedthat day.They were setting her up with a new identity.I don’t know what it is.”
“You’re telling me that Kylie Walker didnotdie that day?”
“I’m telling you that the FBI told me I couldn’t talk about it.”
“What proof do you have?”
Dr.Weaver’s eyebrows slammed down.“What proof?There is no proof.When someone goes into witness protection, they do what’s necessary to keep it under wraps.No paperwork.”
Baz snorted.“Are you saying you falsified a death certificate on good faith that they were telling you the truth?”
“I had to.”
“And you didn’t find it strange that thefederal governmentwas willing to pay you five hundred thousand dollars for your cooperation?”
“They said it was the normal fee.”
Oh, Jesus Christ.Surely this guy wasn’t as stupid as he pretended to be.
“Who did you work with at the FBI?”
Dr.Weaver turned back to his desk.“I don’t remember.But I’ve got his card.”
Baz waited while the doctor shuffled through papers in one of his desk drawers.A minute later, he produced a card, passed it over.
Yep.That would be the guy.
Fuck.
Gesturing toward the office, Baz urged Dr.Weaver backward.“I’ve got a few more questions, and you’d better have some damn good answers.”
On his way out of the hospital half an hour later, Baz called JJ.
“Tell me you found something,” she said, sounding chipper.
“I definitely did.”
“Did Dr.Weaver cop to bein’ paid off?”
“He did.Said he was given instructions to stage her death because she was a federal witness going into witness protection.”
“Holy shit.What do we do now?”
“Well, I think you should call Brantley and give him a heads-up.Since we’ve got some time before we can see the babies, I’m gonna run over to the funeral home.”
“I’ll do some diggin’ real quick.See what I can find.They would’ve gotten a payoff, too, huh?”
“I can’t imagine they could’ve gone through the process without realizing they didn’t have a body.”
“What if they did?Have a body, I mean.”
Baz frowned, pausing at the door.“You think they sent one in her place?”
“It makes sense, right?They’d have someone to bury so they wouldn’t ask questions.”
He shook his head, pushing the door open.“And what?They just convinced the family not to have an open casket?No, I think they were in on it.”
“You’re probably right.Let me work on it.I’ll let you know.Love you.”
“I love you, too.”
