“You can’t protect me anyway,” Renee snarled.
Jesse held up his hands. “Have it your way.”
He took his time standing, but Renee refused to look at him. Keeping his steps even and measured, he took his time heading to the door. As if he didn’t care whether or not she had anything to say. One hint that he was eager, any slip of interest, would ruin his game. If she knew how desperate he was, she could leverage that against him. Then the interrogation would be that much harder.
He reached for the door handle.
The bluff failed. Renee didn’t say another word as Jesse left for the observation room.
Bonnell nodded as he shut the door. “You didn’t do half bad.”
Jesse sighed and leaned against the wall. He folded his arms over his chest. “She didn’t give up a damn thing. We don’t have a clue about where Megan Valless vanished. We can’t even prove she was the other cultist. Bryce and I didn’t get a good look.”
“You rattled her. We’ll give her a little time, gather more information from her cohorts,” Bonnell said.
“Any of them talking?” Jesse asked.
Bonnell scrutinized Jesse. After a long moment, she went back to watching the monitors. “We’ve had some limited success. We have established it was Milton who coordinated the attack on you, and he was under orders. He won’t point the finger at who his boss was without assurances.”
“He’s trying to leverage information about trying to kill me?” Jesse said.
Bonnell waved a hand at him, motioning for him to stay calm. “He’s scared. Whoever is pulling the strings behind this has power. Lots of it, if they can infiltrate the DWO and the FBI. Megan and Renee Valless may be the tip of the iceberg.”
Those were thoughts Jesse hadn’t wanted to give any power. The strangeness surrounding Crowley buildings pointed to a larger conspiracy. They couldn’t all be portals to the same place, or there would have been signs of the devourers in the disturbances around the other buildings.
Jesse rubbed the back of his neck. “Whoever’s behind this will realize we’re onto them. Assuming Megan hasn’t already run to them.”
“I think we should assume she has. Conventional traces have already dried up. We’re not sure if she drove or flew or found a bus or boat out of the city, but she hasn’t returned to her Chesterfield house,” Bonnell said. “In all likelihood, she’s left the area.”
“Or gone to ground. Wouldn’t have to go far to disappear.”
Bonnell nodded.
Obviously, Megan Valless knew about Jesse’s involvement with the case. Whatever source she had inside the DWO would have informed her about him, Bryce, Alex, Celia, and David. Bryce’s team was in danger, and though it wasn’t Jesse’s fault, he felt responsible for bringing them into it.
“How badly did I screw up your investigation?” Jesse asked.
“We don’t tend to over-analyze our past. Protocols can help, but they can hinder as well. If Bryce had followed the usual procedures, you might be dead. If you hadn’t stolen the journal from Lawson’s apartment, someone else may have taken it and we wouldn’t have it to translate,” Bonnell replied. “The department thrives on free thinkers, and they tend to disregard the rules when it suits them. It’s like wrangling cats, but they solve more problems than they cause.”
“In the bureau, the point would be that agents shouldn’t cause problems.”
Bonnell smirked. “You’ve met Alex. And Walker. And, of course, there’s you. Problems tend to follow some people around.”
Jesse smothered a chuckle, not sure how he felt about wanting to laugh. Seemed like the whole world threatened to implode if he didn’t keep an eye on it. What he wanted was to crawl into bed with Bryce and ignore the rest of the world for a few days. Strange how fast he was used to him, but living on top of each other had made him used to Bryce. He liked having him close, knowing he could count on him for even silent support.
But he didn’t know what the next step was for his career. Going back to the bureau felt like a step backwards. Outright asking for a job with the DWO seemed like pushing his luck.
He glanced through the one-way mirror at Renee. She had slunk in her seat, leaning heavily on the table. She hadn’t been acting alone, and the others were far from done. Jesse couldn’t back away from the long-term investigation. Not with what he knew was possible.
“I’ve seen that look before,” Bonnell said.
“I can’t tell if she’s scared something’s going to happen to her, or something else is going on inside her head,” Jesse replied.
“I didn’t mean hers. I meant yours.” When Jesse glanced Bonnell’s way, Bonnell turned toward him. “You’re too much like your uncle. This wasn’t just any case for you.”
That felt like the understatement of his life. “It really wasn’t.”
“Then you and I should have a talk in my office.”
