Page 33 of Laura's Truth
“How hard do you want me to push?”
He knew what she meant, he only wished he had an answer. With his connections with law enforcement agencies across the state, she could easily insert the Cypress Security team into the case. But that brought with it a tacit understanding that they’d share any information. He wasn’t ready to commit to that before he knew who was dead and how Talbot’s gun got on scene. “Laura Talbot isn’t a murderer.”
“I believe you, but her gun can’t confirm that. Want me to dig up the victim names and details?”
“Only if you can do it without getting caught.”
“Please.” She covered her heart with her hand. “You wound me.”
He could scold Eva about the risks involved with snooping through secure systems, but she was on his team for a reason. Given time, nothing in cyberspace was off limits to her. “I’m not ready to take the high road until Laura tells me what’s going on.”
“Got it. Subways and detours it is.” Done conversing, the soft clicks and clacks of her fingers on the keyboard were the only sounds for several minutes. “You don’t have to wait.”
He continued staring out the window, wondering if his asking a favor had sent another friend to die. How many more friends would Garner cost him? “Am I bothering you?”
Eva didn’t spare him a glance. “Not a bit. This just takes time.”
“I have plenty of that.” Too much of it.
“Okay.” She stretched out the word, let it fade away as she concentrated on gleaning every bit of information she could find. “You should go home. Talk to Allie.”
Ross ignored the suggestion. He didn’t want to discuss Garner with Allie again and he wouldn’t bring this ugly news into his home. Not without all the facts.
Usually calm enough on any case to examine all sides of a story, Ross had no urge to hear excuses out of Garner. The man had betrayed his country, betrayed the trust of soldiers, killed three good men in the process, and been walking free ever since.
“Rick could be on scene in two hours.”
“No.” The silence grew too loud, filling the space until Ross thought he might implode. He could practically hear Eva thinking. “What?”
“We’re all trained to take care of ourselves and we’ve proven our skills in the field time and again.”
“I know that.” He watched the cars and pedestrians on Main Street three stories below. “Just keep at it.”
Eva’s chair creaked and then the soles of her tennis shoes squeaked on the polished floor. He felt her behind him before she said a word.
“I’m fine,” he said, refusing to turn around.
“I’ve never seen you afraid,” she said.
“Sure you have.”
“No. Not this kind of afraid.”
He hated that she was right. “You’ve never met anyone like Garner.” He swallowed the bitterness, trying to find an accurate explanation for one of his closest friends. “How am I supposed to feel? We spot him by accident and suddenly two men are dead, and the friend I sent to check out the situation has been implicated.”
“He’s efficient. If he’s the problem.”
Ross knew Garner was the problem. “Three good men died protecting that greedy, lying, miserable excuse for a man. Only he knows what they gave their lives for and I’m betting it wasn’t worth the sacrifice. Now, because of me, Laura could already be dead too.”
“Because of him,” Eva corrected.
“I sent her in!”
“No. You asked her to go as a favor. She went willingly,” Eva said in a soft voice that made him feel worse somehow. “You can’t make assumptions here. I’ll get the details. Send Rick—”
“No!” He leaned forward, pressing his head to the cool glass of the window. “Laura Talbot is highly skilled. She’s Army Counterintelligence. She supposedly can take care of herself too, and yet she might just have been framed for murder. A fugitive. You have no idea what Garner is capable of.”
“I don’t know him, but I know you. You can’t keep assuming responsibility for some other jerk’s actions.”